I think one of the more unfortunate aspects of community--any community--politics is the division between newcomers and old-timers.
It's not unique to Newburport. Hell, it's pretty much the way things go down in most communities that I've covered (although not every community I've lived in thank goodness.)
So I'd like to say that when I suggest parking is a wise and necessary for downtown I don't speak for newcomers. I speak for paid parking proponents. I speak for myself and others who see a city in dire fiscal need and a resource--our parking lots and streets--that are being squandered or, worse, abused. (Check out some of the links presented by a commenter in the below post.)
I'm sure there are some long-time residents who see some wisdom in paid parking. Heck, Mayor Moak has lived here a good 30 years. I know it's not is life-time, but it's a lot of people's lifetimes so I suspect he's plugged in pretty well
I also know there are short-timers hate the idea of paying for parking downtown.
In short, I hope this discussion doesn't devolve into a townie vs. newbie issue when there are so many more real and important matters related to parking that need to be hashed out: commercial development, the economy of our downtown, the environment and our financial problems.
So I welcome upcoming blogalogues with Mary Eaton and Ms./Mr./Mrs. X on this issue and others as well. Bottomline is we've all got the city's best interest in heart. There's just may be some disagreement over what those best interests are.
Just as I did with Mr. Karp earlier on (I haven't updated the list of articles in some time but they're still along the right), I'll try to find and post as much info on parking issues as I can so I can speak a bit more from the head in coming posts.
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6 comments:
Tom,
I think the paid parking divide is more about economics than newbie/townie. While the mayor may have been here 30 years, his household income is likely twice the median of the community.
Paid parking is plain and simple, a regressive tax.
Opposition also comes in the form of downtown merchants who don't want to pay for parking for themselves and their employees.
I'd much rather see the city adopt a residential propery tax exemption as this will shift some of the property tax burden to commericial properties (who are the primary beneficiaries of city owned lots). This also eliminates the needed overhead of parking enforcement.
Well, this is an argument I can get into. Please define the residential property tax exemption and how it might work?
Also, just an FYI, New England Development's web site puts Newburyport's avg. household income at $90,000. I'm not sure how that compares to the median.
Under Mass. state law the exemption is capped at 30% of the avg value of all residential property. So if Newburyport had an average value of say $500K, the exemption would be $150K which gets subtracted from your assessed value before tax computation. This makes the property tax more progressive as homes below the avg get a larger discount and those above get a lesser one.
The exemption only applies to owner-occupied residential properties. Rental housing and commercial properties don't quality under the theory that they are income generating properties.
I believe the median income is $68K, which is another problem we have. Like most cities, Nbpt has a fairly large income distribution compared to your average town. So tax increases or fees are more regressively applied.
New England Development's web site puts Newburyport's avg. household income at $90,000. I'm not sure how that compares to the median.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the median household income for zip code 01950 was $58,523...and the median family income was $72,500.
The U.S. Census is the most accurate source for household income; I know because I called around to various state and federal offices last fall inquiring for an updated figure.
I'm stumped how NED determined $90K.
Hmmm, nice fact checking Ari.
No clue. Perhaps Mr. Karp is counting himself as a resident? That would bump up the average a bit.
As an aside, what the heck is the diff between household income and family income?
The Web site also has this tid bit.
Voted the most beautiful city by America in Bloom in 2006, the downtown boasts over 350 window boxes and hanging baskets.
I shall start counting our window this boxes weekend!
NED appears to be using average income as opposed to median. According to boston.com's real estate data, the median for Nbpt is $68K and the average is $88K.
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