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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 14, 2013
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<br />happened over and over again here in the city, more importantly in the 2 District. I have seen
<br />the LaSalle Square project use tax credits, I’ve seen two museum’s use the tax credit on West
<br />Washington Street, museum row as we call it now, I’ve seen the Rushton, we talk about A.J.
<br />Wright and we talk about the Kroc Center and it’s the same story each and every time. Each and
<br />every time there are going to use these tax credits or we are going to ask for a tax abatement, yes
<br />you are using City money. It’s called tax dollars, guess what, when you don’t pay for the taxes
<br />that you are abating those are tax dollars that you are supposed to be paying. When we use the
<br />credit system, guess what, somebody is paying for that out of their pocket, it’s called State taxes.
<br />So somebody is subsidizing this through their job, I am, and everybody else here that is
<br />employed. So, when we begin to think that we are bigger than the cause that we said we are
<br />going for we are missing the point. We have missed the point, the point is to make sure that the
<br />money regenerates back through this community so that folks like the guys that are entrepreneurs
<br />can have more business inside their business, more patrons, more folks can go to the store, more
<br />people can become employed. For every dollar that is spent in this community, there is four
<br />dollars that’s created, off this kind of construction project, that’s how those things happen. And
<br />for us to continue to sit here and beat it down and say that it is a bad thing, it’s a private
<br />developer, no, no by no means, this kind of project doesn’t happen without those incentives. It
<br />does not, so clearly you need those incentives if it didn’t you wouldn’t be here. I am going to
<br />say the moral compass of this community has to change back to fairness. This country has to
<br />turn back to fairness; it’s going down the tubes. This point I am going to continue to make and I
<br />hope that you make due on your 4%, I hope you do it 4 times, 4 times, times 4, which would be a
<br />lot better than what we have right now. However, it’s up to you at this point, I am not in favor of
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<br />this anymore, I can’t do it anymore. I just named about six projects that happened in the 2
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<br />District or right outside the 2 District, the same population of folks who continue to keep
<br />getting stepped on and kicked aside each and every time, based off of the law. I am not asking
<br />for anything that is not already in the law, if I was asking for something outside of the law, yes I
<br />am (inaudible), but the truth is it’s in the law, it’s in the details. You use federal dollars and
<br />federal guidelines state x, y and z, that’s all day every day, that’s why we are living with the
<br />MBE/WBE issues here in South Bend now, because no one wants to look at the numbers. No
<br />one chooses to look at the numbers. If someone wants to file a federal lawsuit against the City of
<br />South Bend, guess what, we get in a lot of trouble. Because no one wants to keep the numbers,
<br />no one wants to enforce the codes, and that has been a problem repeatedly, over and over and
<br />over again. It’s a fairness issue, you are going to hear more about the fairness issue after you
<br />guys finish if you stay. It’s called fairness, we cannot continue to act like we don’t have a
<br />problem. We have a problem, and it’s a true problem, and as bad as one side of the community
<br />is going to hurt, the other side is going to hurt later on. It’s just a matter of fact, we are all part of
<br />the same body, the same spirit, and if one side hurts the other side is going to hurt as well. I
<br />digress.
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<br />There being no one else present wishing to speak to the Council either in favor of or in
<br />opposition to this Resolution, Councilmember Dieter made a motion to adopt this Resolution.
<br />Councilmember Gavin Ferlic seconded the motion which carried and the Resolution was adopted
<br />by a roll call vote of six (6) ayes and two (2) (Councilmember’s Henry Davis, Jr. and Schey.)
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<br />BILLS – FIRST READING
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<br />BILL NO. 58-13 FIRST READING ON A BILL TO VACATE THE
<br /> FOLLOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY: 1. THE
<br /> FIRST NORTH/SOUTH ALLEY EAST OF
<br /> GEORGIANA STREET, WEST OF BURNS
<br /> STREET RUNNING NORTH FROM THE FIRST
<br /> EAST-WEST ALLEY SOUTH OF NAPOLEON
<br /> STREET FOR A DISTANCE OF
<br /> APPROXIMATELY 54.5 FEET TO ITS
<br /> TERMINATION POINT. 2. THE FIRST
<br /> NORTH/SOUTH ALLEY EAST OF BURNS
<br /> STREET, WEST OF DUEY AVENUE RUNNING
<br /> NORTH FROM THE FIRST EAST/WEST ALLEY
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