NRP is not a hand-out. It is taxpaying citizens deciding how the taxes that are collected should be spent in the geographic area closest to them.
NRP under it's current formation is funded with tax funds collected from downtown tax increment financing districts (TIF). For years, taxes collected from property owners in residential neighborhoods went to subsidize downtown development. I am not saying that is a bad thing. It seems fair that neighborhoods should recoup some of the dividends from this huge investment of tax dollars for their own neighborhoods. NRP simply provided a model for citizens in neighborhoods to participate in the spending decisions for this revenue. Basically, the NRP funds gave neighborhoods a seat at a number of decision-making tables and empowered them to use those NRP funds to leverage far greater capital. When judging the success of NRP, you also need to look at the additional investment of dollars that occured because of the NRP funds. The investment of additional public or private capital. Many of the housing programs that are offered through neighborhood NRP plans have matching requirements. I can only speak for Whittier. The leveraging power of Whittier's NRP dollars in Phase I was $35M. These were projects that would not have happened if the NRP dollars were not there. Additional projects that were influenced by NRP dollars but may have happened anyway total $41M. That's one neighborhood. I am sure other people have have similar stories about their neighborhoods. The NRP model also enables neighborhoods to "think out of the box" in developing solutions for the issues facing their neighborhoods. The investment of NRP funds for lead removal in houses in Phillips pre-empted the cities lead removal program. The NRP model enabled neighborhoods to invest in programming like the Block Nurse Program that provides a neighborhood network that will help seniors and disabled people to stay in their homes longer. The massive Buckthorn removal initiative was enhanced by small investments of NRP funds in many neighborhoods throughout the city. The environmental remediation efforts like storm sewer stenciling and lawn care education that have occured in several neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis was made possible by NRP funds. None of these projects were existing programs at the city or county before NRP. While some people may not agree with using tax dollars for these purposes, it was a democratic process that determined how these dollars were spent. A very grassroots democratic process. Yes, there were some things that were tried and failed and probably some things that should have never been done at all. But a hand-out? No way. I won't agree with that. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
