By: Times-Union editorial board | Florida Times Union
Public-private partnership — it’s a phrase synonymous with good government.
The federal government encourages these with “tax expenditures,” giving various kinds of tax breaks to private businesses that are pursuing public purposes.
An outstanding version of this comes with housing. The private market often has difficulty justifying housing for low-income or workforce families.
Giving investors various kinds of tax breaks helps to make these projects viable for investors, and it frees the government from doing all the work.
In short, it’s more efficient.
And thousands of households in Florida have benefited from these breaks.
These breaks aren’t well known to most people, so they are easy to cut.
Low-income people don’t have high-priced lobbyists in Washington.
It appears that some of these tax breaks are at risk. One example is a financing vehicle called “Private Activity Bonds.”
The Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority is working on a $90 million bond issue to acquire and rehab Eureka Garden and three other apartment complexes in Jacksonville.
A House bill under consideration would derail the federal financing vehicle for this.
Here are stats on housing bonds:
Single family bonds: $378,166,142
Home buyers: 4,700
Multi-family bonds: $235,105,000
Apartments: 3,800
Congress, in its eagerness to provide tax breaks for some, should not eliminate those that are working well now.
Housing bonds represent good value for the taxpayers.
THE COURT BATTLE OVER THE LANDING
This is why we have courts.
The stalemate between the Sleiman family and various city administrations has become a blight on progress Downtown. It is fair to say that both sides have made mistakes along the way.
But let’s look at the larger picture.
As Toney Sleiman has said, his Jacksonville family wants the Landing to succeed and has put a lot of time and effort into it.
The role of the festival marketplace, like most of those around the nation, has changed over the decades.
What once started as boutique retail shops changed to shops and restaurants.
Sleiman in recent years has said that he needs apartments to make the property viable.
And it is here that he runs into a wall with many of Jacksonville’s citizens.
The Landing is an iconic public place on the river. Readers have told us that using that property for apartments is inappropriate.
The best solution for everyone would be for the Sleimans and the city to agree to a buy-out and then turn that riverfront property into a welcoming space.
LURING AMAZON
Providing incentives for business to move to a city can be self-defeating.
Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana, outlined some principles that ought to be followed in a Washington Post column.
- No upfront cash: Any assistance must be conditioned on proved new jobs.
- A clawback mechanism: If jobs later are eliminated, the subsidies must be returned.
- Measure and report: People need to know how their tax subsidies are working.
“I concede that Amazon may be the exception that justified some bending of these rules,” Daniels wrote. “But establish your limits and keep your head.”
GREYHOUND RACING
A dying industry has been propped up by a state law that needs to be removed.
State law requires greyhound tracks to offer a certain amount of racing in order to justify things like poker rooms.
Since legislators have shown no interest in removing this subsidy, it is a perfect opportunity for a constitutional amendment. Two former Florida Senate presidents, Don Gaetz and Tom Lee, have introduced an amendment that would phase out greyhound racing.
A three-year phase-out would begin in 2021. The phase-out would only remove state support.
That’s a good idea.
It is time for greyhound racing to live or die on its own terms.
The total amount gambled on live racing in Florida declined by 56 percent between 2006 and 2016, reported the Humane Society of the U.S.
At the same time, state tax revenue from dog racing declined by 81 percent.
HATE CRIMES
ProPublica, the nonprofit investigative reporting group, noted that Jacksonville has not reported hate crimes since 2014.
This was caused by an internal glitch that has been rectified, reported the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Here are the hate crimes reported in Jacksonville in recent years:
2014: 5
2015: 5
2016: 2
2017 (to date): 2
It’s worthwhile to describe what exactly qualifies as a hate crime, according to FBI definitions. “A hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson or vandalism with an added element of bias. … Hate itself is not a crime — and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties.”
The FBI has been investigating crimes like these since World War I. Probably the best known case was called “Mississippi Burning,” which involved the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964.
In 1967, seven men were convicted of conspiring to violate the civil rights of the slain workers.
Meanwhile, in Florida, a state poll shows a declining state of race relations. The University of South Florida-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey shows:
- Floridians who say the state’s race relations are poor are at 30 percent compared to 17 percent in 2008.
- Almost half of blacks (46 percent) give the state poor ratings compared to a quarter of whites and Hispanics.
- Working age Floridians see wage and pay disparities.
Article last accessed here on Nov. 29, 2017. A print-ready version is available here.