April 21, 2006
Monorail death: 71 days
The Monorail board has voted to end the monorail tax on June 30th, two months earlier than expected. The real estate market is so strong, the properties that the monorail acquired two years ago are being sold for substantially more than they were bought for. Bravo to the board (especially elected representatives Jim Nobles and Beth Goldberg) for ending the tax as early as possible.
Posted by Andy MacDonald at April 21, 2006
01:50 PM | Email This
1. I still say the way to end such boondoggles for once and for all time is to require sufficient bonding to cover any cost overruns that exceed the cost as presented to the voters by say 25% prior to any initiative being put on the ballot. The bond would also ensure that the entire project as it was sold to the voters is completed. Supporters of the initiative could secure bonding by putting the equity they have in their homes up as collateral against default. This would serve two purposes 1) it would end ‘low balling’ of estimates 2) it would shift the consequences of knot-head proposals to the champions of the same. The aholes who promoted this scheme are out either ~$1,000 if they owned a car or nothing if they didn't, while property owners who had their realestate confiscated have been screwed out of the appreciated value otsaid same property plus theh costs to their business plus relocation costs etc
2. It's hard to count all the victims of this fiasco. We saw inept management, waste, corruption, and fraud. All that and the employees of the Monorail walk away much richer then they were, and some now operating other government boondoggles. Seattle government corruption is now a fundamental part of our culture.
3. Question: Were previous property owners allowed first right of refusal on the pieces that were taken through condemnation? It they were not, the tax was ended early on the back of the previous property owners. I have a hard time applauding that.
4. I wonder how the ballots were counted for this so that it could win in the 1st place? I know that we had lots of votes and I think they won by a large margin once....but you just have to wonder....
And I hate that!!!! Thanks a lot Deanron.
5. I just found this link that speaks to the question of the how the tax was ended early.
It just seems wrong.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002943802_monolands21m.html
6. bf,
I heard on the news that the owners of Cafe Appassionato near the Space Needle are buying back their property for $70,000 more than the Monorail paid for it. Good for the Monorail board for ending the tax, but shame on them for doing it by taking advantage of those whose properties they condemned.
Bellevue Steve
7. What a crock that the Cafe Appassionato owners had to come up with $70,000 more to buy property they were forced to sell to begin with. They are very happy to get their property back, but it has cost them.
I am glad that the Monorail tax is going away, but it cannot come soon enough for me. I live in West Seattle and have to pay for my tabs next month - with the Monorail tax still intact.
8. Let's say $125 million of MVET was confiscated. BofA was paid some of that, the outside law firms were paid some, staff was paid some, DOL kept some. Who thinks they can break down the winners? Lots of us were losers - who got the $$$$?
9. Re: Cafe Appassionato - that reminds me of this news item:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/47468
10. Gary, what if you were to hold off for a month? What are the chances of getting pulled over?
Even if you did, "Sorry officer, I completely forgot," etc... If you were to hold out until the tax was retired, would you retroactively owe the tax?
11. Remember back in the early 80s when landfill gas from the City of Seattle's Midway Landfill contaminated hundreds of homes around the landfill, forcing the homeowners to move? The city bought the homes, installed a $40 million taxpayer-funded gas collection system in the landfill, sucked all the gas back into the landfill, and then re-sold the homes at a profit a year or so later. It's an old revenue generatin' trick.
12. CandrewB--I already had to pay my tabs so I did inquire if I would get a refund and would someone still have to pay the tax if it ended the month their tabs were due or the month after. The answer seems to be no on the refunds and you have to pay what is on your form.
13. So I for one would like to know how to get in contact with the Lees so I can refund my part of their $70,000 fleecing.
Unreal. No wonder Hu had such a great time here.
14. Don't forget that the Lees also had to cough up enough of those $$$ to pay attornys, fees for an additional fleecing, trying to fight to keep, then regain their property, which they had paid for and were paying taxes on prior to it's being stolen from them. Then having to pay additionaly, I've heard that the total, above and beyond what they were graciously given for their property, to have the priveledge to have it back again. I wonder how long it will be before KC and Sea town take it away from them again. It now can be clasified as a renewable income source.
15. absolutely outrageous the taking of private property by eminent domain and then selling it later at a profit. I don't care if it does end the tax sooner. It's just wrong!
16. By law, the new Monorail Board could not return property at the original price. The land market fluctuates--some properties sold for substantially less money than what the government paid for them. We haven't heard much about that.
Besides, if other bidders knew that the original owners could win the bids at a lower than market price, what incentive would they have to bid higher than that amount? The taxpayers would lose out, again.
The original owners were compensated at market rates at the time their land was taken from them. If the market had nosedived, we would hear few complaints.
Eminent domain caused my grandparents to lose two separate properties in Washington--once for a highway, and once for a prison. In most cases, the seller authorizes the sale of property, and values the land at something less than the asking price (or he wouldn't sell in the first place). In eminent domain cases, the seller might value the land at much more than the market price, but government forces the sale anyway. However, if government were to compensate at something other than the fair market value, that would be unfair to the citizens at large, who are paying for the transaction to begin with. By the same token, once the land belongs to the citizens, it would not be right to sell the land for less than market value.
If a time interval of 50 years had elapsed between the time of the forced purchase and sale, rather than two years, the emotion would be out of this discussion and most people would view the situation rationally.
17. Tim;
The fact is the city condemned the land for a specific purpose, the property owners had opposed the sale and fought the condemnation. The property was not used for the intended purpose of the take. I think this is a special circumstance. The monorail project was poorly run from start to finish. Why should these property owners bear the cost of the mistakes made by the monorail council? There is something not quite right about this. Perhaps municipalities should not be allowed to condem properties unless they have actual approval for their projects.
18. Tim >>> why don't you try viewing it rationally??
19. I thought the monorail was a great idea, but knew it was in trouble once the second vote was taken the full staff moved into Columbia Tower - spending money like water.
The board was incompetent. Too bad.
The ending is smoother than the beginning. What an epitath.
TAKE NOTE -- the biggest eminent domaine fight of the century might be before us. The State DOT has made it clear they are going to replace the viaduct and soon. If the City of Seattle is still in its fog - and after not being able to fund the tunnel - and then tries to screw with the STATE, watch out.
I already heard a council staffer talk about how the State needed as in must have, the City for permits, etc.
Watch the dog fight that might be coming down the road. The state and Gov. Gregoire will not be deterred once they decide to move on the rebuild. In fact, despite all he negs here about Gregoire, as you all would concurr, it would be good politics for her to back down the drowsy Seattle city council.
She would reap applause around the state for holding firm on what the DOT says needs to be done..... and dictating directly to the Seattle political elites......I think she wil get very outspoken at summers' end before any voting.
20. In the first place the dodo rail was an attempt by a bunch of freeloaders to get someone else to pay for what THEY wanted. Why was the monorail tax levied on cars and not a head tax?