Month: March 2020

by William Skink

Critics of how Missoula (ab)uses Tax Increment Financing have been consistently depicted by local media and elected officials as being deficient in our understanding of this oh so complicated financial tool.

I submit the problem is the exact opposite: we DO understand how public money is being redirected from the general fund to an agency comprised of people we didn’t elect, who then decide how this public money is used.

Since last October’s announcement that Lord Checota was swooping in to save the River Front Triangle project from collapsing, and that it would take 16.5 million dollars in public money to make this 100 million dollar development project “pencil out”, a surge in public engagement around this topic quickly developed.

For a Mayor who deliberately moved up the vote on this latest proposed TIF handout to a wealthy developer in order to “get ahead of the rumors”, this new level of scrutiny was not appreciated.

After the Riverfront Triangle project got the green light from Council, another proposed condo development on 4th street caused even more members of the public to question how their elected leaders were choosing to interpret and implement Missoula’s growth plans (plans funded by public money to out-of-state New Urban pushers).

The controversial development projects and increased public scrutiny caused Engen and his cronies to lose control of the narrative around the (ab)use of TIF money. Then, in early February, everything got more serious when a decorated veteran and TIF critic, Brandon Bryant, was thrown in jail on a felony charge of threatening public officials.

Now the Missoulian is trying to do its part to get the gravy train chugging along like normal again with an op-ed in today’s rag, titled Missoula needs to get TIF discussion back on track. From the link:

There’s a growing disconnect between Missoula’s leadership and certain critics of an economic development tool known as tax increment financing.

Some residents feel strongly that local government should be doing more to reduce their property tax burden. While there is a lot of support for tapping into other sources of revenue — such as through a gas tax or a sales tax — others would prefer that the city start by cutting its spending. In general, this view is represented on the City Council by a minority coalition of councilors: Jesse Ramos, Sandra Vasecka and John Contos.

The Missoulian is trying to push TIF criticism into the liberal/conservative binary, which is problematic for a number of reasons, the main one being that critics of TIF aren’t simply property owning conservatives who seek to blithely cut taxes. Spend five minutes speaking with someone like Kevin Hunt, a very articulate member of the public, and you will quickly realize critics of TIF come from different political backgrounds.

The op-ed continues:

For their part, the majority of city councilors find themselves defending their budget decisions, and TIF in particular as a valuable economic tool that pays big public dividends, while also trying to dispel persistent misunderstandings about how it works.

The same arguments seem to flare up every time City Council votes to approve TIF funding for a major development. TIF opponents don’t feel heard. TIF supporters don’t feel understood. And around and around it goes.

What are these “persistent misunderstandings” the Missoulian is referring to? Being more specific here could help, you know, like, maybe, um, I don’t know, ACTUALLY ADDRESS those persistent misunderstandings.

I think the writers of this op-ed are adding to the confusion when they state that city councilors “find themselves defending their budget decisions“. The problem here is the fact that city councilors aren’t the ones actually making the decisions about where TIF money goes, the people hand-picked by the Mayor are making those decisions.

A lack of accountability with these unelected decision makers directing public money is one of the problems TIF critics like myself have pointed to, and it’s a problem the Missoulian is not doing its part to better explain to its readers.

Here’s more:

TIF is a complicated public finance method used by thousands of communities large and small throughout the United States. It has undeniable benefits, but also some real flaws. There’s a lot of room for misunderstanding and disagreement, and other cities besides Missoula have long grappled with how to address TIF’s various defects, both real and perceived.

But in Missoula, a long-simmering conflict went completely off the rails recently after one vocal city critic was jailed for making death threats in a video posted on YouTube this past December. The man, Brandon Bryant, is a U.S. Air Force veteran with a cadre of supporters working to free him — and worried that his arrest has a chilling effect on other critics of city leadership. Yet some members of City Council have themselves advocated on Bryant’s behalf, even as they acknowledge that threats of violence are inexcusable.

City Council’s next steps should be to form a united front and reassure the public, especially those with bones to pick, that councilors welcome civil criticism about TIF or any other municipal business. Then, they must join with the city’s administrative and economic leaders to get this discussion back on track. Public support for TIF will be key to making improvements that promise to mitigate concerns on both sides.

Things will not get “back on track” while Brandon Bryant sits in jail facing felony charges. Anyone who thinks that is a possibility at this point needs to get their head checked.

If the County Attorney’s office chooses to continue with the prosecution of Bryant, the conversation Councilors should be having is with their legal representation. They should be doing things like preparing to provide Bryant’s public defenders with all their relevant emails and preparing to testify, under oath, about how afraid they are of sticks, metaphors and words taken out of context by a third party.

