When I ran for city council -- just months ago -- I mentioned this tax break for PNC many times. I always talked about it. Meanwhile, the others on the campaign trail generally did not -- except for two others.
Jeff Kock, the eventual winner of the race, never mentioned tax breaks. He didn't have much to say about how the city council people always vote to give away our public money to big projects that fail to help the city and fail to make good financial sense.
Jeff Kock must have been told how to vote on this tax break by others -- such as the mayor.
I'd love to lobby new Mayor, Bob O'Connor, and get him to VETO the TIF to PNC. It is something that was hatched by Tom Murphy and Ed Rendell. The state (Pennsylvania) already gave PNC $30-million for this same building. That was a 'grant' and that is also illegal, but that is another story.
O'Connor won't veto this building.
Build the darn building -- but do it on its own merits with its own money -- not taxpayer funding.
The PNC Plaza is getting more than $1-million per floor. The citizens and taxpayers are getting robbed.
Council clears way for PNC tower work to begin City Council gave final approval to an $18 million subsidy for a new PNC Financial Services Group tower planned for Fifth Avenue.
I would NOT have voted to provide this Tax Break to the rich corporation. I would have voted to protect the taxpayer money -- not give it away. I would have voted to keep the funding in the schools, not help the profits of a downtown based business.
Furthermore, I would have been on council giving serious questions to those on the URA, the mayor's office, PNC, and others about this deal. I would have attacked the reasoning from every angle. I would have made a case as to how the $18-million could have been spent in other ways.
I worry -- why do we give money to build a hotel downtown when places like The Hilton -- are not performing as they need to perform. And, why undercut that long-time business with a subsidy to bring in another competitor. Next up -- see more requests for money to be spent on hotels downtown to prop up the others.
When things are not fair -- people walk away. The Hilton, Doubletree, Mariott, Wm. Penn and others from downtown to South Side to North Side -- can all smell the foul stentch of bad deals.
City Council Member Bill Peduto voted no on the deal. He was the only one. Good for Peduto. But, Peduto endorsed Bruce Kraus in the city council race I was in recently. Kraus would have voted WITH the TAXBREAK and NOT with Peduto. Kraus is all about doing big corporate welfare deals too. Kraus is a Chamber guy. Kraus would not have stood with Peduto in opposition on things that really mattered.