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Hey Folks,

I just attended the first Town Hall that was scheduled by the Coos County Board of Commissioner to discuss The Community Enhancement Plan and Commissioners Cribbon's and Sweet's desire for the county becoming the fourth member of the South Coast Community Foundation.  The SCCF is a taxing scheme developed to continue to siphon money from the state's State School Sharing Fund or the equalization program and funnel that money to huge private and public development projects. 

I had high praise for the way Commissioner Mellissa Cribbons conducted the county meeting on April 1, 2014, but the town hall in Bandon on the 9th was a sham.

The commissioners had everyone break up into five different groups to answer five questions that were designed to return a predetermined answer that would always favor the project.

There was over a dozen employees from Knife River Construction in attendance, if one was to go by the count of company vehicles that were in the parking lot.  They have every right to attend, but their numbers makes the appearance dubious and casts a cloud of suspicion on the entire project.    I think most of the rank and file employees are damn decent people who have the best of intentions.  Lets hope the company is not using them in the same fashion that Oregon Resource Co. used their employees to manipulate the commissioners vote on the ORC contract.  These people are the salt of the earth and do not deserve deception.  

In contrast, there was less than 10 people from the city of Bandon in attendance, and that was due to such a very short notification period for the meeting.  It is evident that the tactic was intentional, so Sweet and Cribbons could say they had input from the people, when most of the people in Bandon had not a clue that this meeting was occurring. 

Nobody from the Bandon City Council was in attendance, which was a huge disappointment.

Then, to the insult  of eveiry taxpayer in the county, nobody from the Bandon School Board attended the meeting, which was all about getting more money to the county's dilapidated school districts.  And they want our support, what a joke.  It also demonstrates how the school board is going to treat the staff and teachers of their district, if the schools were to get this money under the SCCF plan.  No Respect, to teachers, school staff, and most of all, us the taxpayers......The BOC has to Vote NO to the CEP and the SCCF or they better "Put it on the Ballot."  

Commissioner Sweet and Cribbons are going to push the CEP and the SCCF and the voters better be prepared to stop the creation of another political slush fund.  It is the definition of crony capitalism, or more aptly put, economic fascism.....Rob T.

Braddock: JC has made commitment to pay $30M annual taxes despite EZ

Since this January when the architects of the CEP (community enhancement plan) finally made public their intention to privatize taxpayer dollars we have been told the plan it is necessary because of the Bay Area Enterprise Zone exemption. Jordan Cove will take advantage of a two year CIP (construction in progress) and a three year EZ exemption so the taxing districts will not see any revenue from the $7 billion project for at least five years we are told. The CEP, by giving Jordan Cove an additional fifteen year conditional abatement, would amortize the taxes normally paid during the fifteen years over twenty years in order to start payments when the project breaks ground. We are told Jordan Cove will pay the same amount in taxes but with smaller annual payments spread over a longer period of time. We are also told that instead of paying taxes, Jordan Cove will pay service fees into two private non-profit organizations.

John Sweet during a radio interview with Mark McKelvey yesterday indicated much the same. The CEP will bring more immediate cash whereas we would otherwise have to wait. Sweet also indicated that it wouldn’t be proper to just terminate the EZ because Jordan Cove was too far along in its development so the public should honor its commitment to extend the tax incentive. David Koch, CEO of the Int’l Port of Coos Bay told the port commission just last month that Jordan Cove has been applying for the standard EZ exemption from the inception and the CEP will bring cash sooner.

June 26, 2012 Bob Braddock of Jordan Cove told the audience at a Pacific Connector Open House filmed by Ricky Maranon of KCBY that the company would pay taxes during construction despite the EZ.

The terminal is actually built in an area that is part of an enterprise zone…in the hope of the scale of the project that amounts to an interim $30 million dollars a year, ah, but under state law we are exempt from it for a number of years and during the years that we’re exempt, we will be paying those taxes…How that money will be spent we don’t know but we have made that commitment to do that…

Jody McCaffree documented the meeting a few days later on the Citizens Against LNG website and noted “Braddock said they would be paying the money to the tax assessor and had no control with what actually happened to funds after that.”

Just recently Michael Hinrichs, also of Jordan Cove, told The World Newspaper the EZ tax incentive was insignificant in a project of this size. Multiple resolutions in support of the project can be found at the BS Oregon website attesting to the company’s willingness to make payments-in-lieu-of-taxes upon final approval from FERC and breaking ground.

WHEREAS, the Jordan Cove terminal and the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline will generate much needed tax revenue to Coos, Douglas, Jackson and Klamath counties – $32 million a year in ad valorem taxes or payments in lieu of taxes for the first three years, and $42 million to $52 million a year thereafter;

So in 2012 Braddock publicly claims Jordan Cove has made a “commitment”, (to whom is unknown), to make payments equivalent to what the taxes would be as if the EZ didn’t exist direct to the county tax collector. Yet today John Sweet and David Koch are saying Jordan Cove wants the early exemption and during his interview Sweet implied the company may even expect interest on the money it advances in the form of payment reductions.

Certainly, if the company is sincere about making payments during the construction phase the opportunities for a substantive countywide enhancement plan are no longer hampered by the constraints claimed by Sweet, et al as the justification for the CEP. Assuming Braddock is honest there is clearly no rush to ratify this plan. So who is telling the truth? Was Braddock just blowing hot air in 2012, (actually long before then), or have some local leaders discouraged the company from making payments to the people’s tax collector in order to privatize the money? Or are Sweet and Koch, et al, just confused? If they’re confused how is the public supposed to absorb this scheme?

Whatever the truth is, the public needs to know before any major decisions are made regarding this ill thought CEP.

