Albany city officials should no longer ignore the effect that the city’s downtown urban renewal district, CARA, has on other governmental services in Linn County. According to a breakdown presented by urban renewal manager Kate Porsche, local governments this budget year are forced to give up $2.2 million to the downtown district. In 2013-14, it’s […]
The Albany city government has a problem. It’s a problem with credibility and it’s connected with public safety and urban renewal. In March 2012, city voters approved a public-safety tax levy outside the city’s normal taxing authority. Voters were assured the money would go to the police and fire departments. Most of it does. But […]
After lying low for about a year, Albany’s downtown urban renewal district will soon have to make a choice: Look for new projects and regain its momentum or return some of its money to other taxing districts. The advisory board of the Central Albany Revitalization Area started debating this Wednesday. The issue comes up because […]
(For a reaction, see below)Albany’s riverfront street, Water Avenue, is not that easy to reach from Lyon Street, the main drag. That makes it tough to try to develop what part of the latest downtown plan calls the “east anchor,” one of the plan’s main features. The proposed solution is to build what has come to be […]
Albany’s downtown urban renewal district is working once again to define what it wants to do from now on, and how. Earlier this year the city council, acting as the governing board of the Central Albany Revitalization Agency or CARA, put several pending projects on hold. In October, the CARA advisory board agreed that it […]
CARA wants to press on
Albany’s downtown urban renewal district, CARA, expects to have a surplus of $1.25 million next budget year. It could decide to levy that much less in tax, which would benefit mostly the city of Albany, Linn County and indirectly the state school fund. But after discussing it on May 7, the CARA advisory board recommended […]
Tags: Albany, CARA, law enforcement levies, Linn County