Taxes

Submitted by lmcshane on Sat, 06/29/2019 - 07:49.
Taxes
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Make levy spendng transparent

Submitted by lmcshane on Mon, 07/08/2019 - 14:50.

  FOLLOW the MONEY

spending levies provide support for its local parks, arts, education, sporting venues and more. Which ones are up for renewal? Find out in this piece by via

 

The Port Authority levy is among the smallest county tax levies (.13 mills) and costs the average homeowner approximately $3.45 for every $100,000 of home value. The levy brings in approximately $3 million annually,[5] which amounts to 27 percent of the total budget for the agency.[6] The renewal levy last passed, by a measure of 65 percent of voters in favor of it to 35 percent against, in November 2017. The levy is set to expire in 2022. The Port of Cleveland uses most levy funds for current and future maritime and environmental infrastructure projects, such as Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, Irish Town Bend Stabilization efforts and Flotsom and Jetsom workboat operations. Less than a third of levy funds are spent on Port of Cleveland general operations (which vary from year to year).

RE: Port Authority : Mitch Paul raised issue of $600,000 expense for the customs house renovation -GOOD POINT

 

Date: Tue, May 14, 2019, 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: Port authority customs renovations
To: Susan Glaser <SGlaser [at] plaind [dot] com>

 

 Thanx again..but as this facility was in a tent previously.... A few desks...
Most likely handicapped accessible(or the new more pc term 'barrier -free') is most of the requirement.
More information ALWAYS welcome.
Cheers
On Tue, May 14, 2019, 6:12 PM Susan Glaser <SGlaser [at] plaind [dot] com> wrote:

I don't disagree with you -- it is very high.

But keep in mind: This isn't typical office space we're talking about. This is U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I imagine their demands are very specific and not inexpensive.

And my understanding is, CBP told Cleveland to do this if they wanted to continue to welcome cruise passengers.

 

In any case, it's worth asking a few more questions and I will do that.

 

Thanks for your interest.

 

Susan

 

 

From: Mitch Paul

Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 5:48:19 PM
To: Susan Glaser
Subject: Re: Port authority customs renovations

 
Looks more like a 30ft or 35 ft square bld...size likely more like 900ftsq-1200ftsq
Making the cost per sq of the renovations of  this nice little bldg much higher

On Mon, May 13, 2019, 16:37 Mitch Paul wrote:
Thanks for answers..most likely the 600 thousands figure isn't exact and is likely rounded down... If you can discover the sq footage I would be interested in that number and would make your story more complete.
This figure ..FOR what may be a temporary structure for the purpose..is incredibly high.

On Mon, May 13, 2019, 8:49 AM Susan Glaser <SGlaser [at] plaind [dot] com> wrote:

Hi Mitch,

 

Sorry, I don't have the square footage. Just checked the county website and couldn't find the property there.

It's a small building -- I'm guessing 2,000 square feet or less. (There was a photo online, if you didn't see it: https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/05/port-of-cleveland-plans-improvements-to-accommodate-increasing-number-of-cruise-ships-passengers.html.)

 

No doubt the price per square foot is high -- I attribute that to the federal government requirements. Is it worth it? I don't know -- particularly if the port might build a new building in a few years.

I know Detroit put in a new cruise terminal a decade ago -- which CBP refused to use for a few years because it wasn't built to specifications.

 

Thanks for your interest. I'll keep looking for that square footage figure.

 

Susan

 

 

Susan Glaser

Travel editor

The Plain Dealer

Cleveland, Ohio  

216-316-6959

sglaser [at] plaind [dot] com

Twitter: @susanglaser

From: Mitch Paul
Sent: Sunday, May 12, 2019 9:04:09 AM
To: Susan Glaser
Subject: Port authority customs renovations
 
No square footage of the area undergoing renovations.. Can you provide?
The cost per sq ft is always an important number.
The new dog kennel cost 540$ per square ft for instance which is a VERY high amount.