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http://mgx.com/blogs/2014/04/09/braddock-jc-made-commitment-pay-30m-annual-taxes-despite-ez/

Related Post:
BOC---Public Meetings on South Coast Community Foundation "Put it on the Ballot"
BOC---Public Meeting for Vote on South Coast Community Foundation April 1, 2014
Letter to Editor---South Coast Community Foundation Scam will Top All Past 
MGX---Geddry Slams Koch over Forced Cooperation & Jordon Cove Funding 
League of Oregon Cities Class of Slanted View on History of Urban Renewal in OR 
City of Bandon---Expanding Government Cheese
Urban Renewal---King Hales of Portland Master of Government Development
FBI Press Release on Charges Against Local Bandon Developer Michael Drobot
Urban Renewal---Read How Schools suffer to Support Wealthy Foreign Companies
City of Bandon---Local Developer Michael Drobot Admits to Bribery & Conspiracy 
Preserving the American Dream:  Lessons in Beating Boondoggles
Agenda 21---Sustainable Development & Regionalism
City of Bandon---Votes on the renewal of City Manager's Contract
What is Craft3 & how does it relate to Agenda 21
INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL
Community Vs. Collectivism
Regionalism - The Blueprint for Your Serfdom
Success against Agenda 21
The Smoking Gun The direct link between Agenda 21 and local planners!
The International Code Council and You...
Port of Bandon in North Bend, Why?
Urban Renewal---Tualatin council to consider plan for Cabela's 
Urban Renewal---A tale of bad planning in two Cities
Urban Renewal---Oregon schools could recoup money
Bandon---Combine Private Public Partnership w/ Urban Renewal and you get cheese...
Urban Renewal---Tax fight aims at PSU renewal district
Urban Renewal Money in the hands of the Politicians
B-Corporations: The Redefining of what it means to be a Corporation
Support  SB478
Cities are using Monopoly Utilities to Game the System 
Action Alert:---State Legislation SB 478
The Federalization of Local Urban Renewal Agencies
The Antiplanner---The Feds Want to Take Your Car #22‏

Hey Everyone,

The Board of Commissioners will be having several Town Halls to discuss the creation of the South Coast Community Foundation.  It appears that Commissioners Cribbons and Sweet are going to try to enact this new quasi private/public bureaucracy and we have to be prepared.  Please attend the meetings and ask the commissioners to Vote No to joining the foundation.  Tell them Vote NO or "PUT IT ON THE BALLOT,'....Rob T.

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON:
It is very important to contact the commissioners and ask them to Vote NO on the SCCF or "PUT IT ON THE BALLOT."

Call & Email Commissioners                                                                                                                                                  

 John Sweet
(541) 396-7541
Email: [email protected]

Melissa Cribbins
(541) 396-7539
Email: [email protected]

Robert "Bob" Main
(541) 396-7540
Email: [email protected]

Coos County CommissionRegular bi-monthly meeting held April 1, 2014http://coosmediacenter.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=f8545fd21b105763d330aacc217e162c
Coos Bay City CouncilRegular scheduled meeting held April 1, 2014http://coosmediacenter.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=2d800837398eba76cde16e6ded9a261f
North Bend City CouncilRegular meeting of the North Bend City Council held March 25 ,2014,http://coosmediacenter.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=c877950ea68e34cb35f2a6fc7dcbfc45
Coos County CommissionRegular meeting held March 25, 2014http://coosmediacenter.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=db52e1a6c614c24c6da0b94db015224a

Hey Everyone,

On April 1, 2014 at 9:30 am in The Owen Building, the Board of Commissioners is going to be voting on the formation of the South Coast Community Foundation.  In order to stop this very bad idea, everyone has to SHOW UP, SIGN IN, and SPEAK OUT, against another government development plan that will weigh on this community for several generations.  This taxing scheme can be STOPPED at the county level, but only if people contact the county commissioners and/or attend the meeting.  The Port of Coos Bay and their cronies will use the SCCF the same way the Corleone Crime Family used the Genco Olive Oil Company in the movie, “The Godfather.”

Link to the BOC Agenda:
http://www.co.coos.or.us/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=R5hYQFlHARE%3d&tabid=141&portalid=0&mid=1169

Here is an article with the four options to the SCCF plan:
Four possibilities for Jordan Cove's future
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/four-possibilities-for-jordan-cove-s-future/article_6bba9d4e-9e65-11e3-9da1-0019bb2963f4.html

We will file a referendum IF the BOC approves the SCCF and we will need YOUR help.  Please send me your contact information if you would like to collect signatures.  Help us stop the waste of more public tax dollars on government development, where wealthy developers and elite financiers get richer and the taxpayer slowly goes broke.  Email contact info to [email protected]

Once the BOC votes the Foundation into existence, there will be:
NO Oversight
NO Public Input
NO Transparency
NO Recourse
NO way to stop the drain of tax dollars until this monster runs its course….

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON:
It is very important to contact the commissioners and ask them to Vote NO on the SCCF.

Call & Email Commissioners                                                                                                                                                   John Sweet
(541) 396-7541
Email: [email protected]

Melissa Cribbins
(541) 396-7539
Email: [email protected]

Robert "Bob" Main
(541) 396-7540
Email: [email protected]
 
The Board of Commissioners
Public Board Meeting
Tuesday April 1, 2014 at 9:30 AM  
The Owen Building,  
Google Map
 
 
Click the following links to read some news articles on the SCCF:
Four possibilities for Jordan Cove's future

Final elected bodies to vote on South Coast Community Foundation
 
North Bend City Council opts in to South Coast Community Foundation
 
Jordan Cove on deck for Canadian LNG export license approval
 
Jordan Cove parent company looks at financing, ownership options, expansion
 
Jordan Cove on deck for Canadian LNG export license approval
 
 
Click the following links for examples of how the SCCF will waste your
money:                                                        
City of Bandon---Local Developer Michael Drobot Admits to Bribery & Conspiracy   
                       
Urban Renewal---Read How Schools suffer to Support Wealthy Foreign Companies
 
Urban Renewal---King Hales of Portland Master of Government Development 
 
  Click link for some history of Eco/Devo in Coos County:
Coos County 20 Years of Economic Development: Article 3 to Jordon Cove
 
