Great news out of Phoenix. Our friends at the Goldwater Institute prevailed in the Az Court of Appeals as the CityNorth subsidy of $97.4M was ruled to violate the Az Constitution.
Congratulations to Darcy Olsen, President & CEO and Clint Bolick & Carrie Ann Sitren and the Goldwater Institute in their outstanding victory over the large bureaucracy.
Art
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| For Immediate Release Contact: Dan Guerin December 23, 2008 (602) 462-5000 x235 | | | Appeals Court Voids CityNorth Subsidy Court says $97.4 million subsidy violates Arizona Constitution Phoenix--Today the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in favor of the Goldwater Institute, deciding the $97.4 million taxpayer subsidy given to the developer of the CityNorth shopping mall by the City of Phoenix is unconstitutional.
"Santa got a head start on Christmas this year," said Goldwater Institute litigation director Clint Bolick. "This ruling is an early present for the citizens of Phoenix." In 2007, the City of Phoenix provided the subsidy to the Klutznick Company for its CityNorth retail center in north Phoenix, despite a constitutional prohibition on corporate subsidies in Arizona. The Goldwater Institute's Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation filed suit in July 2007 claiming the agreement violated the Arizona Constitution's Gift Clause. Today the three-member Appeals Court agreed. In an opinion written by Judge Patrick Irvine, joined by Judge Winthrop and Judge Hall, the court said, "We think these payments are exactly what the Gift Clause was intended to prohibit." The Goldwater Institute represented six small business owners in the lawsuit: Meyer Turken, owner of Turken Industrial Properties, a small real estate development and management company; Kenneth D. Cheuvront, owner of Cheuvront Wine and Cheese Cafe and Cheuvront Construction; Zul Gilliani, who owns an ice cream shop at Paradise Valley Mall; James Iannuzo, who owns Sign-a-Rama; Kathy Rowe who owns Music Together; and Justin Shafer, owner of Hava Java. "This ruling vindicates this important provision of the Arizona Constitution," added Bolick. "No longer will cities and towns be able to give away our tax dollars to pay private businesses to pursue a profit. At a time of tight budgets, those tax dollars should be paying for essential services, not for corporate subsidies." The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters. | |
| Read the Az Republic story here
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/12/23/20081223citynorthonline.html
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4 comments:
Hooray!!! Several of us have been citing the AZ Constitution and the efforts of the Goldwater Institute to get the AZ Constitution's clauses in an effort to expose that our own giveaways to the likes of Vestar, Bourne Properties, Diamond, etc. are illegal. I don't know what can be done about past indiscretions relative to our Town but this should send a clear message to the developers: NO MORE TAXPAYER FUNDING OF YOUR PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT ENTERPRISES! We, the People, have had it. Finding new ways to increase income for the Town (if it is realistically possible) most certainly won't come by enticing business enterprises with subsidies by the taxpayer. Want to do business here in Oro Valley? Pay your own way!
In the posting that appeared directly below this one, Art noted some issues that were raised at the Dec. 17th council meeting regarding Oro Valley's budget status.
One item that jumps out specifically is that OUR SALES TAX REVENUE IS DOWN 8.8% from last year. Art asked what can we do to increase revenue?
At the same time, the GWI wins an appeal regarding the CityNorth subsidy. The AZ Court of Appeals has ruled that the taxpayer subsidy given to the developer is unconstitutional.
Well, then, that means that the taxpayer subsidy that Oro Valley gave to Vestar is also unconstitutional. Therefore it should be rendered null and void and OV can start collecting 100% of the sales tax revenue from Oro Valley Marketplace. This should solve the problem of our sales tax revenues being down by 8.8%.
Good point Cowgirl.
But,first things first. We'll all have to wait to see if the defendants in the case opt to appeal this decision to the Az Supreme Court, or take Clint Bolick's advice, and stop wasting taxpayer's money.
Once this decision is definitive, it can be determined if it will impact other subsidies, such as the four OV gave to retail developers to the tune of $50 million.
Wouldn't it be great if we wouldn't have to give OUR sales tax revenue to Vestar who "graced us" with that godforsaken marketplace anchored by Walmart!!!
Speaking of that "godforsaken marketplace," I said to a friend last night that I thought the entrance to the mall was so ugly and tacky looking that it looked like the entrance to a theme park. He replied that I was being too kind and that he thought it looked like the entrance to a concentration camp.
Vestar (and all the OV "officials" who approved this) sure have done us proud!
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