Tax Rate Set; IG Says City Deal Not Quite Right

The City Council set the tax rate this week ($11.52 per $1,000), and slid some of the burden from the residential to the commercial side. In recent years, that wasn't always the case.

Of course, the business community was opposed to the move (their pleas went no where, the Council approved the rate with no discussion), and claim the city is anti-business, or at least has that reputation.

We're with Dean Tran in that the city should be building its residential base in an effort to create a critical mass of people attractive to business. This move fits in that effort. Also, there are opportunities for new business to get a break. Let's put it this way, no one from the city was offering me a TIF when I bought my house.

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The state Inspector General says there are some flaws in a 2004 agreement between the city and Ron Bouchard where Bouchard knocked down the Thunderbird Motel and was given access to some fill owned by the city.

The IG claims the city didn't properly keep track of how much fill was going in and out of the place, and maybe it was worth more than it should have been. The IG's office says the city didn't do a good enough job documenting the deal. Mayor Dan Mylott says he gave the IG everything it wanted, and couldn't fathom what paperwork was further needed.

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You have a choice tonight: Patrick, Healey, Mihos and Ross; or Romano, Lefferts, DesChenes and Sven. I know, I know, this isn't a tough choice. The Gov folks will stick by their usual: Patrick is hope, Healey is fear, Mihos is slightly crazy, Ross is surprisingly eloquent for someone hoping to get 4 percent of the vote. Boring.

Instead, flick over to "Politically Speaking" (7 p.m., Channel 8), and check out a heaping dose of political talk from a roundtable of the very best minds possible. Expect some good talk on: The national elections (do the Dems take over a house?), the Register of Deeds race (umm...), the House race (can Niemczura pull this off?), and the governor's race (or, more garbage about fantasy football, as I analogize Patrick and Healey to meaningless football action). Set the TiVo for the gov's debate, and get the real lowdown on "Politically Speaking."