Mary Geddry has offered a lot of good information on the Jordon Cove Plan:
MGX---Geddry Slams Koch over Forced Cooperation & Jordon Cove Funding 
 
http://mgx.com/blogs/2014/03/28/now-know-local-leaders/
 

Related Posts:
Letter to Editor---South Coast Community Foundation Scam will Top All Past 
MGX---Geddry Slams Koch over Forced Cooperation & Jordon Cove Funding 
League of Oregon Cities Class of Slanted View on History of Urban Renewal in OR 
City of Bandon---Expanding Government Cheese
Urban Renewal---King Hales of Portland Master of Government Development
FBI Press Release on Charges Against Local Bandon Developer Michael Drobot
Urban Renewal---Read How Schools suffer to Support Wealthy Foreign Companies
City of Bandon---Local Developer Michael Drobot Admits to Bribery & Conspiracy 
Preserving the American Dream:  Lessons in Beating Boondoggles
Agenda 21---Sustainable Development & Regionalism
City of Bandon---Votes on the renewal of City Manager's Contract
What is Craft3 & how does it relate to Agenda 21
INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL
Community Vs. Collectivism
Regionalism - The Blueprint for Your Serfdom
Success against Agenda 21
The Smoking Gun The direct link between Agenda 21 and local planners!
The International Code Council and You...
Port of Bandon in North Bend, Why?
Urban Renewal---Tualatin council to consider plan for Cabela's 
Urban Renewal---A tale of bad planning in two Cities
Urban Renewal---Oregon schools could recoup money
Bandon---Combine Private Public Partnership w/ Urban Renewal and you get cheese...
Urban Renewal---Tax fight aims at PSU renewal district
Urban Renewal Money in the hands of the Politicians
B-Corporations: The Redefining of what it means to be a Corporation
Support  SB478
Cities are using Monopoly Utilities to Game the System 
Action Alert:---State Legislation SB 478
The Federalization of Local Urban Renewal Agencies
The Antiplanner---The Feds Want to Take Your Car #22‏

Hey Folks,,

On April 1st, 2014, at 9:30 AM in The Owen Building, the Coos County Board of Commissioners will be deciding on enacting a new foundation that will siphon tax dollars normally used to support the basic services in other taxing districts.   The money being redirected to the South Coast Community Foundation is all discretionary funding, meaning it can be spent on anything.  There is little to no oversight, no public recourse, no transparency, no accountability, and no way to stop the process until the established expiration date.  Please, read the file on the left, which will explain some history of government Economic Development in Coos County.  The File on the right is the White Paper the Jordon Cove Energy Project Twenty years of economic development and the county is almost bankrupt and unemployment is hovering around 10%...............Rob T.

Letter to the editor
March 15, 2014 8:56:50 PM

I am sure this scam, will top all past, present and future endeavors of a small elite group to dictate and control through non governmental organizing the purse strings of a very large sums of, I quote, exchange of tax dollars for benefits.

We have from the belly of the Beast, a new, big sister and brother of SCDC. South Coast Development Council. A “new”, non governmental organization, same structure, non public disclosures, no public transparency, privately controlled and operated. 

I present, the SCCF, South Coast Community Foundation, dedicated to managing, half, of the community service fees offered by Jordan Cove Energy Project.

We’re told we can keep our tax dollars, other wise going to the state coffers, first, by eliminating the tax dollars and exchanging them for fees. To insure their cut, a plan of coercion , extortion and bribery, offered by the controllers of Enterprise Zones, they are the governing municipalities in Coos County. the City Council's, County commissioners, and the port of Coos Bay. those “Fees” or a part of them stay in the County and go to, WHOM? The SCCF.

The fees, after the administrative and management cost of the new scam group, will be apportioned out with in the County to government organizations, and other grant funded organizations. I am sure they will be drawing of the straws to see who gets what.

The players is a list of who’s who, of persons who dedicated their very existence in the betterment of their brothers and sisters, through public service.

Certainly the community would benefit with lower Water and Sewer Cost. Lower electric cost, and low property tax. However few benefit under this plan. First, fees filtered through the SCCF, then municipalities, and Non profit organizations who will first use their funds for administration cost, creating new departments and administrators, and then what is left, may filter to services to a remaining few.

Does the citizens have a say in the outcome of this egg that will be hatched to benefit us all? By proxy, and holding out your hand, maybe some of the residue will fall your way. Proxy is a corporate form of governance, not a representative form of government. Would you like to have a vote on how this bonanza of new revenue will be spent?

The last time the controlling group of the Enterprise Zones grantors, granted benefits it was to the mining company of all times, and for those benefits, and no tax dollars this mining company was to hold up their end, I believe they shut down, not sure of their status right now.

You only have a vote by proxy, and once its done you will be forbidden from any of the information of the inter working of the egg from the belly of the beast.

History will tell you, even though you cannot look at the records, the management style of SCDC, benefited only the players, and the paid administrators of the organization as they wisely spend your tax dollars on themselves, no jobs, Oh, there is that mining company.  Looks as though SCDC’s  recent bid for a new  image and more dollars, has turned into egg hatching and straw drawing.

den

Koch: “Found money… forces cooperation”
http://mgx.com/blogs/2014/03/08/koch-found-money-forces-cooperation/

If you can stomach watching your civic leaders salivate over other people’s money, watch the Coos Bay City Council work session regarding the community enhancement plan. It is has been clear from the very first mention of the community enhancement scheme that Coos Bay and North Bend want access to tax dollars outside of their district and are willing to use their role as enterprise zone sponsors to usurp the rights of other taxing districts in order to get at it. But hey, according to Coos County Commissioner John Sweet, “the North Bay Rural Fire District doesn’t need $16 million…” Apparently, Sweet doesn’t think the county needs much money either because he is in full support of a plan to reallocate county revenue to the betterment of the waterfronts of Coos Bay and North Bend by “redirecting” taxes into the Bay Front Investment Corp.

While it should be noted that Sweet received the majority of his campaign contributions from the Coos Bay/North Bend area all of this comes at extraordinarily little inconvenience to either city. “This is all found money,” says Port CEO David Koch talking about the influx of cash within the city boundaries. “Found money.” What a descriptive phrase for this situation, as in unearned, or undeserved.

“What I like about this is it forces a partnership,” continues Koch. “We are forcing a partnership and seeding it with money that forces a closer cooperation between all four agencies in accomplishing the goals of this community. Frankly, I think the Bay Front Investment is the most exciting part…”

On a side note, one of the councilors bragged about downtown Coos Bay’s industrial waterfront. “We are very proud of it,” said Mike Vaughn. “It has always been a draw for us.”

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Hey Folks,

The Oregon League of Cities is one of the main proponents of Urban Renewal and Tax Increment Financing and their organization is going to have a class on the history and creation of Urban Renewal in Oregon, so all the other cities can learn how to create more public debt with little to no public input.   Please consider attending one of these sessions to learn more about these insidious taxing scheme's and how they are created.  Also, The LOC is the main organizational propagator of Agenda 21 planning and use the agencies position to filter the message of Central Planning  down to local municipalities. One good example is the Dark Skies Initiative....Rob T.   

