janesvillean, there is absolutely no comparison to government funding public infrastructure and in-common public utilities like libraries, roads and parks, and taxpayers funding a select private-for-profit enterprise and underwriting the risk of their investor loans. You need to lay off the WMC/Forward Janesville kool-aid.

There is so much wrong with this deal from every aspect. Whether it is crony capitalism, extortion, bribery, environmental, the entitlement mentality, morality, undermining the competitive free markets, the tax shift, the focus shift away from free market solutions, the government is the solution business politics, the lack of planning, the phony jobs messaging, etc., etc. Wrong deals like this are what should unite every honest liberal, conservative, lefty, righty, Libertarian, Socialist, Republican, Democrat and Independent. Instead, we find ways to support the oligarch. I can imagine at least ten people standing up at the council meeting saying what a wonderful thing this is for Janesville. Good God!

This is government gone wild.

Good Shot Superdave!

Unless something goes wrong...you mean like in Athens right now?

SuperDave, unless something goes wrong, a TIF collects money from the property owners within the TID. Those monies constitute the TIF account. The nominal close-out of a TID is a net zero balance, meaning all monies accrued from the increased property values within the TID were spent back within the TID or otherwise to its benefit. The money does not come from the general fund, it comes from the businesses that are attracted to the TID by benefits which -- again nominally -- they themselves fund.
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SuperDave, your logic is faulty. You assume that the only public benefit of an investment can be some sort of rise in local income from outside the area. In fact, many public investments involve NO direct monetary benefit. These range from streets to parks to libraries and many other services not as visible to you as a brick building with a sign out front. Your test, if applied universally, would essentially close down government.
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(Besides, your pet peeve of the ice arena rehab was a project that was already well underway before Levitt and his hockey-playing son arrived in town, and would probably have happened regardless of the interest shown by the Jets. It's a popular facility. If you haven't noticed, we live in Wisconsin, not south Florida. If you wish to have an honest argument, please don't build a small army of straw men.)
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Basically, I already know and understand that you're one step away from a "taxation is theft" libertarian. But know that taxation is widely accepted in the society in which you live, even if its actual level is vigorously debated. Pretending it's immoral when it's part of constitution, law, and code is a bit of a reach.

@RockEN: That's just fascinating. But it's still improper for gubmint to play Robin Hood by taking from the citizens and doling out to the well-connected. I really don't care about the details, wrong is wrong.

Page 55 of the Council agenda - "There are environmental concerns with the process. The company is in the early stages of the NEPA process and therefore SHINE has not yet developed a plan to address these concerns. (This will occur, but has not occurred yet.) (The City Manager anticipates hiring an outside consultant to advise the City through the process, although the agreement only provides narrow discretion for the City in the future.)"

Check out the new March edition of Popular Science Magazine. Page 57, "The Boy Who Played With Fission".

The link below isn't the article, but the only info on the internet I can find about Taylor Wilson - the subject of the PS article.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archive...

To quote this article - "Instead of creating those isotopes in multimillion-dollar cyclotrons and then rushing them to patients, what if he could build a fusion reactor small enough, cheap enough and safe enough to produce isotopes as needed, in every hospital in the world?"

They are working on it right now....

One dollar in assistance is too much. One penny is too much. It is simply improper for the city gubmint to confiscate property from the general population (at the threat of the barrel of a gun) and give it to a private business. And as I mentioned in another post, the damage done is largely unseen, while the public benefit (if any - there is generally no accountability) is shown as proof that the "project" was a success.
Let's say I was a taxing authority and was collecting $25 from every household (lets call it a "wheel tax"). One day, I decide to build a jai alai facilty (by a strange coincidence, I'm a huge jai alai fan, as are several of my favorite political donors). The new Janesville Jai Alai Center opens. It is a beautiful facility and employs 25 full-time employees. It also brings visitors into the city, who collectively spend one million dollars per year (according to estimates I made one night on a cocktail napkin) in local restaurants, hotels and other area businesses.
Well - shazam! I'm a genius! I'm a success!! What's wrong with this thinking? Go back to the beginning of the story. In order to benefit this one facility, I first had to take the money out of the economy in the form of the $25 wheel tax, before I could mis-allocate it on a public boondoggle. The net effect is negative. There is no free lunch. But what are you complaining about? Even though you don't care a bit about jai alai...well...it only cost you $25. Per year. Forever. And if you don't like it you're against progress. And you're negative. And you don't want the kids to have anything to do.

Who cares about 125 new jobs? 125 people? Ya. There are quite a bit more than 125 people who are paying high taxes and this will benefit them in no way. The COJ is not an investment firm and they need to get out of that mindset where they think they are.

If SHINE meets benchmarks, the monies are paid in increments as the project gains approvals and begins to spin up to production. Also, the projected recoup on investment was stated as 10 years.

It seems like if the CoJ maintains tough benchmarks before handing out the bulk of the loans - it makes sense to provide incentives to SHINE to put down roots here.

Not bad for 125 new jobs that aren't poverty level minimum wage jobs that will be more expensive for Janesville and the state of Wisconsin than their worth.

This is absurd and no I don't support it. I think the city needs to stop spending money and start researching ways to get property taxes down. Local property taxes are out of touch with reality. If a business wants to relocate to Janesville fine who's stopping them!? But under no circumstance should the city be giving money away to encourage them. You come to Janesville because its people are hard working and provide quality labor efficiently. You don't come here because its officials can cut you deals under the table. Besides the type of jobs they're offering require further education & do absolutely nothing for the homeless & unemployed in Rock County. This idea will bring in new residents & ignore existing problems. The only way I would support the city borrowing money is if it was to help currently local unemployed further educate themselves to help their current situation. Considering how many college graduates are finishing empty handed these days I'm leaning more towards idea of city not spending money at all.

This company is not going to be hiring the average Joe who is unemployed in Janesville unless you get lucky enough to get a janitor's job for 15ish bucks an hour.

$1.00 is too much.

Why offer anything? I worked for what I have and want my taxes to go for stuff to benefit me. City services and amenities. I dont pay taxes so they can be used as charity...especially when we cant even keep our roads up.

Too much and much too much. The whole issue of TIFs needs serious reconsideration. Study what it will mean to average tax-paying homeowners. If businesses want well-educated, informed workers they will have to train them in our schools and help support those schools with donations or tax-support aids. The marketplace provides competition for qualified personnel. You will always get what you are willing to pay for in this world!

ya think????
Where is all this money they are "loaning"
Now we pay wheel tax and $40 for trash!!??

If the city is offering SHINE more than other businesses wanting to locate I think it's offering too much. It's a level playing field I would like to see.
I'm just sayin'...

Yes they are offering to much.

Yes.