Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Would it surprise anyone if we knew that our previous Pickerington City government was untruthful to us all? Would it upset you if you knew that the city had information that their polices were failing but continued down their road of destruction of uncontrolled residential growth?

The wheels are coming off their cart. New truths will be revealed on April 20th. I would recommend everyone attend that council meeting.

By Forest Gump

Aw, c'mon Forest

Tell, tell, tell! What's the ''big thing'' Forest??

By Curious George the second

Bill Wright says it is his fault

Well, Forest let me guess this one. I think it has something to do with Bill Wright. In the Times-Sun yesterday he is quoted saying, ''if we don't expand the waste water plant the city would need to raise sewer user rates.''

In 2001 Bill Wright claimed that he city was well managed. It had a triple A bond rating and since we are growing we need to take on a little debt.

Remember Bill Wright has been the chairman of the Finance Committee and the President of Council for at least three years before the new city government took over 3 and half months ago.

Why would we need to raise user fees? Would it be because we will not have any tap fees to pay off our sewer debt? I have heard that we owe millions on the existing sewer plant.

So for those of you that visit this site regularly please remember back when this site was documenting the City give always to residential developers. Let me refresh your memories a bit.

I remember in 2000 we gave 9 properties on Hill Road south free sewer taps in exchange for annexing into the city. That also included a sewer line run down Hill Road to Busey road at a cost of around $200,000.

In October 2001 the City Council voted to allow Joyce Bushman to execute a pre-annexation agreement with 8185 farms on Pickerington Road and Joyce gave away nearly $1,000,000 in tap fees and other fees as an incentive for these property owners to annex into Pickerington.

Along Milnor Road in the same time frame they allowed Joyce to give away nearly $2,000,000 in tap fees in exchange for a pre-annexation agreement.

Please don't forget the ''D'' line going up behind the old Big Bear and I doubt we have received any tap fees from that line but that came out of the sewer fund.

How about the line to the Police Station? Wasn't that another $150,000 for that line? Was this for the Police Station or the previous property owner?

I think I forgot the huge sewer line going out Long Road and it doesn't have any one available to tap into it. I would have expected that line to cost us $300,000 or so.

I predict Bill Wright finally admits that the city if broke and he was a big factor in causing us to go broke. Remember he voted for everyone of the about expenses to our sewer system. I think we should attend the meeting just to see Bill come clean.







By Bubba

TIFs

Some of the sewer lines you mention they are trying to pay for with TIF money, one example is that D line behind Big Bear is slated to be paid down with money from the Cover TIF ( when it builds) the Cross Creeks TIF, and the Kohls store area. By the way the County already has service there so the whole thing was not needed a complete waste, but the county would have required the developer to pay for the line the city gives it away and diverts it to the school district and fire department to pay for with future badly needed commercial revenue.

When they executed these TIFs they forgot one thing, a letter of guarentee from the developers saying they would pay for all this infrastructure if the land does not develop within the ten year time frame of the TIF. So the city taxpayers are already holding the bag for the road to nowhere TIF.... for one Mister D Berry as this TIF has generated chump change to pay of more than a half a million dollar investment.

Look for more stories like this to occur as these TIFs mature before development occurs. You are holding the bag because the city leaders do not execute good TIFS or seek guarentees from any developer.