Oregon Local Leadership Institute (OLLI)

Register * NEW *
Registration and Cancellation Policy

Registration Instructions

Urban Renewal: The Basics & Beyond Speaker:  Elaine Howard

This workshop will cover the history of urban renewal in Oregon through the 2013 legislative session. Participants will learn how to form an urban renewal agency and an urban renewal area; the components of an urban renewal plan; and agency board composition. Case studies will be used to illustrate projects in Oregon.
Guest speakers for this workshop include: Ben Bryant, City of Tualatin Tom Pessimier, City of Sherwood Walt Gowell, McMinnville Attorney Jeb Bladine, McMinnville Newspaper Publisher LGMC: #5 – 5 hours

About the Speakers 

Urban Renewal: The Basics & Beyond
Redmond Fire and Rescue
341 NW Dogwood Ave.
April 29, 2014
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$150 After Apr.15:  $200
*CIS is a co-sponsor of selected workshops, allowing those organizations that are members of CIS' General Liability or Workers' Compensation program to attend at a discount rate.

Hey Folks,

Another example of why Urban Renewal is a bad idea stems from the politicians ability to manipulate all the construction projects in a city with an Urban Renewal area or areas.  Please click the following link to an article in The Portland Tribune.  In it they demonstrate how the Mayor of Portland is going to overhaul the city's Urban Renewal Agencies, so he can create the image of what "HIS" utopian Portland would look like, much like the Mayors or Managers of Bandon, Coos Bay, North Bend, etc, etc, etc......Rob T. 

U.S. Attorney’s Office
February 21, 2014
Central District of California (213) 894-2434

SANTA ANA, CA—The former owner of Pacific Hospital in Long Beach was charged today in a long-running health care fraud scheme that involved tens of millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks in exchange for referrals of thousands of patients who received spinal surgeries. The referrals to the hospital led to more than $500 million in bills being fraudulently submitted during last five years of the scheme, much of which was paid by the California worker’s compensation system.

Michael D. Drobot, 69, of Corona Del Mar, was charged this morning in a criminal information with orchestrating a wide-ranging conspiracy and with paying illegal kickbacks.

In a plea agreement also filed this morning, Drobot agreed to plead guilty to the two counts, which could send him to federal prison for as long as 10 years.

From 1997 to 2013, Drobot, who owned Pacific Hospital until late last year, ran a scheme in which he billed workers’ compensation insurers hundreds of millions of dollars for spinal surgeries performed on patients who had been referred by dozens of doctors, chiropractors, and others who were paid illegal kickbacks. For referrals for spinal surgeries, Drobot typically paid a kickback of $15,000 per lumbar fusion surgery and $10,000 per cervical fusion surgery. Some of the patients lived as much as hundreds of miles away from Pacific Hospital and closer to other qualified medical facilities. The patients were not informed that the medical professionals had been offered kickbacks to induce them to refer the surgeries to Pacific Hospital.

Drobot and his co-conspirators concealed the kickback payments by entering into bogus contracts with the doctors, chiropractors, and others who received kickbacks. In reality, the contracts merely provided a cover story for the kickback payments.

The kickbacks were financed largely by money generated from inflated prices for medical devices implanted into state workers’ comp patients during spinal surgeries. Drobot set up a scheme that exploited a now-repealed California law known as the spinal “pass-through” legislation, which permitted hospitals to pass on to workers’ comp insurers the full cost of medical devices implanted in spinal surgery patients. Specifically, Drobot used shell companies to inflate the costs of those devices and then billed the insurers at the inflated rates.

“The spinal pass-through, the provision of California law that allowed Pacific Hospital to fraudulently inflate the cost of the medical hardware used during spinal surgeries, was a vital component of defendant Drobot’s ability to pay kickbacks to the doctors, chiropractors, marketers, and others who had referred patients to Pacific Hospital for surgeries and other medical services,” according to the charging document filed today.

As part of the health care fraud scheme, Drobot admitted in his plea agreement that he paid bribes to California State Senator Ronald Calderon in exchange for Calderon performing official acts to keep the spinal pass-through law on the books. Calderon was indicted on federal charges yesterday for allegedly accepting bribes from Drobot, as well as undercover FBI agents seeking official acts in relation to other matters.

As part of his plea agreement, Drobot has agreed to cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation of the health care fraud scheme, which has been dubbed Operation Spinal Cap. Drobot has also agreed to cooperate in the government’s prosecution of Ronald Calderon and his brother, who was also indicted yesterday.

“Drobot has agreed to plead guilty in the health care fraud scheme, and as part of this agreement, he admits paying bribes to Ron Calderon in exchange for the senator’s help in keeping alive a law that brought massive profits to Drobot’s companies,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr. “Drobot also paid kickbacks, which are illegal under both California and federal law because they corrupt the doctor-patient relationship and may encourage medical professionals to recommend procedures that are not necessary, not in the patients’ best interest, or actually harmful to the patient.”

Drobot has agreed to surrender and be arraigned in this case in United States District Court in Santa Ana on March 31.

“The charges allege that the defendant used kickbacks and other tactics to ensure the system worked to his advantage,” said Bill Lewis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The insurance scheme victimized multiple sectors of society, including insurance companies, the taxpayers, and spinal patients.”

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said, “Insurance fraud is a multi-billion dollar drain on California’s economy, which results in higher insurance premiums for California businesses and consumers. The co-conspirators lined their pockets by ripping off insurance companies to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. This is one of the largest workers’ compensation fraud cases in the history of the Department of Insurance—our successful investigation of this complex criminal scheme underscores our commitment to bring law breakers to justice regardless of who they are.”

Tom Frost, Special Agent in Charge with the Postal Service Office of Inspector General, stated, “We are committed to preserving U.S. Postal Service resources by vigorously investigating allegations of fraud and corruption. We are grateful for the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our state and federal partners in this investigation.”

The ongoing investigation into abuses involving the spinal pass-through law and kickbacks paid for spinal surgery patients is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the California Department of Insurance; and the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.

