100 block among delinquent taxpayers again; Ganther owes back taxes on two properties
They say history repeats itself; that certainly seems to true in the case of the 100 block building on North Main Street and its owners, of whom developer Ben Ganther is one.
According to city tax records and this article in this morning's Oshkosh Northwestern, the 100 block is once again among the properties in the city of Oshkosh that have delinquent property taxes. Ganther and his partners owe nearly $147,000 in taxes on that one property. If that wasn't bad enough, Ganther also owes more than $25,000 in back taxes on the former Mercy Medical Center property; and it's not the first time that property has had delinquent taxes on the books, either.
I wonder what kind of ego someone must have or how they can have no shame to owe that kind of money to the city (or eventually the county), yet continue to ask the city to do business with them, as has been the case with Mr. Ganther?
That leads me to the next obvious question, because there is more at issue here than property owners - all of them, not just Ganther and company - who won't pay what they owe to the city. That question is why we do continue to do business with people like this and how might their failures may affect us as a city?
For example, we also learned from this morning's news article that the building at 100 N. Main St. is for sale, with Ganther saying the building "did not operate according to projections" and that options to refinance or sell the building are being considered. I'm "surprised" to hear this since we previously heard how things were turning around and there were waiting lists for people to get into an apartment there.
I will also remind those who may have forgotten or who are new to the area that, like Tom Doig of the defunct Five Rivers project, a TIF district was created where Ganther's 100-block project was built; and, Mr. Ganther was allowed in during at least one closed session meeting of the Oshkosh Common Council and the public effectively shut out of the development process between he and the city.
It should also be noted that the land was sold to Ganther's 100 Block LLC in Jan. 2002 for a mere $165,500. Nine months later, it was sold to another company in which Ganther is a partner and which still owns it today, for $1,099,600. The 2006 assessed value on the property is $6,279,500. Yet the city is, time and time again, expected to wait for its money.
As I said a year ago, the city needs to look long and hard about who it is doing business with. And it needs to do a better job of fact-finding and scrutinizing development projects that "require" TIF districts and supposedly won't happen without them. Granted in the case of the 100 block, the area was blighted and a TIF perhaps needed to be created in order to spur development. But since Ganther's project is now said to be failing one has to wonder how that will eventually pan out with respect to the TIF district. Will this be a success or will the city get burned on this deal?
Lessons of the day for the city and Common Council: Stop offering TIFs so freely and examine projects more closely, no matter who is bringing them forward; and stop being overly generous with those who have a history of operating less than fairly when it comes to paying their taxes.
According to city tax records and this article in this morning's Oshkosh Northwestern, the 100 block is once again among the properties in the city of Oshkosh that have delinquent property taxes. Ganther and his partners owe nearly $147,000 in taxes on that one property. If that wasn't bad enough, Ganther also owes more than $25,000 in back taxes on the former Mercy Medical Center property; and it's not the first time that property has had delinquent taxes on the books, either.
I wonder what kind of ego someone must have or how they can have no shame to owe that kind of money to the city (or eventually the county), yet continue to ask the city to do business with them, as has been the case with Mr. Ganther?
That leads me to the next obvious question, because there is more at issue here than property owners - all of them, not just Ganther and company - who won't pay what they owe to the city. That question is why we do continue to do business with people like this and how might their failures may affect us as a city?
For example, we also learned from this morning's news article that the building at 100 N. Main St. is for sale, with Ganther saying the building "did not operate according to projections" and that options to refinance or sell the building are being considered. I'm "surprised" to hear this since we previously heard how things were turning around and there were waiting lists for people to get into an apartment there.
I will also remind those who may have forgotten or who are new to the area that, like Tom Doig of the defunct Five Rivers project, a TIF district was created where Ganther's 100-block project was built; and, Mr. Ganther was allowed in during at least one closed session meeting of the Oshkosh Common Council and the public effectively shut out of the development process between he and the city.
It should also be noted that the land was sold to Ganther's 100 Block LLC in Jan. 2002 for a mere $165,500. Nine months later, it was sold to another company in which Ganther is a partner and which still owns it today, for $1,099,600. The 2006 assessed value on the property is $6,279,500. Yet the city is, time and time again, expected to wait for its money.
As I said a year ago, the city needs to look long and hard about who it is doing business with. And it needs to do a better job of fact-finding and scrutinizing development projects that "require" TIF districts and supposedly won't happen without them. Granted in the case of the 100 block, the area was blighted and a TIF perhaps needed to be created in order to spur development. But since Ganther's project is now said to be failing one has to wonder how that will eventually pan out with respect to the TIF district. Will this be a success or will the city get burned on this deal?
Lessons of the day for the city and Common Council: Stop offering TIFs so freely and examine projects more closely, no matter who is bringing them forward; and stop being overly generous with those who have a history of operating less than fairly when it comes to paying their taxes.
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 9:57 AM
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