How is the City benefitting from the outlets?
Outlet malls paying off?
“Hey Red Phone, I was out at the outlet malls this weekend shopping with about a gazillion other people. I remember when we were talking about the outlets, and how we were going to get all the sales tax from the outlets and it was really going to make our city great. I was wondering, other than just paying for expanded city services to cover the additional development what have we really gotten from the outlet malls from all that sales tax and all that congestion that we have? It doesn’t seem like there’s been any new parks that have been paid for by the outlet malls sales tax, no new activities that I know of. I was just curious and thought it would be good for Gilroy to know where that money went, thanks.”
Red Phone:
Hi caller. That’s a brain buster.
Sort of.
The outlet malls and new shopping centers have indeed boosted the city’s bottom line in recent years, helping keep Gilroy in the black while some neighbors went broke. The millions of dollars that come in from sales tax revenues – $12.6 million in fiscal year 2004-2005 – get channeled into the city’s General Fund, a pool of money largely used to pay salaries and benefits for public employees.
While city leaders occasionally siphon money from the general fund – $115,000 here, $390,000 there – for legal settlements or to help with shortfalls on construction projects, the vast majority of money for new parks and other so-called public infrastructure comes from fees levied on development projects. In the case of parks, the city would have to draw down on its public facilities impact fee to build new sites or upgrade old ones (And to set the record straight, the city opened three new neighborhood parks in the last year).
But whether you’re talking about the $22 million reserve fund or the tens of millions of dollars in impact fees, it all comes down to priorities. If you want your city leaders to spend more on parks, start writing letters to your local council members. If you want more youth sports programs, tell your friends to call the mayor. Let your voice be heard, dear caller.
red phone correction:
Dear callers,
The Red Phone got something wrong. A few weeks ago, we responded to a concern about whether a local construction contractor drawing water from city fire hydrants was paying for the utility usage. At the time, City Transportation Engineer Don Dey said the contractor should have a water meter hooked up to the hydrant to measure usage, and that residents should report contractors to City Hall who do not have meters.
After further review, Dey called back to say that the standard practice in Gilroy is to have local contractors pay in advance for water usage. The city’s engineering department calculates fees using a formula that accounts for the size of the site, the type of work being performed, etc.
“In pre-paying, they don’t have a water meter hooked up to the fire hydrants,” Dey said. “My understanding is that they pay quite a bit of money for the water they use.”
Well, good callers, now that we have the hot topic of water use clarified, Red Phone looks forward to finding another hot topic to investigate for you.