But the Missoulian and all those poor developers who just can’t get things to pencil out sans public TIF sweetner are eager to get back to business as usual, so here are some helpful ideas the Missoulian is tossing out there to get the gravy train chugging along:

A 2018 report titled “Improving Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for Economic Development” provides an instructive overview of TIF programs from Chicago to California, and even includes a case study in Montana’s Jefferson County. The report, by David Merriman for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, examines the potential benefits and pitfalls of TIF, and concludes with a short list of recommendations.
…
One of the recommendations is to increase state oversight of local TIF programs. We don’t agree. Montana’s legislators, especially those in more rural communities that have no experience with TIF, have proven reluctant to allow for more flexibility — one of the recommendations in the report. Flexibility is key to freeing some of the money created by TIF district for public projects of arguably higher priority. In Missoula, housing affordability and energy sustainability are two areas where TIF has enormous potential to provide enormous public benefit.

No amount of flexibility will change the structural problems that urban renewal districts produce by redirecting the increase in tax revenue to the Missoula Redevelopment Agency instead of the general fund.

No amount of flexibility will change the fact that the people who get to decide what to do with this money were never vetted by the voting public, and if the public doesn’t agree with their decisions, what recourse do we have to replace them with someone better suited to ensure there is a public benefit to how TIF money is used?

After cheering on the few housing projects to receive TIF money in Missoula, the op-ed continues with this:

Awaiting action in the Legislature, the city continues to seek creative ways around these limitations. It has twice pulled money from TIF districts to bolster the general fund, and in doing so avoided raising property taxes. Indeed, TIF reduces the overall tax burden of property owners, because it creates money that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

This paragraph makes no sense to me. First, the admission that money can be put back into the general fund seems to indicate THERE IS flexibility to “bolster the general fund”.

But why did the general fund need bolstering in the first place? BECAUSE THE GENERAL FUND IS BEING STARVED OF TAX MONEY!!!

How can the op-ed writers then turn around and say “TIF reduces the overall tax burden of property owners because it creates money that otherwise wouldn’t exist?”

Maybe the thinking is that way down the road, when all these urban renewal districts sunset decades from now, the expanded tax base will finally allow our elected leaders to lower property taxes.

This is just trickle down economics in different packaging. It was bullshit when it was being peddled by Reagan, and it’s bullshit now, peddled by the Missoulian.

Here’s more bullshit:

For example, the Mercantile property was vacant for several years while various plans were proposed and found to be poor fits. Now it is home to a private development that includes a Marriott hotel, as well as several shops and restaurants. And it is surrounded by upgraded public infrastructure — $1.9 million in TIF reimbursements for new sidewalks, lights, trees and utility lines. That money comes from the increase in taxable value caused by an increase in property value.

And that increase in taxable value will be going to the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, NOT the general fund.

Similarly, the proposed $16.5 million in TIF for an event center at the Riverfront Triangle, which has been vacant for decades, would leverage the private investment in that property in order to provide for public facilities. Sure, the development could conceivably go forward without it — but these five riverfront acres are critical to connectivity in one of the busiest parts of Missoula, and it would be a shame to turn down an opportunity to dramatically increase public enjoyment of this key asset.

Yeah, a real goddamn shame to let this opportunity pass by. But the public will surely enjoy this key asset IF they can afford the price of a ticket and IF they can afford the price of a swanky hotel room and IF they can find parking and IF there are enough hourly wage slaves to serve them.

The Missoulian concludes with a final recommendation which amounts to putting out more readily digestible propaganda regarding how great the Missoula Redevelopment Agency is and how lucky we are that they are transparent with their information:

Another of the recommendations of the TIF report involves providing “extensive, easily accessible information about TIF use, revenues, and expenditures,” and Missoulians can take pride in the fact that the Missoula Redevelopment Agency is as transparent with this information as it’s possible to be. Its revenues and expenditures — and whole lot more documentation — are readily available online, and regularly updated.

The challenge is in distilling all this data for those who don’t want to spend all day going over minute details.

It will be challenging for the Missoulian to help the Engen regime return the pesky public back to a state of uninformed complacency.

Stay tuned…

by William Skink

daily I look to the sky
for the frogs
locusts swarm Africa
it can’t be long

until the waters of the Blackfoot
run red as sin
while eager believers
expect rapture to begin

new signs at work
show how to cough
the anxiety ratchets
a few ticks toward a top

where the cap rattles violently
as pressure builds
Seattle’s infected
and question marks kill

have they weaponized lungs?
found a use for our voice?
turning breath into bullets?
so easily deployed?

if some nation claims
too quick a vaccine
deploy some discernment
to know what that means

I mean Jesus! in Georgia
they etched it in stone
breed responsibly, rabbits
or we’ll CoVid your home

by William Skink

Media criticism is more important now than ever, especially when so many members of more traditional media platforms have overtly chucked out any vestige of objectivity to fight whatever threat they use to rationalize their decision to let agendas take priority over journalistic objectivity.

