Fund Schools: NOT Corporations

 

 

[Date]

To the Board Members of the Greater Valley Economic Development Council (GVEDC) and County Commissioners,

I am writing to register my absolute outrage over your recent decision to approve yet another lucrative tax deferment for Jacmal—a giveaway that will strip roughly $250,000 in vital tax revenue directly from our community.

Every dollar handed out through this deferment is a dollar stolen from our underfunded schools, our stretched-thin emergency medical services, and the county programs that working residents rely on every day. While everyday families in this county face rising property taxes and tightening household budgets, you have decided that a profitable corporation deserves a quarter-million-dollar handout.

Even more egregious is the blatant corporate shell game taking place under your watch:

• Double-dipping on headcount: This is reportedly the second deferment granted using the exact same "20 employees." You have already subsidized those jobs on a separate property. Allowing a company to present the same headcount twice to capture multiple public subsidies is an insult to the intelligence of this community.
  
  
• Zero job creation on-site: This property will not even be staffed by Jacmal. They are simply erecting a building to lease out for private profit. Using economic development incentives to bankroll speculative commercial real estate that brings zero new direct payroll to our area is not economic development—it is corporate welfare.
  
  
• The burden shifted to taxpayers: While Jacmal profits from public land deferments and collects lease revenue, local taxpayers are left to absorb the impact on county infrastructure, roads, and emergency coverage.
  
  

Public funds and tax concessions exist to serve the public interest, not to pad the margins of commercial landlords. You are accountable to the citizens of this county, not corporate balance sheets.

We demand an immediate public review of this deal, full transparency regarding the terms of both deferments, and the immediate reversal of any tax incentives tied to unstaffed, speculative properties. The residents of this county will not quietly bankroll corporate shell games while our schools and emergency services pay the price.

Respectfully and angrily,

[Your Name]

[Your Address / District]

[Your Contact Information]