Congratulations to community groups in Columbia, Missouri on their win last week preventing most of the city from being designated “blighted” to create massive property tax abatements.
A year and a half ago, the Regional Economic Development Inc. (REDI) board proposed to create an Enhanced Enterprise Zone, or EEZ, that would cover most of Columbia (at one point, the Columbia City Council
approved
a 49-square-mile EEZ; later, the Council repealed its decision). Missouri EEZs (there are 124) allow certain companies to receive 50 percent local property tax abatements and state tax credits for investing and creating jobs. The program also requires zones to be designated as blighted.
A coalition of community groups (including the Columbia Climate Change Coalition, Grass Roots Organizing, and the local chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom) opposed the fake blight designation. They spoke during REDI meetings, contacted media, and organized an informational community meeting with Good Jobs First’s Greg LeRoy and more than 80 participants. Using state EEZ disclosure data captured in
Subsidy Tracker
, LeRoy noted that EEZ credits were dominated by agricultural food processing companies that, of course, need to be close to Missouri’s abundant farmlands.
After months of grassroots pressure, the REDI board last week surrendered, asking the Columbia City Council to drop the plan,
citing
“lack of community support” as the main reason for its decision.