Underneath the national elections, there are lil’-ol’ Texas’s elections. Some of the things you vote on during the election are about our state; one in particular is Proposition 2; this is described by The City of Austin as: Shall the City Charter be amended to prohibit the City from entering into future agreements to provide financial incentives in connection with the development or redevelopment of property that includes one or more retail uses, and to stop the City from providing financial incentives under certain existing agreements in connection with the development or redevelopment of property that includes one or more retail uses.
Proposition 2 has been confusing for many citizens, and for a while there, that included me. Do you vote yes or no? Don’t we want to “Keep Austin Weird”? But then don’t we want to keep promises we have made as a city? Ugh… There are voters voting that have no clue what the Prop 2 represents.
If you vote yes, you are voting to cancel a contract we made with big businesses, including The Domain development, for tax incentives to build here.
If you vote no, you are voting to keep that promise and allow these incentives for The Domain and other perspective businesses.
So, the controversy is that a tax incentive for these businesses means more big businesses possibly taking over “ma” and “pa” stores. When I thought about this, Wal-Mart on Anderson Lane came to mind. That situation pissed me off and this is what I thought the proposition was talking about. What’s really happening is if we do vote yes, we are breaking a promise made years ago; that would bring a bad reputation for Austin. The Stop Domain Subsidies group wants you to vote yes to prevent economic development and stop tax rebates for places like The Domain.
Because of these incentives, certain communities are and will be able to have lower mortgages by having retail businesses wanting to develop in their neighborhood; the Mueller Neighborhood is a project and sector that has financial assistance paid to them because of retail development. This subsidy encourages businesses, sales, and people to come that otherwise would not have been drawn there.
Austin Mayor Will Wynn asks us voters to vote NO on PROP 2 and I agree with him and will be voting no. Now that I have done some research and proposed it to you, I am ready to early vote! You should be ready soon too...
2 comments:
I’m torn on this one. Part of me agrees with Katie and part of me also disagrees. I am big on integrity and agree that Austin should keep their promise on Proposition 2, but who made up this proposition anyway. They must not have been a true Austinite. I also disagree with the proposition itself, why does Austin need to spend any of our tax money to help out the Domain or other big businesses? Don’t they have plenty of money anyway, why should we help the competition? Personally I totally support local business, and will drive out of my way to go to a ma and pa store than to go to a large corporation. I believe that Austin should give this extra money back to Austin and support the local businesses and Keep Austin Weird.
Katie,
I am in agreement. Generally, I am wary of the government subsidies, but in this case, there was already an existing agreement. I feel that keeping our word and dealing honorably is more important. In my research, I discovered that there were a long list of stipulations designed to benefit Austin and the neighborhood, and the Domain fulfilled them. It would not be right for Austin to back out after the deal was cut and the Domain had gone through the trouble of meeting those requirements. I do not know if it was a great idea to begin with, but it had already been decided, and too late to be rescinding.
I am proud that Austin stood up for its reputation and decided to deal honorably and keep its promises. I hope this election helped set a good standard for local government to follow through with what it says it is going to do.
Post a Comment