Sunday Poll: After Millions in Tax Incentives, Has IKEA Been A Net Positive or Net Negative?

It has now been over a year since IKEA opened for business and it appears to be boosting tax receipts:

The Swedish retailer’s 63110 ZIP code saw a 40 percent spike in state sales tax revenue from October 2015 through June 2016 compared with the prior-year period, according to the latest available data from the Missouri Department of Revenue.

The period with Ikea generated $277 million in state sales tax revenue versus $197 million in the prior-year period without Ikea. (St. Louis Business Journal)

An increase of $80 million, though not all can be attributed to IKEA. It’s unclear now much additional revenue went to the City of St. Louis. But it didn’t come cheap, from February 2014:

Ikea’s plans to open a St. Louis store next year moved ahead Friday when a city panel voted to back a $32 million tax incentive for the project.

Members of the city’s Tax Increment Financing Commission voted unanimously to approve the subsidy. The vote also backed a separate $5.1 million subsidy for a residential building planned for an area just west of the Ikea site.

The Swedish furniture retailer has yet to specify the cost of its St. Louis store, planned for the southwest corner of Forest Park and Vandeventer avenues, but a spokesman said it will exceed $100 million.

The TIF projects are part of a $167.7 million TIF city officials approved for the Cortex bioscience district in 2012. The district is split into 10 TIF areas that must be activated individually as the area develops. (Post-Dispatch)

The store employees hundreds, each paying the 1% earnings tax.

The poll will be open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills (165-170) On 10/21/2016

The following six Board Bills will be introduced at today’s meeting of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, review the agenda here. Board bills 169 & 170 raise the age of buying tobacco products to 21.

Board Bill No. 165 | Ordinance pertaining to workforce inclusion

BOARD BILL NO. 165 INTRODUCED BY ALDERMAN ANTONIO FRENCH, PRESIDENT LEWIS REED, ALDERMAN CHRIS CARTER An ordinance amending Ordinance 69427 pertaining to workforce inclusion by amending Sections Four, Five, and Ten of said ordinance, which are codified as Sections 3.110.030, 3.110.040, and 3.110.090 of the Revised Code of the City of St. Louis, to increase percentage goals for minority, women, and city residents, and to put in place a mandatory five-year disqualification penalty and liquidated damages for developers and contractors who fail to meet the goals; and containing a severability clause.

Board Bill No. 166 | Closing Mt. Pleasant at west side of Broadway

BOARD BILL NO. 166 INTRODUCED BY ALDERMAN KENNETH ORTMANN An ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of Streets to close, barricade, or otherwise impede the flow of traffic on Mount Pleasant Street by blocking said traffic flow at the west side of South Broadway, and containing an emergency clause.

Board Bill No. 167 | Establishing a 4-way stop at Nebraska and Itaska

BOARD BILL NO. 167 INTRODUCED BY ALDERMAN KENNETH ORTMANN An Ordinance establishing a four-way stop site at the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Itaska Street by regulating all northbound and southbound traffic traveling on Nebraska Avenue at Itaska Street and regulating all eastbound and westbound traffic traveling on Itaska Street at Nebraska Avenue, and containing an emergency clause.

Board Bill No. 168 | 99 year lease for 1901 Penrose to Sun Ministries

BOARD BILL #168 Introduced by Alderman Freeman Bosley An ordinance authorizing and directing the Mayor and Comptroller of the City of St. Louis to enter into a Lease Agreement with Sun Ministries, Inc. to lease property located in City Block 2437 of the City of St. Louis, for a period of Ninety-Nine (99) years, for the purposes of creating a mixed use service delivery facility, and other self-improvement activities as well as office space for administrative needs.

Board Bill No. 169 | Raising the age to 21 for sales of nicotine products

BOARD BILL #169 INTRODUCED BY ALDERWOMAN DIONNE FLOWERS An ordinance amending Chapter 11 of the Revised Code of the City of St. Louis by repealing and re-enacting sections 11.32.110, 11.32.120, 11.32.130, 11.32.140, 11.32.150, 11.32.160, 11.32.170, 11.76.010, 11.76.020, 11.76.030 and 11.76.040 to raise the age to 21 years old for sales and distribution of tobacco products, containing definitions; establishing penalties for violations; and containing a severability and an emergency clause.

Board Bill No. 170 | Raising the age to 21 for sales of alternative nicotine products

BOARD BILL NO. 170 INTRODUCED BY: ALDERMAN FLOWERS An ordinance to raise the age to 21 years old for sales and distribution of alternative nicotine products, and vapor products to be codified in chapter 11 of the revised Code of the City of St. Louis; containing definitions; establishing penalties for violations; and containing a severability and an emergency clause.

The meeting begins at 10am, it can be viewed live here.