Related Posts:
Urban Renewal---Read How Schools suffer to Support Wealthy Foreign Companies
City of Bandon---Local Developer Michael Drobot Admits to Bribery & Conspiracy 
Preserving the American Dream:  Lessons in Beating Boondoggles
Agenda 21---Sustainable Development & Regionalism
City of Bandon---Votes on the renewal of City Manager's Contract
What is Craft3 & how does it relate to Agenda 21
INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL
Community Vs. Collectivism
Regionalism - The Blueprint for Your Serfdom
Success against Agenda 21
The Smoking Gun The direct link between Agenda 21 and local planners!
The International Code Council and You...
Port of Bandon in North Bend, Why?
Urban Renewal---Tualatin council to consider plan for Cabela's 
Urban Renewal---A tale of bad planning in two Cities
Urban Renewal---Oregon schools could recoup money
Bandon---Combine Private Public Partnership w/ Urban Renewal and you get cheese...
Urban Renewal---Tax fight aims at PSU renewal district
Urban Renewal Money in the hands of the Politicians
B-Corporations: The Redefining of what it means to be a Corporation
Support  SB478
Cities are using Monopoly Utilities to Game the System 
Action Alert:---State Legislation SB 478
The Federalization of Local Urban Renewal Agencies
The Antiplanner---The Feds Want to Take Your Car #22‏

Hey Folks,

The following articles should draw a clear line between school districts losing money to wealthy foreign corporations.  It is a case of stealing from the poor to give to the wealthy, but that is how Urban Renewal works. Detroit is a good example of how Urban Renewal creates projects that the local tax base cannot afford, which will eventually cause bankruptcy.....Rob T

Hey Folks,

I support business and believe in the free-market system, but giving money to wealthy developers could lead to some very serious problems, one being fraud and the other is bribery.  I have to point out that Greg Drobot is the son of Michael Drobot and Greg has not been charged with any crime.  Click the links below to three different articles and ask yourself if Urban Renewal is a good idea? ......Rob T.  

February 21st, 2014, 4:51pm

Bandon cheese is back
$2 million investment will employ at least 10 people
May 17, 2012 11:00 am
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/bandon-cheese-is-back/article_115dad45-8833-5394-a2e0-ce94809fc532.html

January 1, 2013

Creamery gets the backing it needs to open in Bandon
by Jennifer Janda | Dec 27, 2012
Craft3 announced its investment in Face Rock Creamery in Bandon.

Dear Editor,  
The real question is: Why are our commissioners and would-be County leaders rushing agreements, relieving  Jordon Cove of 15-plus years property tax? 

The company has yet to acquire a building permit, prove it's reliability, or use it's initial property tax relief.    If a company proposing plans of this magnitude is solid it should not need to take our money!    

Our commissioners are poised to approve Jordon Cove's tax relief based on verbal statements they will  create 501(3)(c)'s,  yearly giving millions to verbally stipulated beneficiaries chosen by themselves.  Additionally, there would be no public oversight as their board selections, meetings, and financial decisions will all be private.  (Individuals who lost their property due to unpaid property taxes wish they had such a deal.)   

Why rush giving Jordon Cove millions of dollars?  Could Chapter 662 Oregon Law 2003 section 307.123,  modified October 16th 2013, be of interest?  The legislation allows property tax relief to be transferable.  " ....upon the property being acquired by a business firm that is different from the business firm that initially benefitted from the exemption...."   Section 9 of this legislation states  "....A determination ... that a project shall be exempt from property taxation ...must be requested by official action of the governing body of the county .." ( ie. our Board of Commissioners ).  

These rushed decisions by our BOC have a great deal to do with our present financial state.  Consider the State's  '2012  Financial Condition Review'  of  Coos County:  "...a balanced budget will become more difficult..."  " Coos County debt is primarily for the county-owned pipeline."  They further stated the 2012 commissioners' response:  "As a result, the county commissioners indicated they will need to consider liquidating  county assets in order to pay expenses"....What the report did not state was Northwest Natural's pipeline payment to Coos County continually equals our payment to them for maintenance.  We taxpayers got  $27 million, plus interest, in debt.   

The 2012 commisioners gave Oregon Rescources Corp. similar tax perks based on verbal assurances of hundreds of jobs. Four days after obtaining our transferable lease, they laid off about half of their remaining  employees.   

The list of ill thought out, rushed decisions with our money and land goes on and on.  We deserve better.  This time the commissioners must, at a minimum,  require beneficiaries of our assets use what they have already been given before asking for more.     Jaye Bell

Hey Folks,

Mary Geddry has written another article targeting the Jordon Cove Plan.  The Port of Coos Bay is going to create a hyper-urban renewal district.  The money will be used like a petty cash drawer for the local politicians, so the voters had better wake-up and smell what the bureaucrats are cooking up now.  Below the link to Mary's article are two other articles to show the pattern of Oregon ports and back-up the claims of their detractors....Rob T. 

Preserving the American Dream:  Lessons in Beating Boondoggles     By Gini David

First, the bad news:  So-called “smart growth,” central planning schemes involving land use and mass transit are popping up all over the country like crabgrass. Now the good news: Some folks have successfully managed to galvanize opposition with grassroots organizing tactics and to beat boondoggles before they blossom into financial fiascos for taxpayers.

In late October, I attended the Preserving the American Dream conference in Washington DC, sponsored by the American Dream Coalition (ADC, http://americandreamcoalition.org), a  coalition that promotes freedom, affordable home ownership, property rights, and mobility. To combat big government boondoggles, the ADC provides strategic and tactical counsel from planning experts like Randall O’Toole (Cato Institute), demographer Wendell Cox, ADC’s executive director Eileen Bruskewitz, transit expert Tom Rubin, ethics analyst and writer Stanley Kurtz, and others.

The three-day conference kicked off with an all-day tour of urban projects in the DC Metro area, highlighted by the infamous “Million Dollar Bus Stop” in Arlington (which isn’t paved with Swarovski crystals), the proposed Silver Line Metro to Dulles International Airport, and the tree-lined  town of Bowie, aka “Maryland’s Levittown” as an example of a well-planned suburb.

