Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

Turns out that the city council, acting as the HRA board, has allocated “$35,825 to settle costs related to the site. The HRA acquired the property from the Selby Area Community Development Corporation (SACDC) in December in exchange for $50,000.00 that the corporation owed the city. Since then, city staff learned there were delinquent taxes on the property.”

Why is it that the government can’t get a budget to balance? Could it be incompetence like this? They accept a pig in a poke, in payment of the last pig in a poke? They took a property in payment of a debt without first checking to see if it’s encumbered? Morons. I could see that with granny who takes the neighbor’s lot not knowing better. But this is the city, with it’s nearly limitless resources and unlimited access to the property records.

Bet you a nickel some of those delinquent taxes were special assessments for sidewalk shoveling levied by . . . the city itself!

Joe Doakes, Como Park

It’s Saint Paul.  The left hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.  This is no right hand.