The Missoula Current, an online cheerleader of development and gentrification in Missoula that masquerades as a news platform, has just compromised its disguise as an objective source of news by doing that thing you’re not supposed to do as a reporter or journalist: become the news.

When you click the link you will be taken to the latest installment of The Outer Limits reporting on the Brandon Bryant Affair. Their phenomenal coverage has included taking issue with how Martin Kidston, the creator of the Missoula Current, has reported on recent developments surrounding escalating tensions at public city council meetings.

The Outer Limits crew must have scored a direct hit, metaphorically speaking of course, with this post outing Martin Kidston as Missoula’s Gomer Pyle. This piece came on the heels of my contact with Martin Kidston after he claimed in an article about a City Council meeting that an individual made a public comment that allegedly included an assertion the individual also made a threatening video.

Kidston removed that part of the quote after the individual contacted Kidston and contested he said anything to that effect, a fact that is easily proven by watching the publicly available footage of the public meeting. For some odd reason Kidston didn’t take the step of reviewing this footage before possibly defaming a member of the public for allegedly doing something very similar to what Brandon Bryant is being accused of doing.

This is the backstory to the breaking news that Martin Kidston has successfully retaliated against the Outer Limits by aggressively pressuring KBGA to kick them off the air.

You will no longer be hearing The Outer Limits from 2-4pm on Saturday afternoons. If you would like to contact Gomer Kidston to let him know how much you appreciate his bullying tactics against his critics, here is his contact info:

Now, to shift gears slightly, I want to highlight another reason to NOT consider the Missoula Current a credible, objective source of local news, and that’s a recent blog post the Missoula Current asked Don Pogreba if it could reproduce about…IRONY WARNING…Fake News.

Long time readers of this blog know Don Pogreba is a partisan hack who rebranded his blog a few years ago to appear like a real journalistic endeavor instead of the partisan site it actually is. I wrote about that transformation of “Intelligent Discontent” into “The Montanan Post” here, including how each post USE to conclude with this appeal for money:

If you appreciate our efforts to hold Montana Republicans accountable and the independent journalism here at The Montana Post, please consider supporting our work with a small pledge. (emphasis added)

After bringing attention to this little tidbit of fake news–that The Montana Post solicited money on the false claim it produced “independent journalism”– Pogreba wisely changed it to this:

While still not totally accurate, it’s better than pretending they are independent journalists. Right, Don?

Now, I don’t want you to just take my word that The Montana Post is not considered a credible news source, so here is a quote from Rob Saldin from an edition of Montana Public Radio’s Campaign Beat a few years back. The emphasis is mine:

You know, there is one other element of this ad that I think is notable and that is pretty deceptive, actually. When it accuses Gianforte of gutting Medicare to enrich himself – which of course is not how he would describe his position on Medicare – but leaving that aside, the visual you see is of an apparent newspaper headline that reads, Gianforte guts Medicare to give himself massive tax break. Well, the source for that headline is the Montana Post, right? Which sounds like a credible news outlet, but it’s not. The Montana Post is one of the state’s most prominent political blogs. It’s authored by Don Pogreba, a progressive writer based in Helena. (Editor’s Note: The specific post in question was authored by Nathan Kosted) And his blog is very well regarded for what it is, and it has a wide following among those interested in Montana politics, but it operates just in a very different space than a newspaper that’s committed to objectivity and to nonpartisanship. But this ad presents it as an authoritative, dispassionate, journalistic source. Not quite.

Maybe Kidston doesn’t know that this “voice” he’s lending his platform to in order to call out “fake news” has itself been accused of misrepresenting its content as “independent journalism” when it is, instead, partisan political attacks and agenda-driven media criticism. I would text Gomer a link, but after reading the Outer Limits post, I’m not sure I want an alleged former marine coming after me with all his rage.

Hmmm, an angry Veteran who seems to be acting in a threatening manner, maybe the County Attorney’s office should consider throwing Gomer Kidston in jail in order to keep our community safe?

If you are interested in what entities financially support the Missoula Current through advertising, there is a handy list below. I’d like to specifically highlight Mountain Line, because it gets public money and has to adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This is from Mountain Line’s website:

The United States Department of Transportation ensures full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, by prohibiting discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color or national origin in the provisions of benefits and services resulting from federally assisted programs and activities. Any person, who believes the Missoula Urban Transportation District (MUTD) has violated his /her Title VI protections, should contact MUTD at 406-543-8386 or email info@mountainline.com. MUTD has also developed a policy to assist individuals who are Limited English Proficient (LEP). Translation services, in order to assist LEP individuals, shall be made available to MUTD’s customers upon request. MUTD’s Title VI policy, complaint procedures and LEP Plan shall be made available upon request by contacting the MUTD at the above-noted information. For Federal Title VI information, please contact the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Region 8 at 720-963-3300. Federal Title VI information, including filing complaints, can also be accessed on the FTA web site at: http://www.fta.dot.gov.