Transit issues were the focus of much of the ADC conference because in urban planning this is often where the tail wags the dog and creates most issues for citizens. Ideally, the end game should be improved mobility – getting people to employment centers -- and congestion relief balanced with fiscal responsibility. As Randall O’Toole argued, “Paint is cheap,” and mobility can often be achieved with bus systems that are more flexible and far more affordable than fixed rail systems like refurbished trolleys and mega-million dollar projects like our SMART train.

But in the last decade or so, there’s been an explosion of rail projects. Like moths to flame, many politicians and planners seem drawn to rail projects because these “new starts” tempt them with glossy funding from federal agencies like the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Rail plans usually begin with good intentions, often marketed to the public as “Smart” and “Sustainable.”  But too often, ridership projections are fudged to sell projects to taxpayers who later get stuck with construction over-runs and ongoing maintenance. Consider this stat:  nationwide, American cities face $77 billion in unfunded maintenance costs for rail projects!

What’s more, Panos Prevedouros, a professor of transportation engineering at the University of Hawaii, told the ADC audience that rail projects are rife with corruption and fraud, quoting   Bent Flyvbjerg, the renowned Chair of Large Program Management at Oxford University:  “Rail projects are the projects most fraught with delusion and deception.” As Prevedouros explained, “Deception because proponents lie to constituents and overstate ridership and understate costs.  And delusion because proponents believe that their projects are better and different than other failures from the past.”

Further complicating matters: many transit projects are hog-tied to massive land use plans like Plan Bay Area or Portland’s Metro. Federal transit funding becomes both the carrot AND the stick, forcing cities to comply with specific density quotas and “affordable and fair housing” standards, eroding local control, and chasing compliance with far-away bureaucracies and non-government organizations.  (Sound familiar?)

But all is not lost. A fascinating “Beating Boondoggles” workshop presented testimonies by people like Eileen Bruskewitz, ADC’s executive director and a former county supervisor in Dane County, Wisconsin, which encompasses uber- liberal Madison. Eileen opposed a wasteful rail project using a cool tool box of publicity tactics that turned personal attacks on her as a “knuckle-dragging conservative” into PR gold. Local shock jocks rallied around the spunky, self-proclaimed “Cavewoman” and her “No tax for tracks” campaign, causing the rail plan to go belly up. On the west coast, Tiffany Couch, a CPA/CFF and forensic accountant – how sexy is that! – dug diligently for real numbers and dubious practices on a high-profile $1 billion rail project between Oregon and Washington. Tiffany’s forensic accounting skills and articulate, common sense exposed local corruption and defeated the project.

Also inspiring were Karen Jaroch and Sharon Calvert from the Tampa Tea Party, who won the ADC’s annual “American Dreamers” award for their fearless fight against a 2010 tax increase to fund a rail project in Hillsborough County. I met people who were at different stages of their local battles – people like Barbara and Giselle from Pinellas County who were fighting a wasteful rail plan, and Katherine Kersten, a policy analyst from Minneapolis whose city received a $5 million “sustainable community grant” from HUD, as our own ABAG did to promote Plan Bay Area. Bottom line: Federal $ = Carrot and Hammer.

A major speaker was Stanley Kurtz, author and Senior Fellow at The Ethics and Public Policy Center, who warned about the murky end game of the Regional Equality Movement exposed in his  book, “Spreading the Wealth: How Obama is Robbing the Suburbs to Pay for the Cities.” And at Monday night’s dinner, newly elected U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (KY-R), lightened the mood with an inside look at Congress and a wicked sense of humor: “In DC, I drive a cheaper Tesla sedan with a bumper sticker reading ‘Kentucky Friends of Coal.’”

The conference ended with savvy grassroots organizing tips from an all-star panel featuring Mimi Steel, who discussed opposition to Plan Bay Area, and Andrea McCarthy of the Cato Institute who gave common sense media relations tips (‘call people, follow up!”).  For me, the most compelling insights came from Hadley Heath, a policy analyst at the Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org) and sometimes Fox contributor, who gave tips on messaging and language. Referencing Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Righteous Mind,” which studies moral values and politics, Hadley suggested using words like “fairness” and “caring” which tend to resonate more favorably with liberals. (Made sense to me and now I’m commenting “UNFAIR Obamacare” on many of my Facebook posts.)

 Finally, every morning in DC, I jogged six blocks to the White House and  asked strangers to take a photo of me mugging in front of the White House, arms outstretched, asking the president a question, which I’d later post on my Facebook timeline. In my short “Hi Mr. President” photo blog, I asked about jobs, Obamacare, and so on. I never received a response from our president, but while in DC I got plenty of inspiration and resources from the American Dream conference. And a little hope that people are fighting big government boondoggles – and occasionally winning!

The Community Enhancement Plan presentation information discussed at the Coos County Urban Renewal Agency meeting is posted on the Port of Coos Bay website in the public records section, http://www.portofcoosbay.com/publicreq.htm. You can view and download the documents there.

Just as a point of information, the port does have Public Record Request form available online at http://www.portofcoosbay.com/publicreq.htm. We also post a lot of information online on the port (www.portofcoosbay.com), Charleston Marina (www.charlestonmarina.com) and Coos Bay Rail Link (www.coosbayraillink.com) websites, in addition to the port Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/portofcoosbay) and Charleston Marina (https://www.facebook.com/charlestonmarina) pages.

Thanks,
Elise Hamner

The Port of Coos Bay may charge to process public record requests based on the scope of the request, number of copies and staff time involved. Rates set by County and Special District General Records Retention Schedule, July 2010.

Public Record Request Form ... Click Here

Questions & Answers
The following are copies of public records and responses to requests for explanatory information.

Questions often will be abbreviated for clarity and simplicity, and multiple questions will be combined in order to provide a succinct response.

• Request:
  Please provide the information related the Jordan Cove Energy Project Community Enhancement Plan presentations. Click here for the slide show and overview.
  
  

At their special meeting on November 18th, the City Council unanimously approved a lease with Face Rock Creamery for the existing 1,200 sq.ft. warehouse building west and south of the cheese factory which is currently being used by the Electric Department for materials and equipment storage.  The cheese factory will be installing insulation and sheet rock on the inside, and some refrigeration units to use it as a cheese aging and storage facility.  Certain cheeses must age for several months to several years at a temperature of 430 F to increase their sharpness and improve other qualities.  Face Rock Creamery has indicated that their ultimate goal would be to eventually purchase enough property to construct new offices and additional storage.  However, they need some additional storage space immediately due to the large number of orders they are anticipating.  Face Rock Creamery currently employs 17 individuals (some full-time and some part-time), and they estimate that this number could double if their on-site, export, and internet sales increase as projected.  Without leasing the additional storage from the City, their other options would have been to rent some refrigerated trailers or rent or construct a building someplace else.

