The following below was sent to me by the CAN neighborhood association.
origianlly came from
oldeuptownhbg@gmail.com To those that would like to air their opinion at the meeting. Unfortunately I'll be in Sweden. Otherwise I'd attend myself.
Olde Uptown invites all of its residents and its friends to attend an extremely important Harrisburg City Council meeting on Tuesday 4/20/10 at 5:45 p.m.
The City of Harrisburg Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. City Government Center - 10 North 2nd street, Harrisburg
Councilwoman Patty Kim is holding an informational hearing on the city’s 10-year tax abatement program. The legislation is up for renewal, denial, or (hopefully) expansion this year. It is critical that this legislation be renewed and expanded to include a 100% abatement for 10 years in order for the City to continue to grow. It is not an overstatement to say that without this policy in place, the Olde Uptown project and many other projects in the city could not occur.
Just as a refresher, the current abatement policy allows the assessment on property improvements to be abated over ten years at a 10% incremental phase-in. However, while it’s been effective, Harrisburg 2020, a committee of CREDC, is asking for the policy to be expanded to 100% for ten years based on the success that Philadelphia had with doing the same. Since 1997, when Philly implemented the policy, they created 10,000 new housing units in their downtown. Recent travelers to Philadelphia have probably noticed that it is much different now than 13 years ago and city leaders credit the full abatement as a primary reason. One of the key arguments to persuade our elected officials on this issue is that it is not a “tax give-away,” because the development would not have occurred without the abatement in the first place. Please help in carrying this message!
It’s vitally important that City Council hear public comments from as many residents as possible next Tuesday night. Please join us in attending the meeting and helping to spread the word to friends and colleagues in the City!
Thank you for your support of Harrisburg!
Olde Uptown Neighborhood Association