TDD Spells Trouble for Neosho R-5

For over a year now, officials from the City of Neosho and Economic Development have been working on ways to improve infrastructure in Neosho with the use of a Transportation Development District or TDD.  Let me digress a moment and educate you on how a TDD works.  Basically, a TDD is a taxing entity that has the authority to issue debt instruments for the purpose of improving infrastructure in a predetermined area.  That infrastructure would typically be in the form of roads, but that is not the sole option.  The improvements serve as collateral for the debt and the TDD imposes a sales tax (in this case 1%) on retail sales inside the TDD.  That 1% is how the TDD services the debt incurred to build the infrastructure.

Now, back to the reason for concern.  I first found out about the idea of a TDD in Feb or March of 2008 while serving on the Neosho R-5 School board.  It was at that time that Gib Garrow and Jan Blase made a presentation to the Neosho R-5 during a special lunchtime meeting.  The presentation was the first of many attempts to obtain a commitment from the Neosho R-5 school district for $850,000 over 15 years.  In return, the TDD would include improvements to Kodiak and Hale McGinty.  Those improvements would help the traffic around the Middle School and Carver Elementary.  It was commented during the meeting that other large businesses in town were in support of the TDD (including Wal-Mart) and would be participating.

Here's the problem:  TDD's are funded by sales tax. Businesses like Wal-Mart are not 'paying' a penny for any of the improvements they will also benefit from.  They are simply charging people like you and me a little more for product we put into our shopping cart.  The 1% extra we pay goes back to the TDD as a funding mechanism.

Since schools don't collect sales tax, the $850,000 was a type of 'pay to play' amount that our school district would have to divert from the general fund.  That means $850,000 less money to buy books, pay teachers, improve classrooms, or anything else the school would want to spend it on to directly benefit the educational experience of our children.

As a tax payer, I'm opposed to our district using any of the funds to do things that are not consistent with their mission.  I've made the comment that "cities don't build schools and schools don't build fire stations.  If schools start building public roads, where does it stop?"

Bottom line, I don't support the use of school funds to build public roads, not matter how bad the traffic is.  Use the sales tax being collected by Lowe's, Wal-Mart, etc. to fund your TDD.  If the school wants to build roads, include it in a bond issue and let the district's voters decide. 

As a side note, I made a Sunshine request for documents related to the TDD and found a fund summary showing that the TDD would have $2,000,000 in excess funds over the 15 year period.  That $2 million could be used for other projects as the TDD deamed necessary.  In the Neosho Daily News tonight, a 'consultant' named Darrel Gross commented that "...the firm has (recently) trimmed $2 million off the total TDD proposal, working with the Missouri Department of Transportation to whittle project costs down."  I suspect that trimming occurred because no one could justify asking a school for money while predicting a $2 million surplus.

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