Now, here’s the list of entities I would encourage anyone in Missoula to consider boycotting:

Stockman Bank

Lambros Realty

Southgate Mall

1st Security Bank

Clearwater Credit Union

Missoula Market Watch

Sterling CRE Advisors

Birkshire Hathaway (Home Services)

INK Realty Group

Annelise Hedahl Realty

Mountain Line

Missoula’s Office City

Contract Design Associates

104.5 The U Radio

103.3 The Trail

Missoula Community Theater

Fish Window Cleaning

Painting With A Twist

by William Skink

This country is not ready for what’s coming.

A decade of central bank intervention to prop up financial markets with low-interest liquidity is going to be undone by the Coronavirus. Wall Street is finally waking up to this harsh reality, and you should to.

A myriad of systemic flaws will be exposed by the global grip of fear and panic now taking hold. Globalized supply chains are already being disrupted and the transportation sector will be hit hard. Then there’s our lovely health care system…

Here in Missoula, the economic pain will start being felt as the weather warms and tourists don’t arrive in droves like they normally do.

Missoula’s economy, like the nation’s, is a house of cards. All the bonds passed in recent years to fund parks, schools and a spanking new library are predicated on continued economic growth. What if that growth is halted by the Coronavirus?

At the end of January, this is how the economic outlook for Missoula was being reported:

“The biggest contributor to overall growth has been expansion in the local economy’s finance and business services industries, which reflects strong tech growth as well as financial institutions serving residential and commercial real estate markets,” Barkey said.

That means booming Missoula tech companies like Cognizant-ATG, Fintech and traditional lawyers, accountants and engineering consultants, fall under those two main categories.

Barkey said the trends will persist as Missoula continues to outpace the state.

“Looking ahead, we expect to see a continuation of growth exceeding the state average, winding down a bit as the pace of the economic expansion cools in the coming years,” he said.

I don’t expect to see a sunny economic forecast like this again in my lifetime.

Over the decades Missoula has transformed from an extraction economy (mostly timber) to an economy that relies heavily on tourism.

Public money has been used to bring hotels downtown. The airport is expanding to bring more tourists in by air. The argument for a gas tax and/or a sales tax is based on it snatching money from those precious tourists who are supposedly going to help dig us out of the housing crisis we are in.

What happens if the tourists don’t come?

Using myself as an anecdotal example, there is no way I’m taking my family on the summer trip we had been planning to Washington State. And one of my co-workers is cancelling their family trip to Disney Land. How many people like us are cancelling trips?

I’ve also been thinking about how the Coronavirus will most likely come to Missoula, if it’s not already here. My thinking is along the lines of what types of populations are mobile. I’m explaining my thought process because what I’m about to say might be controversial.

I think either the seasonal transient population and/or the wealthy vacation home population are the two most likely types of people to spread Coronavirus to our community.

I am not saying homeless people are diseased, let me just state that as clearly as I can. The seasonal transient population is a small subset of the larger population of those without homes. Like the very wealthy, they are not as tied down to a geographic location.

However it arrives, if and when it does, prepare for an increase in irrational behavior.

  

by William Skink

It’s been over two months since Sean Stevenson died from a physical altercation at the Poverello Center in Missoula.

Today it’s being reported that the case is now in the hands of the County Attorney’s office:

Law enforcement has turned a death investigation from an incident at the Poverello Center in January over to the Missoula County Attorney’s Office for review, police authorities said Wednesday.

Sean Stevenson, 45, died days after an apparent fight at the Poverello Center on Jan. 3. Johnny Lee Perry, 29, was initially arrested after the incident but was released without charges as law enforcement investigated his self-defense claim. Both had been staying at the shelter.

On Wednesday, Missoula Police Sgt. Travis Welsh said the investigation had been turned over to the County Attorney’s Office for review.

This case continues to baffle me, especially when you look at how Stevenson’s VIOLENT DEATH was treated by authorities compared to the alleged VERBAL THREATS Brandon Bryant made on his vlog.

The assailant who “defended himself” until Stevenson died, Johnny Lee Perry, has been in and out of jail several times since that fateful night at the end of December.

Meanwhile, Brandon Bryant continues sitting in jail, despite four City Council members calling for his release.

The Missoulian article ends with this:

The Missoula County Attorney’s chief criminal prosecutor, Matt Jennings, was not immediately available for comment.

I guess Jennings was too busy figuring out how to prosecute his political prisoner to talk to the media about the likelihood of charges being filed in this “death investigation”.