Month: February 2022

by Travis Mateer

On Friday I wrote about the Director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, Ellen Buchanan, and the result of the $46,000 paid to Spider McKnight’s Six Pony Hitch consulting firm to develop a communication plan. The supposed reason Buchanan needs this communications plan is because she doesn’t think she’s got the communication skills to explain to the stupid public why MRA’s tax incentives are good and the critics are just dumb haters.

After writing that post, another article from Gomer Kidston about MRA’s goals for Urban Renewal District II came out, but WITHOUT some critical context, which I’ll remedy with today’s post. Here we go!

First, my favorite part of Gomer’s article is the part where new City Council members are framed as being ignorant about how Tax Increment Financing works. If there was an award for condescending reporting, Gomer would win without a doubt. From the link (emphasis mine):

“Most of the projects prioritized have been talked about for years,” said MRA Director Ellen Buchanan. “What we’re trying to do is look at what happens over the next nine years of the district and what projects need to be at the top of the list. A number of them are big public projects that won’t happen without tax increment financing, and there will be some bonding required.”

The effort has the full support of city leadership, though some members of the City Council are new and don’t fully understand how tax increment works, what its benefits are and how it expands the city’s tax base.

I have highlighted two parts of this quote because there is a VERY important detail being left out of this entire article, and it has to do with what happens when new debt is taken on within an Urban Renewal District. It’s interesting that Gomer Kidston is framing new council members as being essentially dumb when it comes to TIF policy while, at the same time, omitting this little detail from his reporting.

When you understand that taking on debt through a bond can trigger a little provision that extends the life of an Urban Renewal District, Gomer’s article appears not just thin on relevant information, but downright manipulative when you consider the headline of the article: From housing to river bridge, MRA sets goals for last 9 years of central Missoula district.

Again, I’ve added emphasis to draw BOLD attention to what Gomer Kidston is doing here by allowing the Ellen Buchanan show to pretend like there are ONLY 9 years left for all these projects to be completed. That is bullshit, and I suspect Gomer Kidston knows this, because the other option is that Gomer HIMSELF doesn’t understand how tax increment works, which I guess is entirely possible.

To extricate readers of this blog from any lingering ignorance they may be experiencing as a result of reading Gomer’s shitty reporting, here is the critical context he’s leaving out from a two year old KGVO article on Urban Renewal District III and the consequence of bonding the pedestrian bridge. The dispenser of this TIF wisdom is former council person, Jesse Ramos.

“That TIF money is only supposed to be used for 15 years, so that district was created in 2000 and was supposed to sunset after 15 years,” Ramos explained, “but there’s a small provision within Montana Code Annotated which states that if you settle debt within the district, it extends the district out the length of the bond for a maximum of 40 years total. In September of 2015, the city council sold $5 million worth of bonds for that walking bridge, [built with] TIF funds, and extended that district out until the year 2040. So, all the growth in that tax base in going to be skimmed off the top until the year 2040.”

So, in summary, Gomer Kidston is claiming that new councilors don’t understand Tax Increment Financing while simultaneously omitting critical information that will ensure his readers remain ignorant of what the Ellen Buchanan show is setting up here with Tax Increment Financing and the alleged “requirement” that “some bonding” be used to accomplish these projects.

This terrible reporting is a great example of Martin “Gomer” Kidston’s role as a propagandist for GREAT LEADER and his cabal of cronies, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. I got a nice comment the other day expressing dismay that a little blogger like me is where this person has to come for a more accurate assessment of what the fuck is going on here in Zoom Town. Here’s a portion of that nice comment from L. Nelson:

I am perplexed that this is the only place that I can find documented information about what the hell is going on in my home town. We used to have a newspaper, and I read Currents, but when it counts, I come here. That is a sad, sad statement. Nothing personal. Keep it coming.

Oh, I will MOST DEFINITELY keep it coming with daily posts, a weekly podcast, a documentary about Tax Increment Financing, poems, songs, and more, including additional insights provided by informed commenters who help me understand what’s happening here.

As always, thank you for reading.

by Travis Mateer

Well, the verdict is in. After first getting paid $46,000 dollars all the way back in August of 2020, Spider McKnight and her Six Pony Hitch consulting firm has proposed a solution to Ellen and Company not speaking good.

What creative fix took two years to come up with, you ask? Hire a communication specialist. That’s it. That’s the fucking plan.

The Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s board has approved a recommendation to hire a full-time communications specialist to engage the public about the millions of dollars worth of tax increment financing projects the agency approves every years.

On Thursday, the board voted unanimously to recommend that the position be included in the agency’s fiscal year 2022 budget and directed staff to initiate the hiring process. The position will be advertised with a starting salary range of $52,000 to $78,000 per year.

When you read further in the article, you get a little more information about the fact there were other ideas out there.

Last year, the agency allocated $46,000 for a strategic communications plan. The consultant hired for that plan, Christina “Spider” McKnight, made a series of recommendations to the board. One of the recommendations was to hire a communications specialist.

Cool recommendation, Christina. Kinda like the nickname I thought was your real name. Something else that’s cool is the campaign electronic reporting system that shows this Spidery recipient of Tax Increment Financing once provided a strategic political donation to GREAT LEADER and other members of the GREAT party leading Missoula into a bright future!

Well done, Spider McKnight! I’m so glad people like you get tens of thousands of TAX dollars and TWO WHOLE YEARS to help not-good-speaking Ellen Buchanan arrive at the grand vision of hire another government-paid communication specialist.

