» Articles from April 2006
The Case for Development
A curious study is making the rounds of our communities, promoting the idea that large-scale residential development is actually a benefit to property taxpayers.
Authored by the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and funded largely by county taxpayers, the study looks at six recent subdivisions in the Hudson Valley to reach this conclusion, which flies in the face of a large body of research showing that newly built houses require far more in costly public services than they provide in local tax revenues.
A growing number of politicians and citizens have criticized both the methods and the message of the study, which the EDC has presented to dozens of local officials as part of its stated mission “to facilitate and expedite the necessary (local government) approval procedures so that new (construction) projects can be developed.”
A close analysis of the EDC’s calculations, coupled with a bit of common sense, indeed shows that the study’s case for development, at least fiscally speaking, is full of holes. Read more