The lease is for an initial term of three years at $600 ($.50/sq.ft) per month for the first year, increasing to $750 per month for the second year, and $1,000 per month for the third year.  Face Rock Creamery is hopeful that within a year they would be able to negotiate a price with the City for purchasing additional property at the existing City Shop property so they could construct a larger building for cheese storage, shipping, packaging, and offices.  The new lease can be canceled by Face Rock Creamery with 90 days advance notice.  In the event of such a cancellation without mutual agreement, the City would retain ownership of the building improvements and refrigeration equipment.

Regarding the City’s use of the building and property, the plan is to relocate all of the City Shop operations to the new City Shop site southwest of the 11th Street and Rosa Road intersection.  This will move the emergency vehicle, equipment, and materials storage out of the 100 year flood plain and make them much less susceptible tsunami inundation.  The storage which is currently located in the warehouse building will be relocated to other parts of the existing building and to the transformer building which has already been constructed at that new location.  The most critical use in the building is the “hot stick” room where the equipment and for working on live (“hot”) electric transmission lines is kept in a temperature and humidity controlled environment.  As part of the new City Shop relocation process, the Electric Department has determined that the preferred alternative would be to purchase a “hot stick” trailer.  Such a trailer has been ordered, and is preferable to a fixed location, since it will allow all of the equipment to be immediately hauled and available at any work site.

Related Posts:
State Government Surveying Government Planners
The International Code Council and You...
MGX---Economic development spin cycle begins again
Support  SB478
The Preserving the American Dream Conference 2013 October 27-29
Port of Bandon in North Bend, Why?
Urban Renewal---Tualatin council to consider plan for Cabela's 
Urban Renewal---A tale of bad planning in two Cities
Urban Renewal---Oregon schools could recoup money
Bandon---Combine Private Public Partnership w/ Urban Renewal and you get cheese...
Urban Renewal---Tax fight aims at PSU renewal district
Urban Renewal Money in the hands of the Politicians
B-Corporations: The Redefining of what it means to be a Corporation 
Cities are using Monopoly Utilities to Game the System 
Action Alert:---State Legislation SB 478
The Federalization of Local Urban Renewal Agencies 
Urban Renewal gone bad---read the stories

Hey Folks,

The International Code Council is an NGO front for the United Nations Agenda 21.  Last year, Coos County became a member of the international Code Council when the county excepted grant money from FEMA, which is one of the reasons there are people who speak out agianst taking these grants.  The agreement always has strings attached and the Devil is in the details.  Below are some of the excerpts from the ICC's website and since we are now all global neighbors in this international collectivist society it would behoove us to learn our new commandments....Rob T.  

History The International Code Council (ICC) was established in 1994 as a non-profit organization dedicated to developing a single set of comprehensive and coordinated national model construction codes. The founders of the ICC are Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBCCI). Since the early part of the last century, these non-profit organizations developed three separate sets of model codes used throughout the United States. Although regional code development has been effective and responsive to our country’s needs, the time came for a single set of codes. The nation’s three model code groups responded by creating the International Code Council and by developing codes without regional limitations; the International Codes.

Home > Government Relations > Oregon

Code Adoption Resources ICC provides information and support to assist you in your efforts to adopt and implement the International Codes.

• Code Adoption Resources
• Submit Code Adoption
• Sample Adoption Ordinances
• Code Adoption Toolkit
• IECC Resource Page
• IgCC Toolkit

International Codes & Standards Adoptions

• View maps for I-Code Adoption information
• State Adoptions 
• Jurisdiction Adoptions 
• 2012 Code Adoptions 
• Submit Jurisdiction Adoptions

Federal, State and Local Activities ICC has several programs dedicated to promote and support adoption of the I-Codes. Learn about our state and local, federal, congressional, grassroots efforts.

• Legislative Activities
• Understanding Federal Use of the ICC Codes
• Legislative Action Center
• Locate your state's Chapters, Board Liaison or Staff Liaison
• Information on CDBG grants for codes

During this same 3.5 year period, unemployment has risen more than 3 points from 7.9 to 11%, poverty is at 16% and unlike its neighboring counties, Coos County has seen a decline in population. Empirical evidence indicates that government backed economic development does not benefit the working class. Distributing the $78 million in stimulus between each household like an earned income credit would have done more to stimulate the local economy. This is true across the nation, throughout Oregon and nowhere is this more true than in Coos
County. 

Economic development agencies are not evaluated and funded based upon performance or results but more out of the “glass slipper” syndrome expressed by the local paper. The public is pitched with the promise of jobs and its heartstrings plucked with claims about a broader tax base to fund schools and besieged by information about poverty and homelessness. These techniques are all part of the developer psyche and they sell projects like the $51 million 12″ gas pipeline because it promised jobs, 2,900 jobs in fact… that was more than a decade ago. Spending money in the pursuit of jobs gives us hope, if you ascribe to the editorial opinions of the local paper, and perpetuates a 17th century fairy tale that we too can be lifted out of despair if we are pretty enough or willing to pay enough in tax benefits for the corporate prince to condescend to ask us to dance. Perpetuating the myth also keeps the developer funded and employed. In fact, the state has legislated “wooing” a mandated “high priority” and funds it accordingly. 
 
777.065 Development of port facilities at certain ports as state economic goal; state agencies to assist ports. The Legislative Assembly recognizes that assistance and encouragement of enhanced world trade opportunities are an important function of the state, and that development of new and expanded overseas markets for commodities exported from the ports of this state has great potential for diversifying and improving the economic base of the state. Therefore, development and improvement of port facilities suitable for use in world maritime trade at the Ports of Umatilla, Morrow, Arlington, The Dalles, Hood River and Cascade Locks and the development of deepwater port facilities at Astoria, Coos Bay, Newport, Portland and St. Helens is declared to
be a state economic goal of high priority. All agencies of the State of Oregon are directed to assist in promptly achieving the creation of such facilities by processing applications for necessary permits in an expeditious manner and by assisting the ports involved with available financial assistance or services when necessary. [1981 c.879 §6; 1993 c.106 §1]

To that end, Ray Bucheger a lobbyist who lists amongst his clients the Port of Coos Bay and representing Boost Southwest Oregon, or B.S. for short, is queuing the dance card now via an email rallying support for the Jordan Cove Energy Project and promising once again to “kick-start the economy”.
 
