Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: Water and land, property tax disparities in NYC, tax breaks and value capture at APA: at Lincoln House May 2017

News from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

At Lincoln House The monthly e-newsletter of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy In this Issue New center integrates water management and land policy 50-state property tax report released  Planners dig into finance at national conference Odds & Ends New center integrates water management and land policy The Lincoln Institute earlier this month established the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, the centerpiece of a new initiative to integrate land use planning and the management of an increasingly scarce resource. The Center, based in Phoenix, is named for Bruce Babbitt, former Arizona governor, Interior secretary, and longtime board member of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Jim Holway, who has years of experience in water and land use issues in Arizona and throughout the Intermountain West, will serve as the first director. “It’s been said that water is the new oil, and if we want to ensure that future generations have adequate supplies, we have to understand the intimate connection between land and water,” said George W. “Mac” McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute. “It’s a two-way street: how we plan and use land has an impact on water, and water availability has an increasing impact on how we can use land. We seek to bridge these two worlds to better meet the needs of people, agriculture, and nature.” > Read more... 50-state property tax report released For the 12th year in a row, New York City has a larger discrepancy in property tax rates for rentals compared to owner-occupied units than any other U.S. city, according to the annual 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence. Because of policies designed to ease tax burdens on homeowners, the effective tax rate on a typical owner-occupied home is just one-fifth of the rate paid by the owner of an apartment building – costs that are in many cases passed along to renters. The discrepancies in the New York City system emerge in a comprehensive analysis of the effective property tax rate – the tax payment as a percentage of market value – for residential, commercial, industrial, and apartment properties in more than 100 U.S. cities. > Read more… Planners dig into finance at national conference The Lincoln Institute led the conversation about local government finance at the American Planning Association’s annual conference in New York City, a gathering of more than 6,000 planners, elected officials and others. With 15 sessions covering topics ranging from fiscal analysis of land-use to scenario planning to value capture, we engaged with hundreds of people over four days. Property tax incentives were an especially hot topic, as communities seek to promote economic development while protecting the tax base and maintaining fairness. Ron Rakow, commissioner of assessing in Boston, described his city’s approach to preventing waste, ensuring accountability and transparency, and producing. the maximum benefit for each public dollar invested.  Greg LeRoy, president of the nonprofit organization Good Jobs First, said Boston is the exception, and many communities continue to provide incentives haphazardly, to the detriment of taxpayers. > Read more… Odds & Ends With a national infrastructure plan promised in the next several weeks, we lay out the case for long term thinking to avoid the mistakes of the past, and for confronting climate change …  The Fiscally Standardized Cities database is getting attention, with a working paper by Bruce McDonald and a citation in this provocative piece on federal funding and cities by former Milwaukee mayor John Norquist … We helped launch an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report on land use governance at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston … How fair lending affects fiscal health … Alissa Walker on Richard Florida ... Scholars gathered in London to explore China’s urban development …  City books for non-planning nerds ... Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, to which we contributed, is in theatrical release … This month’s highlighted Working Paper:Land Values, Property Rights, and Home Ownership: Implications for Property Taxation in Peru, by Zackary Hawley, Juan José Miranda, and W. Charles Sawyer.

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letter to the editor in response to Kevin Cook

In the Middleboro Gazette (still only 50 cents) of January 1, 2009, Kevin Cook's letter to the editor criticized the Community Preservation Act.

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The following is a response to his letter that might have arrived too late for publication:

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Mr. Cook's recent letter seems to have misunderstood the issue of CPA.
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To include a laundry list of budgetary grievances with the Community
Preservation Act is disingenuous and should be treated separately. It's
much like comparing apples and oranges and confuses the issue.
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Under Prop. 2 1/2, the tax levy increases by a required amount annually,
unless voters approve an override. Your real estate taxes will increase
by statute, except for the decrease reflected by the override for the Nichols
Middle School. The failure of the Town to abide by the statutory requirement
risks reduction in state aid. (There are low income abatements and real
estate tax deferrals available.)
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Regarding the Trash Fee, it might be suggested that you contact
the Board of Selectmen and request that the issue be re-visited as
it was promised when initially passed. This is an issue that requires
more space to address, for fear of causing widespread slumber,
I'll decline beyond saying that we need a public discussion of the
surrounding issues and not pot shots, unrelated to CPA.
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Middleboro residents are already paying the matching portion of the
CPA funds through the Registry of Deeds. What is not claimed by Middleboro
is distributed to other municipalities participating in the CPA program.
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When affluent communities rushed to approve and implement the CPA program,
shouldn't we question their reasons for doing so? They recognize that it is
a sensible way to plan for the future and the match can't be gained by even
the most gifted investor. The match is, afterall, up to 100%. This is not a
"Noble" endeavor as Mr. Cook would label it, but rather planning for the
future and preparing the preserve the reasons many of us moved to Middleboro.
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Mr. Cook raised the issue of the contracts that were approved at the most
recent Special Town Meeting. Since Mr. Cook's previous objections at Town
Meeting are memorable, I might be mistaken, but I don't remember
Mr. Cook rising to object at that public meeting. The FinCom
received the information without adequate time to review and respond
with a recommendation. Since the Board of Selectmen scheduled the
date for the Speciall Town Meeting, that might be an issue to address
with them as well. Or perhaps, as others have suggested, it's time for
a Charter change that mandates adequate time to review ALL articles,
without exception.
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Mr. Cook raised the issue of the sorely needed Police Station.
Few residents would disagree, but barring a gross miscalculation
of the financial officials within Town Government, the Town can't pay
cash for the structure. That means, of course, the Town needs
to borrow the funds.
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The last several purchases of property that Town Meeting Voters approved
was accomplished by BONDING - that is by borrowing money.
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If we approve borrowing for land purchases that we determine make sense
for the future of the Town, aren't we, in essence, already paying a 'fee'
for the land purchase and shortchanging other needs? Doesn't it make sense
to establish a small annual 'kitty' that is available when the need arises
that will assure that we aren't forced to borrow each time? And what amount
have we lost by our failure to approve CPA at its initial presentation? How
many millions would it have been? Surely it would have funded the last
several purchases, preventing borrowing.
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Voters should be reminded of the purchase of the Parks Property that
was in the process for a long number of years. It is among the largest
land preservations the Town has embarked upon, involved others and
costs the Town a nominal amount. The purchase was only finalized
shortly before Mr. Parks' passing and fruition was only because of Mr.
Parks' dedication to preserving the land.
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As families move on, members pass away, economic pressures mount,
large parcels will be offered for sale. Shall we pass on to the next generation
"We should have saved that parcel"? Or shall we elect to invest less
than a Dunkin' Donuts' coffee each week to the next generation that will
recognize the importance we placed on the future?
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A review of municipalities that have adopted CPA indicates grant money
those municipalities have applied for and received as a consequence of
adopting the CPA statute. Middleboro continues to miss out on grant funding
available for targeted uses because of our narrow view, much as we
missed the potential of grant funding for a new ladder truck as one of
the candidates for Fire Chief indicated.
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Let's reserve discussion of CPA to only those issues pertaining to CPA and
not create a grab bag of grievances. It's long beyond time to prepare for
the century we live in, with an eye on the future.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

A friend and frequent reader of this blog introduced me to Lincoln Institute some time ago.

The Institutes's Land Line January 2009 issue is available online.