Well our DDA has done it again! Spent more tax dollars on self promotion. Did you enjoy the very “colorful” direct mail piece that was sent to your home?
One of the tenets of the DDA charter is to reduce blight and promote rehabilitation, which they have had some success over the last 37 years, but I believe that if you were to look at the financial statements that the line for this activity is virtually non-existing.
It can be said that the (Lake Orion) Lumber Yard project will accomplish this, but financially this is being done by property purchases, parking, etc. accounts; which is being funded through the sale of proposed bonds.
Perhaps, they should also consider the property on N. Broadway Street that is now vacant because of a fire. Maybe that property could be considered for rehabilitation.
The DDA has agreed to allocate 75 percent of new “captured” taxes for infrastructure purposes. I believe that this commitment is only for new developments, not for all increases in the TIF.
We must remember all incremental taxes, TIF must be spent in the DDA area by law. So this benevolent commitment is really a form of smoke and mirrors. You can call it rehabilitation activities for the outlying area of the DDA.
They continue to receive awards for their “Main Street” activities, which has emphasis on the core central business district, which they should receive credit.
Also I believe they have chipped in on the replacement of the bridge over Paint Creek, which facilitates access to core business district from the south east part of the village and the Paint Creek Trail.
Harry Stephen
Lake Orion
Thoughts on the Lake Orion DDA added by mmkelley on
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(my thoughts)@ Cory, the Village Government made it,(DDA) with NO VOTE from the residences of the Village, they, the res. of the village SHOULD DEMAND that the government (village concile) should VOTE with ALL MEMBERS of the CONCILE PRESENT(there seems member/members are not present for their vote) to DESOLVE the DDA with NO vote from the residents of the village needed They made it with NO vote from the residents, so Vote it out (the DDA) with no resident vote and use that monies saved for ALL the residents of the Village not just three or four blocks of the down town of Orion witch BIG MONEY will own later on anyway, almost forgot EACH NEW PROJECT BIG MONEY STARTS, will start with a request for a TAX abatement 5-10 normal = NO TAX collected IN the Village for B.M. CONDO’S, OFFICE and RETAIL space. Thank goodness the TITANIC had a BAND.
If the public likes more than $900,000 of their tax dollars being spent by the DDA, who answers to no one, and this happening every year, they probably have no problem with some of those tax dollars being used for fancy, colorful, self-promoting mailings and other marketing campaigns.
It would be nice if the taxpaying public had some say on this, but they don’t, and the Village government seems to be doing all they can to make sure we never do.