The Jordan Cove Energy Project is picking up steam, but we need your help! Construction of this $7.5 Billion project is set to begin in 2014, but only if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives Jordan Cove a license to export LNG out of Coos Bay. Whether or not Jordan Cove receives a DOE export license will depend in part on the level of local support for the project. 

Boost Southwest Oregon is a coalition of public officials, business leaders, labor groups and other key stakeholders that was created to rally this support and kick-start the local economy. 

You are invited to join us at 9:00am on Wednesday, April 10th at the Coos Bay Visitor Center to receive an update on the Jordan Cove Energy Project and to learn how you can do your part to Boost Southwest Oregon.  The Coos Bay Visitor Center is located at 50 Central Avenue in Coos Bay.

The power point presentations will be loaded with both dire statistics and positive upbeat predictions about future jobs with above average salaries and stock photos of smiling, handsome contractors wearing pristine hard hats and of happy children studying in state of the art classrooms. We know because this isn’t our first rodeo.

 On a related note, Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro, notorious for having introduced the towboat bill that put Captain Yates out of business, has introduced SB 845 which if it passes, would effectively allow the governor to declare a state of emergency in order to exempt large businesses from facing land use appeals.
 
Authorizes Governor and Director of the Department of Land Conservation and Development to exempt certain land use decisions from appeal by contract with member of traded sector industry that agrees to acquire and develop large-site industrial use employing at least 500 full-time employees.

 Apparently, the fairy tale only comes true for big businesses.

Plan Bay Area, which I discussed in the August issue of this newsletter, was partly funded by a $4.9 million federal grant issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Sustainable Communities Regional Planning program. These grants were explicitly designed to promote regional planning of smart growth, that is, high-density, mixed-use developments. In 2010 and 2011, HUD gave out more than $165 million to 74
regional planning agencies in 44 states.

Among the largest grants were $5 million to Salt Lake County, Utah; $4.9 million to Centralina COG (Charlotte); $4.5 million to DRCOG (Denver); $4.7 million to East-West Gateway COG (St. Louis); and $4.3 million to Knoxville. Other urban areas receiving $3 million to $4.3 million grants include Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Houston, Kansas City, and several more.

Stanley Kurtz notes that this grant program "is part of a broader suite of initiatives designed to block suburban  development, press Americans into hyper-dense cities, and force us out of our cars." Most of the money is going to regional planning agencies (also known as metropolitan planning organizations) that are unelected and thus not accountable to the voters. These agencies can use the power of the purse--the ability to distribute or deny federal funds to individual cities and towns--to force local communities to adopt denser zoning codes and prohibit low-density development at the urban fringes.

Congress apparently did not fund this grant program in 2012, but the damage the program has already done will influence the lives of well over 100 million Americans.  Naturally, planning advocates hope to see more funding in 2014, and that debate will take place next week.
 
Stanley Kurtz will speak at the 2013 Preserving the American Dream conference in Washington DC on October 27-29. For more information about the conference including the latest list of speakers, see the conference web
page.

If the federal government shuts down next week, transportation and land-use will be among the major bones of contention in the debate. In August, Republicans worked hard to prevent the Senate from passing the Democrat's $54 billion transportation and housing budget (S. 1243). This bill would have spent at least $10
billion more than Republicans think is responsible, partly by funding a number of smart-growth programs.

One of those programs is called the "Choice Neighborhoods Initiative," which provides $250 million for turning low-income neighborhoods into "sustainable mixed income neighborhoods with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation and access to jobs"--in other words, a smart-growth urban renewal program. The
Democrat's bill also provides more money for Amtrak, rail transit, and other questionable programs.

When compared with the trillion-dollar budget deficit, $10 billion seems like a drop in the bucket. But when much of that $10 billion is being used to actually reduce the quality of life for millions of urban Americans, the reasons to prevent the Democrat's bill from passing are doubled.

The 2013 Preserving the American Dream conference will feature Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky as a keynote speaker. As a noted fiscal conservative on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Representative Massie will give conference-goers an inside view of the debates over the federal budget and transportation bills.

Other speakers who will talk about transportation budgets and legislation include the Reason Foundation's Bob Poole, Maryland Public Policy Institute's Ron Utt,  transportation expert Ken Orski, and Ryan Bowley of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association. Speakers on land-use issues will include Stanley Kurtz on Obama's war on the suburbs; Tom Rubin on Plan Bay Area; Sam Staley on how the Tea Party changed planning in Florida; and Wendell Cox on how cities can become more prosperous.

October 4 is the deadline for making reservations at the Doubletree Hotel at the special conference rate of $139 a night. After that date, prices will nearly double. To get our rate when making hotel reservations, go to the Doubletree reservations web site, click on "add a special rate code," and enter "adc" under "Group code." To
register for the conference, use either the credit card/PayPal registration page or the pay-by-check registration
page.
 
 If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to [email protected].

Randal O'Toole
The Antiplanner
P. O. Box 76
Camp Sherman, Oregon 97730
541-595-1460
541-588-0518 cell

Hey Folks,

Over the past couple of decades, I have been at war with Urban Renewal and Tax Increment Financing, because these tax practices are a form of economic fascism.  One of the reasons the US Government stopped this practice on the federal level was because Urban Renewal caused "urban sprawl" or what is better known as "white flight"---all while trapping minorities and the poor in the projects that have become the inner cities of today.  There are several books written on the subject, but I recommend reading the works of the AntiPlanner.  Randal O'Toole from the CATO Institute is the foremost expert on central planning and URA's and he has written and researched articles on Cabela's and their manipulation of the taxing system in Oregon.  However,  I do not fault Cabela’s; in fact, they are just following a trend of operating in a market of compensation.  It is  the fault of government and the politicians who have purposely structured the tax code to benefit the wealthy....Rob T.