Just a reminder, tonight will be another opportunity for you to speak out about the NCRC TIF bonds. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM at Ye Olde Pink Palace (AKA Cabarrus County Govermental Center - click here for directions).
Meet other NCRC supporters, and speak up!
If you want some material for your 3 minutes and don’t regularly read this site - here are some helpful links:
NCRC Doubts - countering many of the arguments against Tax-Increment Financing (TIF).
NCRC Data - This is a number of lenghty reports detailing the City of Kannapolis’ strategy towards structuring the TIF bond and the need for the County to be involved.
The NCRC - Opportunity vs. Ideology - Out of the three, this one makes the best template for a 3-minute speech.
However, if you think I’m full of crap; but still want to support the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) - you can go to either of these sites for more information favoring the bond.
Alliance for Tomorrow - the official site of Alliance for Tomorrow
Kannapolis 2.0 - A local blog featuring news related to the NCRC.
Get there early, as it’s been filling up a bit early. I’ll be there early too.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Larry B Cole // Apr 16, 2007 at 9:26 am
Two questions on the TIF
1. If the tax inside the district does not create enough tax revenue to pay for bonds, who makes up the difference?
2.. Who controls the revenue from the bonds? The city, the county or David?
2 Justin Thibault // Apr 16, 2007 at 10:15 am
Larry, good questions.
For #1, the revenue question is generally a simple one; but on the question of default is a complicated one.
First, the Local Government Commission (under the direction of the General Assembly) reviews the minimum valuation agreement and the parameters of any TIF district to avoid default. A bond or any other committment approved by the Local Government commission has never been defaulted on.
My understanding from reading the NC Consititution, in the extremely unlikely case of the additional revenue within a TIF district from higher valuations not covering the revenue for a bond - the entity issuing the TIF (in this case, Kannapolis) could rescue the bond through a GO bond - requiring a referendum - or the TIF would go into default. Most TIF bonds (92% in 2006) are rated at BBB or higher (Investment Grade) - the market makes a pretty good determination on how well a bond is structured.
Also, Bob Carruth’s plan - the County’s contribution is limited to the revenue generated by higher values within the TIF district.
As for #2, the City of Kannpolis is issuing the TIF and will be administering it. The County’s contribution would be defined by an inter-local agreement. This money is not going to be handed to David Murdoch like a big novelty check you see when someone wins the lottery.
I would suggest that you read the Q&A document on my NCRC Data article - it’s pretty comprehensive.