According to the Greater Milwaukee Realtor Association, of which I am a member ---- sales in April in the Milwaukee Area were still down: 

If this trend continues, it could affect the repayment of the TIF's the back the spending by the Village on various projects, as the cost of repayment could be spread to all property owners if the TIF properties do not appreciate in value. 

 County-by-county analysis

Milwaukee County: 646 units were sold in April; down -21.1% compared to 819 units sold in April 2007, and down -35.3% vs. 2006’s 998. 2,194 properties were listed in April compared to 2,373 in 2007 (-7.5%) and 2,070 in 2006 (6.0% increase). There are 420 pending sales in the county.

Waukesha County: 339 units were sold in April; down -20.4% compared to the 426 units sold in April 2007, and down -26.6% vs. 2006’s 463. 947 properties were listed in April compared to 1,030 in 2007 (-8.1%) and 1,038 in 2006 (-8.8%). There are 198 pending sales in Waukesha County.

Ozaukee County: 65 units were sold in April; down -20.7% compared to the 82 units sold in April 2007, and down -34.3% vs. 2006’s 99. 193 properties were listed in April compared to 248 in 2007 (-22.2%) and 184 in 2006 (4.9% increase). There are currently 48 pending sales in the county.

Washington County: 113 units were sold in April; down -31.9% compared to the 166 units sold in April 2007, and down -23.6% vs. 2006’s 148. 327 properties were listed in April compared to 363 in 2007 (-9.9%) and 273 in 2006 (19.8% increase). Washington County has 58 pending sales.

Racine County: 166 units were sold in April; down -23.5% compared to the 217 units sold in April 2007, and down -28.1% vs. 2006’s 231. 468 properties were listed in April compared to 499 in 2007 (-6.2%) and 502 in 2006 (-6.8%). There are 131 pending sales in the county.

Kenosha County: 144 units were sold in April; down -16.3% compared to the 172 units sold in April 2007, and down -32.1% vs. 2006’s 212. 475 properties were listed in April compared to 562 in 2007 (-15.5%) and 523 in 2006 (-9.2%). Kenosha County has 101 pending sales.

Walworth County: 75 units were sold in April; down -34.2% compared to the 114 units sold in April 2007, and down -48.6% vs. 2006’s 146. 430 properties were listed in April compared to 376 in 2007 (14.4% increase) and 355 in 2006 (21.1% increase). There are 44 pending sales in Walworth County.

The current Shorewood Village Board is spending some big dollars and planning to spend more, and gambling that increasing property values will pay the bill.

Shorewood is using what is called a TIF (tax incremental financing) as a Financing Tool to pay for various projects, such as Streetscaping, the River Project, Condo Development, etc. 

According to the information published by the Wisconsin Dept of Revenue, a TIF works like this:

"Tax Incremental Finance, or TIF, is a financing tool that allows municipalities to invest in infrastructure and other improvements, and pay for these investments by capturing

property tax revenue from the newly developed property. An area is identified (the tax

incremental district, or TID) as appropriate for a certain type of development, and

projects are identified to encourage and facilitate the desired development. Then as

property values rise, the property tax paid on that private development is used by the

municipality to pay for the projects."

There is a risk though, that IF property values Decline, rather than Increase --- All the Property Tax Payers will pay for the expenditures through Increased Property Taxes, as explained here by the Dept of Rev:

" Municipalities can invest significant amounts of money  into  these infrastructure

improvements in hopes that growth will follow (sometimes called the "build it, and

they will come" strategy). However, if little or no private development occurs after the

improvements are made, there may be no tax increment revenue with which to pay for

the investment. If there is no increment revenue, the bonds used to pay for the

improvements will have to be paid for with general tax revenue. Paying for these bonds without a larger tax base means a higher tax burden. Another risk of over-investing can be that the site is improved, but the improvements actually prevent some types of development from being able to use the site."  

The Big Question now becomes --- are Shorewood Property Values Increasing or Decreasing ?

There are many different ways to calculate the values, and with the current volatile real estate market --- it is anybody's guess of what the values will be by the end of the current year. The basic method of calculating property values, involves what is termed "Market Value", and changes in what the sales prices are in comparison between two comparable time periods.  (Other methods of valuation, "replacement" and "income" are not commonly used for residential property appraisals or assessments).