Just another glorious day in Zoom Town! Have a great weekend, peasants!

by Travis Mateer

I finally took a look at a video, first brought to my attention by JC in this post about the LifeGuard Group and the $30,000 they recently received from Town Pump to combat human trafficking.

As a red-blooded American male in my prime, something inside me began stirring as I watched the video. What could it be? Was a noble WHITE KNIGHT emerging from my inner depths?

This screen shot is from that video promoting the Crooked Tree Ranch, an alleged “safe house” for victims of human trafficking to kick back and relax in the lap of luxury. Remote luxury. In the middle of the woods with nothing but WHITE KNIGHTS around to keep the scary monsters away.

Doesn’t that nice?

Yes, this young woman is VERY happy. But how can she EVER show her gratitude? Especially after those scary monsters left her with nothing but the skillset of pleasing others with her body? Wait…

No, these knights are wearing the armor of GOD, so I’m sure professional boundaries will be honored, no matter HOW badly these poor victims might assure their saviors that giving thanks and praise for being saved can take MANY forms.

Think I’m reading too much into this? Watch the 5:44 video first. I’ll wait.

“You know I’ve spent a lot of time in the alleyways, the back streets, the dark corners of a lot of cities across America and even abroad…” begins Lowell Hochhalter, the head honcho at LifeGuard Group and the chaplain for the Sheriff’s Department. Really, Lowell? In what capacity?

The questions I have about this group continue to mount as the headlines continue to claim good things are being done with money from Town Pump and the Gianforte Foundation. From the link:

The 40 acres, 9,000 square foot home in Western Montana will house about 6 women, a live-in house manager, and will include emergent rooms for when emergency situations arise. The Hochhalter’s anticipate it will be full as soon as they are ready to open.

“One of our survivors came onto the property just to look at it for the first time she stepped out of her car, tears filled her eyes and she said, ‘I feel such peace,'” said Tami Hochhalter. “And that’s exactly what was our dream and our desire from the beginning.”

I’m glad Tami Hochhalter thinks a nice ranch in the middle of the woods is what survivors of human trafficking need. I hope the Hochhalter’s have a lot of gas money and a sturdy vehicle to make sure THEIR survivors can connect with services to, you know, actually PROCESS the fucking trauma of being exploited for profit by predators.

The article goes on to describe a disturbing disconnect between what these survivors ACTUALLY need vs. what these white knights ASSUME they need.

It is a place where survivors of human trafficking can come find peace and begin to think about their dreams. But most importantly it is a place where family is being redefined.

“And she told us ‘Lowell and Tami, you have got to make this a home,'” said Tami Hochhalter. “She said ‘for one thing, I don’t know home. I don’t know mom. I don’t know Dad. My parents sold me into the life.’”

A nice house with well-meaning people (I hope) who think they can surrogate-parent victims of trafficking into some kind of godly tranquility is NOT a replacement for professional counseling. Without setting clear boundaries during the early stages of a victim fleeing an abusive situation, bad things will happen.

Once again I’ll reference my time working at the homeless shelter to drive “home” what I’m talking about.

I distinctly remember being in the tiny office at the Poverello Center with my superior when a woman we had been prepared to arrive entered the facility. I had been told some details about her abuse, and it was horrific.

Because of that history of abuse we required all staff, especially male staff, to be extra aware of their interactions, and to NEVER be in a room alone with her. After that first interaction, once she had left the room, my boss pointed out some of the sexual signaling the woman had been displaying, probably most of it unconsciously.

The best-of-intentioned people, without being aware of these dynamics, can get themselves into trouble quickly.

But I was just trying to HELP her, they shout in defense. And maybe that’s how it starts, but that’s not where it will end if safeguards aren’t in place.

Since I’m an English Major, math is not my strong suit. Also, I’m feeling a little lazy right now, but it might be interesting to count how many female victims are displayed in this video vs. male ones. And the ages are also interesting to make note of. If we are to aim to be inclusive in representing the range of trafficking victims, why no teenage boys? Is that not the kind of demographic that lures volunteers and donations?

I don’t know, despite a few different attempts, this guy isn’t getting back to me.

And that’s ok, because what I’m after now is the job description of the chaplain, which I hope the Missoula Sheriff’s HR department can help me with.

While I wait for that email, I’ll be taking Zoom Chron on the road for a special report, to be posted Sunday, I hope.

So stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

I don’t have time for a proper post this morning, so instead I’ll share a song I made for GREAT LEADER. I hope you find it a proper offering to our leaders GREATNESS!

our leader is a feeder of the engine hopes
but combustication public hates his fat man joke
strolling with his Ginny and her H.G. gramps
1919 vintage above the timber tramps

Donnie T provided the opportunity zone, can
cryogenic tech preserve our mayoral dome?
where is the statute our GREAT LEADER deserves?
under a long bridge on a street named Reserve?

if you lack condo you simply lack faith
work harder, you peasants, for that reflective space
as a believer I have several you can rent
our leader is a Superman and, by day, Clark Kent

if you are a doubter there's nothing I can do
love of leader lives like a shrimp in cheese fondue
if you want a taste, or groovy strain to smoke, give
the strangler of the Top Hat, Nick Checota, a poke

by Travis Mateer

I’m so happy to have my tech issues wonderfully and expertly patchwork’d so that I can bring you this long conversation with Doug McKenty, a podcaster and writer hailing (for the time being) from Northern California.

The topic is an unfortunate feud that both Doug and I are saddened by and would like to see MORE dialogue around, and that’s the feud between Derrick Broze and Alison McDowell. I hope this can add to a constructive conversation about the ever-shifting crypto-terrain and the tech that fuels it.