October 30, 2004
A half-billion here, a half-billion there
The D.C. council's main response to Thursday's day-long barrage of stadium opposition, it appears, will be a minor tweak to raise tax rates on the top-grossing businesses. It's unclear as yet whether the extra revenue would be used to lower the rate on smaller businesses, to pay for cost overruns, or what.
Council finance chief Jack Evans, meanwhile, dismissed Mayor Anthony Williams' last-minute (and much-derided) proposal to create a TIF district around the ballpark to raise funds for unspecified "community benefits." Said Evans to the Washington Times: "The community benefits plan is still really at an elementary stage. Can this really work? I don't think we know yet. I'd rather work it through, find something really doable, and come back to that later. It doesn't have to be attached to the ballpark bill right now."
Regarding the 200-plus people who testified on Thursday, Evans added: "I just hope they all come back during budget time when we're actually talking about serious money."
