A formidable campaigner seeking consensus on Downtown's future, armed with evidence that the city's fiscal fortunes are taking a turn for the better. But on that date, Nordstrom Inc. announced it has no plans to build a store Downtown, and Murphy promptly jettisoned his plan to raze 60 buildings along Fifth and Forbes avenues. The oft-combative mayor then invited Fifth and Forbes foes to help craft a compromise plan. Fitch Inc. later followed suit, raising the city's bond rating one notch. The stadiums and David L. Lawrence Convention Center will never pay a dime in property taxes, though the city hopes they will generate new amusement tax and other revenue.
New housing is tax-exempt for three years.
And Murphy has already negotiated away most of the tax revenue created by new PNC and Mellon Bank buildings, the renovation of Station Square, and the South Side Works project. Murphy's proposed Year 2001 Operating Budget, which City Council is now considering, is riddled with holes and one-time fixes. It includes no provision for the 3 percent raise arbitrators just granted the police union. In 2002, the debt payments will be the same, but the reserves will be gone, Kunka says. And in reality, nobody knows what the tax base will look like after assessments leap skyward, millage rates plunge, and tens of thousands of property owners file appeals.