Taking a snapshot of Single Family Home sales in Shorewood for the time period of January 1^st of this year (2008) to date, compared with the same time period for last year (2007), there is a notable trend:

JANUARY 1 TO MARCH  26, 2007 --- SINGLE FAMILY HOMES SOLD IN SHOREWOOD (17 sales)

ORIGINAL ASKING PRICE             DAYS ON MARKET             SALES PRICE

189,900                                               24                                            192,100

214,900                                               169                                          180,000

224,900                                               114                                          215,000

230,000                                               16                                            221,500

259,900                                               126                                          235,000

289,900                                               183                                          237,000

289,000                                               13                                            289,000

298,000                                               46                                            298,100

329,900                                               99                                            295,000

309,000                                               20                                            310,000

320,000                                               45                                            320,000

339,000                                               42                                            335,000

364,900                                               43                                            356,000

387,900                                               68                                            350,000

449,000                                               10                                            460,000

749,000                                               18                                            750,000

1,495,000                                            62                                            1,425,000

Tot  6,740,200                                     1098                                        6,468,700

Avg 396,482                                        65                                            380,511

THERE WAS APPROX A 4% DECREASE BETWEEN ORIG PRICE AND SALES PRICE

JANUARY 1 TO MARCH  26, 2008 --- SINGLE FAMILY HOMES SOLD IN SHOREWOOD (9 sales)

ORIGINAL ASKING PRICE             DAYS ON MARKET             SALES PRICE

279,000                                               112                                          237,000

314,900                                               146                                          290,000

399,900                                               141                                          300,000

415,000                                               181                                          376,500

424,900                                               172                                          417,000

479,900                                               91                                            449,000

589,900                                               88                                            555,000

599,900                                               31                                            560,000

1,349,000                                            204                                          1,000,000

Tot  4,852,400                                     1166                                        4,184,500

Avg   539,155                                      130                                          464,944

THERE WAS APPROX A 13% DECREASE BETWEEN ORIG PRICE AND SALES PRICE, AND DAYS ON MARKET DOUBLED OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED !

 I would love a 320% ROI !!!

I am sure that any investor would love to get that kind of Return On Investment --- but I doubt that even Warren Buffet would count those kinds of chickens before they are hatched.

The Community Development Authority is sponsoring a Facade Grant of $800,000 for the apartment building at 3575 N. Oakland.  According to a story in www.shorewoodnow.com by Marie Rohde:

The building  is currently assessed at $3.5 million.

The CDA says the facade improvements will increase the value of the building by $2.256 million and boost neighboring properties by $305,000. 

Doing the math, $800,000 invested with a return of increased value of $2,561,000 is a ROI of 320%.

As a real estate broker, I have been involved in many transactions involving renovation, with single family and multi family properties.  I have never heard of anyone getting that kind of ROI with just a new facade ....

I would certainly like to see a Certified Appraisal of both the value of the building as is, and the value of the building after the facade improvements.  Due to the uniqueness and complexity of this project, such an appraisal would be mostly in narrative, and it would be interesting to see the rationale the appraiser used, and the comps that justify the conclusion.

As a very imperfect comparison (once again considering the uniqueness and complexity of the project) I have printed below the kind of return on investment a homeowner would expect for various renovations.

This is somewhat "apples to oranges" -- but note that on average, no project even pays back the cost !!  The returns are all less than 100%. 

You can find a number of similar charts and comparisons on the internet --- potential Seller are always interested in ways they can sell their property for a higher price. 

Just for fun --- let's pretend that a 320% ROI is doable on this project --- and can be substantiated to the satisfaction of investors/bankers/etc ------- then  why does the Village have to finance the project ?  If it is for real --- drop a dime, call Warren Buffet --- those are the kinds of numbers that would probably get his attention.

What's YOUR TAKE --- please leave your comments below.

