Jack Brown has in his power the ability to fill the City Council Chamber with employees who will mouth their support for the Building of the "New and Improved" Stater Brothers, and even support the City providing taxpayer's support of over 900,000 in "Incentives" to Stater's to build a store.
Fearing for their jobs some of the same people have said, sure they like the idea of the store, and the possibility of more work in Grand Terrace, however, they don't really support the idea of the City Paying Stater's any tax money as a bribe or inducement to build a bigger store. Of course they can't say that in public it would be their jobs to do so.
So it is not how many people show up that should determine the action of the City Council, it is what are the facts. Fact, Stater's should build like any other business at their own risk. If money is provided to Staters, others will qualify for the same support, that means more debt for GT Taxpayers to have to pay back, in one way or another it bites the taxpayer.
The claim that the "Added Sales Tax Revenue" will justify the 900,000 incentive has been proven to be fiction and not a justification for the expenditure and assumption of the debt. So what will it be City Council, more DEBT... a BIGGER HOLE for the RDA/City to dig out of?
The burden of the finances for the development should lie with and between Jacobsen and Stater Brothers. These were and are the principal drivers behind the effort to consolidate and develop that land. The citizens and City should no longer be their patsy, by offering them an "Incentive" to do the business they were determined to do in the first place.
Is the RDA in the financial position to offer every business in GT 110 Percent of their expected annual sales as an "Inducement" to do business in GT? Where does that line form, a lot of folks will stand in it.
