A TIF tax break to convert Wilson Borough's vacant Dixie Cup factory into 405 luxury apartments was defeated in November in a close, 5-4 vote. Yesterday, I told you about Executive Tara Zrinski's fallacious ceteris paribus argument for the TIF. Today, I'll shre the views of three of the Council members who voted Yes in November. - Ken Kraft, Kelly Keegan and Jeff Warren, All three reiterated their support at the April 16 public hearing.
Kraft, in his own inimical style, argued that we should take the $2 million up-front (legal) bribe being offered by the developer. Here's what he said: "What kind of skin do we have in the game? Which is really minimal. But now we got a number on it. $2 million. They're giving it to us. So, our saying no to this project would be the most bonehead thing you could possibly do, because you're not losing anything. ... We're not even impacted anymore. I mean, we have no impact at all. You've given us the money up front, that, you know, I don't know, not a financial person, but supposedly we can leverage to loan more money at no percentage, you know, to do affordable housing somewhere. ... So we're not losing a dime."
He's right, too. It's not a dime. It's a lot more. According to the TIF ordinance, which he really should read, the county is giving up $5.6 million in real estate tax revenue over the next 20 years.
That seems pretty boneheaded.
Keegan played a math game. "All right, so Wilson Borough Council approved the TIF in 2024 and then again in 2025, and 9 members sit on the council. It was unanimous. Wilson Area School District approved the TIF. All 9 supported it. It was unanimous. They lived there in Wilson. They were elected officials for Wilson. My district is, uh, Wilson is part of my district as a district 2 commissioner. If 5 out of 9 of us on this board votes no, then out of 27 elected people, 81.4% support it, and if 5 of us vote no, 18.6 will not."
Although Keegan's math is correct, she misses the point. The TIF is authorized by the state Urban Redevelopment Law, which requires the approval of a majority of all three separate taxing districts impacted by the handout. These taxing bodies all serve different taxpayers. The representatives of taxpayers in Upper Mount Bethel Tp and Lower Saucon should have a say in decisions that give their money away.
Finally, Warren had something to say, too. He said he "wasn't planning on speaking," which is code for "Get the NoDoz out." This time he did spare us from his argument that we should grant a TIF because his grandfather worked at Dixie. Now he's likening government to mechanics, saying that a TIF is just a "tool in the toolbox." I'm a terrible mechanic myself, but even I know that you do not use an allen wrench to put air in a bicycle tire. And you don't kiss away $26 million in tax revenue to an inexperienced out-of-town developer who has admitted a few times that he doesn't really need the county's participation.
Warren commended developer Brian Bartee, who he said has "truly given so much to the community by what he has done with that building already."
Say what? There are still gaping holes instead of windows. And what has government already done for Skyline's Bartee? Skyline has already been awarded $1,000,000 from an RACP application in 2024 and this year. It has received $163,257 from a DCED Multimodal Transportation Funding Grant and a $175,000 Greenways, Trails and Recreational Program grant. It is seeking even more grant money from PennDOT, DCED Mixed Use Housing Development, another DCED Greenways grant, another DCED multimodal transportation grant, and Pa Historic tax credits
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