Shot in the Dark

Public-Private Partnerships

A friend of the blog writes:

Neighborhood Facebook page was discussing what will happen when non-profits are no longer paying ROW fees in St Paul. I questioned exactly what our property taxes, which continue to rise, are paying for if the ROW assessments are paying for basic city services. Now, I see- people are paying higher taxes which then go into grants to small businesses to hire city contractors to pay workers double wages to do shoddy work. 

Read the whole thing; it’s a classic contractor horror story combined with a classic incompetent government story.

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Mitch Berg

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10 responses to “Public-Private Partnerships”

  1. kel Avatar
    kel

    government workers aka public employee unions (AFSCME, MAPE, SEIU – the majority of the St Paul pop.) elect a city council that funnels taxpayer funds to private employer unions, yeah I guess that could be called a public-private partnership. Sucks not to have your snout in that trough.

  2. shakingmyhead Avatar
    shakingmyhead

    The thing that really shocks me is that Minneapolis isn’t doing ROW assessments. Think of all the tax money being left on the table!

  3. bikebubba Avatar
    bikebubba

    That’s not incompetent government. That’s corruption a la Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed.

  4. Deplorable Swiftee Avatar
    Deplorable Swiftee

    Interesting article in the Strib. Somalis have learned that they can demand cash money directly from the reprobate Democrats, and they are demanding a pile.

    http://www.startribune.com/somali-nonprofit-coalition-readies-to-lobby-mn-legislature/398377021/

    Wards of the state make great lobbyists; they got nothing to do and can be on-call all day to show up to complain.

  5. Joe Doakes Avatar
    Joe Doakes

    I live in St. Paul. I get an annual Special Assessment for right-of-way maintenance. That’s in case they ever chip seal my street.

    I also get an annual storm-sewer assessment. That’s in case they ever repair the curb-and-gutter.

    I also get an annual alley maintenance assessment. That’s for when the dump truck drives down the alley and the maintenance guy throws a shovel full of cold mix in the potholes.

    Seems to me there was another one, too, for street lighting?

    For a house valued at $180,000, my property tax bill is $3,600 per year. None of the special assessments are included in my property taxes, they are all add-ons to be paid in addition to that figure.

  6. Deplorable Swiftee Avatar
    Deplorable Swiftee

    Joe, when I moved to real America, my net tax bill dropped by 1/3 in one step. The city picks up not only my trash, but branches, shrub cuttings and bags of leaves; just pile them on the curb. A special assessment for street maintenance would start a riot.

    I still own a house in Minnesota because I didn’t want to take a $20K hit on my equity. Over the past 5 years, the taxes on that house have gone up $800, to pay for an inflatable sports arena and the Robert street work. We have decided that house is gone next spring, come what may.

    Reprobate leftists like to say we’re paying for “quality of life”. That is bullshit; we are paying to give reprobate leftists, looters, moochers and wards of the state imported from third world shit holes a high quality life.

    Living among people that have as much suspicion of government as I have adds 100% more to my quality of life as government ever did.

  7. Mitch Berg Avatar
    Mitch Berg

    DG,

    I said this last week: you need to respond to this question, and respond to it in detail, before I’m going to entertain any more of your comments.

    Until you respond, and then respond to the responses, your comments will be held in moderation.

    It’s your choice; discuss and support one of your many baseless claims to the point where you realize and admit you’re wrong (or, who knows, maybe until you convince us you’re right), or…don’t, and have your comments held in moderation til further notice.

    Your choice. It makes absolutely no difference to me which you choose

  8. kel Avatar
    kel

    mitch the link to “Grassroots Win!” is broken I get a 500 server error

  9. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Swiftee, ditto.

  10. Loren Avatar
    Loren

    Like Joe Doakes, I also live in St. Paul. And have lived in the same house there for 25 years. In that time, I think our alley has had some patch thrown in potholes 3 or 4 times. It may have been chip-sealed once, but I am not sure about that. I have to go around and collect from the other neighbors on the block to pay for the snow plowing of the alley. (Private contractor that gets alley plowed by 7am on snowy nights, comes back if it snows more that day.)

    St. Paul is using the alley maintenance to Socialize the garbage collection (or would this be fascist?) Because of the horrible!!!!!! wear and tear the garbage trucks supposedly do to the alley. This despite the evidence of 25 years of the alleys requiring very little maintenance.

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