TAX INCENTIVES FOR EXPANDING BUSINESSES

The Chair of the Guilford County Commission has announced a desire to give some type of a ‘break’ on property taxes to existing businesses to give them an incentive to make improvements or expand the size of their businesses.   He points out that making such changes usually increases the value of the property and causes property taxes to go up, which serves as a disincentive to business growth.  So, he proposed something like a “rebate” to offset the increase in property tax.  But that word caused the county’s lawyers to cringe, because “rebates” are prohibited by state law.  Still, the idea, by whatever name it is called, has merit.  It makes good sense to encourage existing businesses to grow and expand, because they have already proved their worth to the community and they should be given encouragement to stay in the city.  I hope the County Commission can find a way to implement this idea.

I believe that the City of Greensboro should follow the progress of this proposal very carefully; and if the county can find a way to implement it legally, Greensboro should immediately follow suit with a similar plan for its expanding businesses.  Even if the county cannot implement its plan, the city should continue to find a way to implement the general idea of the proposal.

The real value of the proposal is that it would automatically apply to any existing business that makes legitimate improvements to or expansions of its business property.  It would not take a resolution of the Commission or Council to grant a specific incentive to a specific business, which can take time and involve political issues other than business development.  The business would have only to report the improvement or expansion to the tax office in its regular filing each year.

Business development and growth leads to job creation, which leads to a healthy economic outlook, increased sales of goods and increased property values, which leads to greater tax revenues for the city without raising tax rates.   It is a win, win situation.

I will propose that the City of Greensboro implement some plan that gives an incentive to all existing businesses that legitimately expand their operations or improve their facilities in the city.  This will encourage them to stay in the city and also encourage them to create more jobs for our citizens.

I welcome your comments.

ETHICS RULES FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

As I have stated previously, I believe that a member of City Council has a fiduciary duty to the citizens of the City of Greensboro.  That means that, if a member has a conflict between what is best for the citizens of the city as a whole and what is best for the council member personally, the member should be disqualified from taking action on the matter involved.  Since no one is able to read the mind of another to determine that person's true motives, we must rely on the appearence of propriety (that is, would a reasonable person think that a conflict of interests exists in the circumstances) to determine what types of situations would disqualify a council member.  For instance, a member would obviously be disqualified from voting to approve a contract between the city and a business in which the member owned stock.

An area in which I believe conflict exists is that of council members taking large campaign contributions from PACs established by those who have considerable dealings with the city; from executives and other agents of firms that do business with the city; or from executives or other agents of not-for-profits that receive funding from the city.  At-large City Council candidate George Hartzman has proposed a prohibition on candidates accepting such contributions.  He and I, as well as some of the other candidates for City Council seats, have made it known that we will not accept contributions to our campaigns from PACs or from those doing business with the city.

Voters, the ball is in your court.  How important do you believe it is to have a City Council whose members are independent of the special interest groups who make a great deal of money doing business with the city?  How important is it to you to have City Council members who act in the best interest of the city as a whole and not in the best interests of a few?  How important is it to you to have your voice heard in the City Council Chambers.  How important is it to you to have the city be accountable to you, the citizens of the city?

If you want an independent council member who acts in the best interest of the city as a whole, listens to the voters' desires about the direction the city takes, and reports back to you about how the city is accomplishing its goals, then vote for and support Art BOYETT for City Council, District 5, on November 3, 2009.

Art BOYETT - Your Voice on City Council

• email me at boyett2009@gmail.com to get campign literature
• send donations to Boyett for City Council, P.O. Box 18361, Grensboro, NC (Include name, address, phone number, email, and for amounts over $50 - employer and job title)
• look at my web site at boyettforcitycouncil.com

I would really like to see your comments.