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Friday, March 4, 2016
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Tax
increment
financing
explained
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
Solar energy an affordable option
Tax increment financing (TIF)
has garnered much attention as
the city considers a TIF for the
proposed Emporia Pavilions’ retail development to be located at
24th Avenue and Industrial Road.
On Wednesday the city commission voted 4-1 to hold a public
hearing on the development.
Assistant City Manager Jim Witt
provided The Gazette with answers
to frequently-asked questions about
tax increment financing.
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
For individuals considering
installing solar panels, now may
be the time. One local family
recently did so and are seeing
favorable results. Ben and Jessie Stallings had solar panels
installed at their residence in
October of 2015.
Ben Stallings said there are
two main reasons individuals
consider solar panels — financial and environmental. For the
Stallings family, they were motivated by both.
“When we got our house I realized that we had really good
sun exposure,” Ben Stallings
said. “At that time solar panels were already cheaper than
they had ever been in history.
But they have gotten five times
cheaper since then. They are
one-fifth the price they were in
2008 so it got harder and harder
to resist.”
There is a tax credit that also
reduces the cost of installing
panels considerably. The tax
credit reimburses 30 percent of
the purchase price of solar panels including labor costs.
“So our system cost us $2,500
for two panels but that means
we get $765 back in taxes,” Ben
Stallings said.
Westar recently approached
Editor’s Note: As tax increment financing garners more attention The Gazette would like
to provide clarification on how
TIF’s work and who would be
taxed. A TIF is not a community
wide tax but a tax assigned to a
specific area of town. Below is additional information.
What is tax increment
financing (TIF)
the utility commission about
changing their rate structure so
there would be a higher flat fee
for users and a lower usage fee for
the amount of power that is used.
Ben Stallings said this change
would make it less lucrative to
have solar panels. While the utility commission did not approve
the rate change at this time Stallings believes the change is com-
E m p o r i a
ing in the near future.
“It turns out that when and if
that proposal goes through and
a rate change occurs people that
already have solar panels under
the old pricing will get to keep
that pricing,” Ben Stallings said.
“So I thought ‘this is the excuse
we needed to actually get some
solar panels.’”
The Stallings had two solar
S t a te
panels installed on the roof of
their garage. The area receives
good sunlight throughout the
day, minus a small area that is
shaded by a tree for a small portion of the day. Since the Stallings only have two panels they
generally produce enough energy to meet their own needs. If
Please see Solar, Page 3
Tax increment financing, or TIF,
is a public financing method to
promote private and public investment for economic development,
redevelopment, infrastructure and
other community improvement
projects. TIFs often involve subsidies for the developer.
“TIF’s are used throughout
Kansas,” Witt said. “But never
have been in Emporia.”
What is a community
improvement district
(CID)
A CID is a self-imposed additional sales tax collectible only
at that location. It is a means to
Please see TIF, Page 3
U n i v e r sit y
Hrabowski speaks at ESU lecture
Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, speaks at the 2016 Bonner and Bonner
lecture series at Albert Taylor Hall on Thursday. The lecture
series was established in 1992 by Dr. Thomas Bonner and Dr.
Mary Bonner, the first and second African American faculty
members at ESU.
Freeman Hrabowski signs copies of
his books after he spoke at the 2016
Bonner and Bonner lecture.
Kendra Johnson/Gazette
Kendra Johnson/Gazette
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
Freeman A. Hrabowski III,
president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, spoke
to students in 2016’s Bonner and
Bonner Lecture Series Thursday
night at ESU.
Hrabowski discussed education
in America. Hrabowski made his
lecture interactive, making sure to
throw in questions for the audience
every eight minutes or so. Studies
VOL. 124, NO. 210
have shown that students’ concentration on lectures lasts about eight
minutes before they lose focus.
In 1965, 10 percent of Americans 25 and older had graduated
from college, 11 percent of whites
and 2 percent of blacks. Today, 30
percent of Americans have graduated from college, 37 percent
of whites, nearly 20 percent of
blacks, 15 percent of Latinos and
55 percent of Asians. Two-thirds of
Americans over the age of 25 today
have not graduated from college.
Americans aged 35 to 75, however, are the second most educated
group in the world, but Americans aged 25 to 34 are the twelfth
most educated group in the world.
The problem with young adults in
America is that they are going to
college, but they are not graduating partly because many students
struggle to meet deadlines set
forth by scholarships and financial
aid to fund further education.
Students enjoyed Hrabowki’s
presentation.
“I thought that it was really
wonderful,” said Anna Zimmerman senior in business administration from Topeka. “I think it’s
really important for a university
like Emporia that has so much foPlease see Hrabowski, Page 3
Freeman Hrabowski
signs a copy of his
book, “Holding Fast
To Dreams,” after
his Bonner and
Bonner lecture
on Thursday.
Kendra John 6