Millville City commissioners approved 10 new tax abatements for city businesses by a 3 to 1 vote.
Commissioner Dave Vanaman voted against the abatements,
The abatements allow businesses to pay fewer property taxes during the first five years of operation.
The commissioners voted Dec. 16 to change the rules of the abatement program so any new business in the program must file an annual report certifying sales, employment and other statistics. The rule change also calls for the commissioners to consider each applicant individually.
These are the first abatements approved under the new procedure.
Abatements have been a controversial topic, criticized by a small group who don't want the city to lose tax revenue. except by friviolous lawsuit by retired lawyers. The small group asked nit-picking questions and had us all in the overheated Commission Chambers for 3 hours. The commissioners who support abatements say the tool is necessary to bring businesses to the city. They showed class and humer unlike some Freeholder leader who attacks critics with personal attacks!!!!!!! More videos will go on YouTube but my connection dies out EVERY time I start uploading....
10 comments:
Seems to me you didn't have to stay the 3 hrs. You could have got up & left at anytime. Must have been afraid you'd miss something with that video camera of yours.
Tax abatments, but no home abatement.
Mark,
Unable to attend but did watch on T.V. Did they really approve a tax abatement for Juquet when all they did was put up a small wherehouse and are not creating any jobs? I don't understand.
I was also concerned when Mr. Derela said that it does affect our taxes when you asked your question. I thought the county was to blame and now it seems as thought the city is also to blame.
These guys are running the city right into the ground. They give to the developers who give nothing in return. 170 jobs at Sonic. Give me a break. Do the math. With the hours they are open and the number of people on staff at any given time, at best you are talking a job that provides about 18-20 hrs. a week. If you consider that a job, we are in serious trouble.
Tax Abatements for any thinking human being are a no brainer. They are critical for growth and economic prosperity especially in these economic times. Those city officials who voted yes are by all means doing the right thing. Thank-you. http://sites.google.com/site/millvillenj/
"With the hours they are open and the number of people on staff at any given time, at best you are talking a job that provides about 18-20 hrs. a week. If you consider that a job, we are in serious trouble."
Young people and college students need part time jobs with flexible hours, which is what Sonic provides. There need for a part time job is just as valid as your need for a full time job. How many people are you employing?
Also, there are managerial and full time positions available. Almost every manager at Sonic began their career on roller skates.
I thought I would let anonymous comments and see if folks could act civil. So far so good.
Tax abatements are a positive for Millville but I know I will not convince anyone who bothers to read this blog. Vineland is going to give them up and we can not afford to give them up. Most opponents of the abaitments do not offer solutions to gain jobs and tax revenue. It would be good to read of positive alternatives in this blog and in the papers.
I don't think anyone was saying ALL tax abatements are bad. The one's for exhisting prperties seem somewhat useless as well as the ones that employ nearly no personel.
I've been to your Texas Roadhouse. That's an exhisting property, no?
The times I've been there, the place was always standing room only with at least a 30 minute wait. Looked to me like they were raking in the bucks. Why not require them to pay regular taxes? I think they could afford it.
When the abatements were agreed upon as a condition for the businesses locating in the city, they were not yet existing. This is true of all of the businesses at Union Lake Crossing. The deal was that the shopping center would come in if they could get five-year abatements for the businesses, which rent their stores. If Millville hadn't done this deal, the new shopping center would have been up the road on Rte. 47 in Vineland. So while the abatements were just approved, they had been offered as an enticement before the shopping center was built. The mayor talked about how Millville lost out on Home Depot -- they were going to come to Millville and there was actually a sign up announcing this. However, Vineland came up with a better deal. As a result, Vineland has been collecting Home Depot urban enterprise money (from sales tax) for years and has an enormous reinvestment fund. This fund could have been used to entice the new shopping center. It is actually to our credit that the commissioners got the shopping center here. After five years, full taxes will be paid, and, in the mean time, Millville is benefiting from the urban enterprise $.
Thanks for the last comment!
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