Readers: Mayoral Candidate Sam Dotson Should Resign As Police Chief

Filing hasn’t opened yet to run for mayor, but the list of people setting up campaign committees is growing rapidly. In one-party cities, such as St. Louis, few challenge an incumbent, but the minute an incumbent  indicates they don’t plan to seek another term everyone decides to jump in.

Most hold another elected office, at least one of which also holds a private job. At some point that candidate might need to take a leave of absence or resign if her employer feels she’s not doing her day job to their satisfaction. The public isn’t impacted if the CFO of an architectural firm is distracted for a few months.

If the chief of police is distracted for a few months the public would notice. Unlike every other candidate for mayor, Sam Dotson has a direct role in keeping citizens safe. I personally think he, as a first-time political candidate, is being incredibly naive about the amount of time a campaign will take.

Here are the results from Sunday’s non-scientific poll:

Q: Agree or disagree: Police chief Sam Dotson should resign since he’s running for mayor in the March 2017 primary

• Strongly agree 28 [41.18%]
• Agree 12 [17.65%]
• Somewhat agree 5 [7.35%]
• Neither agree or disagree 1 [1.47%]
• Somewhat disagree 5 [7.35%]
• Disagree 9 [13.24%]
• Strongly disagree 8 [11.76%]
• Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]

More than two-thirds agree, on some level, that Sam Dotson should resign. I’m not certain how a new chief is selected now that the city has control instead of the state. My guess is Mayor Slay would get a say in picking the new chief.

Filing begins in late November.

— Steve Patterson

Know Your Ballot: Citywide, State Rep, US Rep Races; 5th Ward Special Election

As the November general election gets closer I’m continuing the series looking at everything on the St. Louis ballot (sample). Previous weeks I covered:

• Propositions & Amendments
• Judges

This week is different because races for State Rep & State Senate depend on where you live. Find your elected officials here.

Okay, moving up toward the top of the ballot:

FOR TREASURER

• TISHAURA O. JONES – DEM (Jones ran saying she didn’t want to be the parking czar, but changed her tune after being sworn in)
• DARREN GRANT – REP
• JEROME BAUER – GRN (I’ll be voting for Bauer)

FOR SHERIFF

• VERNON BETTS – DEM (Got my vote in the primary, will again)
• JOHN N. CASTELLANO, III – REP

FOR CIRCUIT ATTORNEY

• KIMBERLY M. GARDNER – DEM (I’m glad she won the primary, but I’ll skip this race since she’s unopposed)

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 93

• BOB BURNS – DEM
• LANDREY SORBEL – REP

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 91

• SARAH UNSICKER – DEM
• GREG MUELLER – REP

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 84

• KARLA MAY – DEM

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 77

• STEVE ROBERTS – DEM (Read about rape allegations against Mr. Roberts)

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 76

• JOSHUA PETERS – DEM

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 66

• TOMMIE PIERSON, JR. – DEM
• JOHN A. SAXTON – REP

FOR STATE SENATOR DIST. 5

• JAMILAH NASHEED – DEM
• STEPHEN O. [STEVE] SCHAPER – LIB

SPECIAL ELECTION FOR STATE SENATOR DIST. 4

• JACOB W. HUMMEL – DEM
• BRYAN YOUNG – REP
• MICHAEL G. LEWIS – LIB

FOR U.S. REP. DISTRICT 1 (Geez, I don’t like any of my choices in this race.)

• LACY CLAY – DEM
• STEVEN G. BAILEY – REP
• ROBB E. CUNNINGHAM – LIB

Bonus Ballot!

In addition, those of us in the 5th ward will get a 2nd ballot. Last week Judge Julian Bush ordered a new election based on irregularities in how the Board of Election handled absentee ballots (read order). If you’re a 5th ward voter please vote for Rasheen Aldridge for 5th ward democratic committeeman.

Next week will be statewide races like Attorney General, Governor, US Senate.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should Police Chief Dotson Resign Since He Is Running For Mayor?

On October 5th police chief Sam Dotson entered the race for St. Louis mayor, but the current mayor had something to say:

Dotson, who has long been rumored to be considering a mayoral run, announced his candidacy in a statement playing up his status as a “full-time police chief” and “not a career politician.”

But as Mayor Francis Slay sees it, launching a mayoral campaign while still in uniform could make Dotson a part-time police chief.

 
In a statement released shortly before Dotson’s announcement, Slay said Dotson should focus on running for mayor or being the police chief, but not both. (Post-Dispatch)

Dotson has indicated he doesn’t plan to resign.

So here’s the poll question for today:

The non-scientific poll will be open until 8pm, but will be closed sooner if I detect a spike in traffic in an effort to alter the outcome either way.

— Steve Patterson