The author is a former reporter for The Detroit News and an occasional contributor to Deadline Detroit.
By Louis Mlezcko
The Detroit News, in a business story this week, says the Detroit Downtown Development Authority used $284.5 million in school "property taxes" in issuing tax exempt bonds for the new Little Caesars Arena.
In my view, that's a huge chunk of money that should be going to the financially strapped Detroit Public Schools. Why does our local media report this as a good thing? It is an obscene misuse of public money to help enrich the Ilitches and Pistons owner Tom Gores.
The $284.5 million in school property taxes were “captured” by the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, which nets all the property taxes within the downtown business loop.
City officials use this downtown money for reinvesting in downtown projects like the Little Caesars Arena, just as they did for Comerica Park and Ford Field. Consequently, the Detroit Public Schools, Detroit general fund and Wayne County operations lose out on hundreds of millions in tax revenue.
Just think how many more teachers, revamped buildings and smaller classes sizes could be obtained with $284.5 million.
This corporate welfare spending was also amplified recently when the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder signed off on a new bill to grant Quicken Loans founder and developer Dan Gilbert millions more in tax breaks by designating the old Hudson’s Department Store site on Woodward Ave. as a “brownfield development.”
When the idea for providing tax incentives was first made, brownfields were abandoned, polluted industrial and commercial sites inherited by local communities.
The Hudson site hardly qualifies for this designation.
