- New IRS regulations
- will make it harder for special districts to borrow money tax-free
- IRS says special districts are benefitting by a tax rgulations meant for cities, not for special districts
- Special District Growth
- 39,000 special districts in the U.S.
- spending more revenue than all cities in the U.S. combined
- Changing the defintion of local government
- IRS standard is any 1 of these 3 makes an entity a municipality:
- Does it have the power of taxation?
- Does it…
- IRS standard is any 1 of these 3 makes an entity a municipality:
Category Archives: local government trend
Private Property Rights: 1st City in US Addresses Blight By Treating the Source.
What city is addressing blight by “treating the source?” Memphis
How much blight is in Memphis? 16% of housing stock is vacant
What are the 3 goals of the Memphis Neighborhood Blight Elimination Charter?
- economic development
- quality of life
- coordination among exisiting local governmental agencies that tackle blight
What entities are involved with the Memphis Nighborhood Blight Elimination Center?
- nine government agencies
- nonprofits
- private businesses
What were tangential…
TRENDING. INTERIM. SHARING ECONOMY. Private property rights. Short Term Rentals.
Which city is moving forward to regulate short term rentals after “animal house” complaints? Chicago
What regulations are being considered?
- Commerical regulation for any property rented out for more than 90 days within 1 year
- 4% surcharge to online rentals with revenue dedicated to homeless services
Chicago may regulate Airbnb home sharing amid ‘Animal House’-style complaints | Chicago Tribune
7 Texas Counties. For Private Property Rights. Against Eminent Domain.
Which County Commissioners voted to oppose Texas Central Rail high speed rail plan? Navarro County Commissioners
The number of counties staking claim to official opposition: 7
The basis for the opposition in Navarro County? Oppose the granting of eminent domain authority to the private high speed rail
County Judge names legislators who support the County Commissioner opposition resulation: Representative Byron Cook and Senator Brian Birdwell
Lege TREND. Eminent Domain Expansion. Special Districts.
Which state is considering expanding the use of eminent domain? California
Why the push to expand eminetn domain use? To clean up blighted buildings through special districts called Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts
What do these Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts do with eminent domain? Combat urban blight with urban renewal projects
What does California Assembly Bill 2492 do? Expands the number of local governments that can access Enhanced infrastructure…
Tornado Recovery Leads to Eminent Domain.
How did a tornado recovery lead to eminent domain? To clean up tornado damage, a town undertook widening the main thoroughfare in a low income neighborhood
How was this project funded? Federal Funds
Were the federal government or the local government tasked with implementing the plan to widen the thoroughfare? Local Government
How well was eminent domain received at the city council? According to 1 city council member, “” I have no appetite to vote for eminent domain takings,”
Legal Trend at SCOTUS: Regulatory Takings. 3 Key Informed Intel.
What case before the U.S. Supreme Court is about regulatory takings? Murr v. Wisconsin, No. 15-214
What happened to the property owner to spark this lawsuit?
- Property owners owned 2 adjacent, but separate, 1 acre lots
- A County Ordinance prohibits the sale or development of adjacent lots, if 1 lot is less than an acre
- The Property Owners said it prevented them from enjoying and using their land, and prohibited the sale of 1 of the acres
- The Court said, we have to consider both lots as…
Interim Sharing Economy. Property Rights. Deal Made in Western Legislature. 4 Key Elements of the Legislation. Read the Bill. Strategize Accordingly.
Which state legislature is negotiating a deal on home sharing taxes? California
Which tax options were rejected? a statewide system for collecting tourist taxes
What does SB 1102 require?
- Sharing company (AirBnB, HomeAway, et. al) would collect a local hotel tax
- Deals with local governments would not be preempted, allowing for local government opt out
- compliance would occur with the state controller
- retains privacy for property owners, who would not be disclosed to the…
INTERIM. Editorial. TX City Changes Eminent Domain Process. Gets it Right in 3 ways.
What good acts did Dallas City Council do on eminent domain?
- After hearing from a constituent that could not afford to relocate based on the city’s offer, the city paused the project to find a better solution.
- City Council members also forced a review of the city’s eminent domain procedures
- City Council returned to a 2 step eminent domain process.
- Step 1: Try to reach an agreement with the land owner
- Step 2: When no agreement is reached, City Council must separately approve eminent…
INTERIM. 2 Problems. Property Rights. 1 West Houston TIRZ.
The Memorial City TIRZ, a special district, in located in west Houston, is geerating attention for these structural and operational problems:
- The TIRZ was created in 1999 by Mayor Brown
- It called for “qualified neighborhood residents” to be the board members
- Spring Branch West Super Neighborhood says appointees aren’t being vetted through them, and they have no representation on the board
- Flooding sparked a lawsuit against the TIRZ
- A 2 year flood led the Residents Against Flooding…