Description Of Remodeling Work	Job Cost	Resale Value	Cost Recouped
Minor Kitchen Remodel Replace cabinet dooors, oven and cooktop, laminate countertops, sink, faucet and floor, repaint	$8,507	$8,030	94%
Bathroom addition Add a second bath to a house with 1 or 1.5 baths;include ceramic tile and linen closet	11,645	10,593	91
Major Kitchen Remodel Redesign kitchen, replacing all of the above, plus built in microwave, custom lighting, island.	21,262	19,190	90
Master Suite In a house with 2-3 bedrooms, add a 24-foot by 16-foot master suite with walk-in closet, whirlpool tub, separate shower.	36,472	30,530	84
Attic Bedroom In a 2-3 bedroom house, convert unfinished attic space with bedroom and shower/bath.	22,840	19,084	84
Two-Story Addition First-floor family room and second floor bedroom with full bath.	55,687	46,236	83
Family Room Addition Add a 16- by 25-foot room with skylights, hardwood tongue-and-groove floor, fireplace.	31,846	26,483	83
Bathroom Remodel Update existing bath with new tub, toilet, vanity, medicine cabinet, lighting, tile.	8,423	6,480	77
Replace Windows 10 new 3'x5' aluminum-clad windows with trim.	6,112	4,536	74
Replace Siding 1,250 square feet of new vinyl or aluminum siding and trim.	5,458	3,983	73
Deck Addition 16'x20' deck of pressure-treated pine including built-in-bench, railings and planter.	6,172	4,459	72
Home Office Convert existing room into office with custom cabinetry and re-wiring for electronic equipment	8,103	5,423	67
Source: Remodeling magazine, 1996-1997 Cost vs. Value Report.

A new motto that you may have noticed on the new official Shorewood website is:

Shorewood --- Just Two Feet From Everything.

 If you think this motto is good --- just wait until the Village Board spends that $45,000 or so dollars they put in the budget to advertise the virtues of Shorewood as a "Walkable" community.

 Driving around the Village today --- I saw it was true --- Everything was just two feet away --- that is everything is just on the other side of a Two Foot High Snowbank !

If you want to park and shop at almost any store on Oakland or Capitol, I hope you get a parking spot near the corner.  Because where ever you are going is on the other side of a Two Foot Snowbank, and you have to walk to the corner to get to the sidewalk.

 Once at the corner, I hope that you are very nimble indeed, as almost all of them have ice fields and trampled down snow, that you still have to navigate.

If you are handicapped and use a walker or cane, you might still have a chance.  If you have to use a wheelchair, you better get it fixed with snow chains.

But hey  --- this time next year, if we have the same wintery conditions, you might be able to drive over to the Shorewood High School and walk around on the astro turf under a nice warm dome.  After all, the Village Board gave almost $500,000 for the D2D !

Of course that money may very well have been better spent if the Board had budgeted to have the snow banks removed from the parkway on the business streets --- and the ice fields cleard at the crosswalks. 

 Or maybe they can take the $45,000 some dollars they are going to spend to advertise Shorewood as a Walkable Community --- and use it to clear snow and really make it so.

 What is YOUR Take ?

In Shorewood, we are foremost a residential community, and we have a larger than average stock of rental units.

Yet  the Village Board  seems to put an inordinate amount of emphasis on the business community while putting residential and housing concerns on the back burner. 

The Village Board also seems easily attracted to glamorous big dollar projects like the New Streetscaping and questionable Marketing Schemes   --- the present Village Board Members is so enamored of Big Dollar Projects, that they couldn't help but get involved in a project that belongs to the School District, and ended up giving away almost ½ Million $$ for D2D.

The problems that Shorewood currently face, however,  are of a much more mundane nature, such as a decreasing student population for its schools, and a housing inventory that in many cases has reached obsolescence in design and operating systems.

Most notably is the plethora of duplexes in Shorewood, that are in urgent need of updating to meet the requirements of today's families.

Contemporary families with students, the target demographic for our school system,  will not settle for Two Bedroom Duplexes, with antiquated plumbing, electric and heating  --- which we have way too many of in Shorewood.

Ironically, rather than address ways in which these duplexes can be re-vitalized,  the Shorewood Board is seems more inclined to just make the duplexes go away !

The current plan the Board is considering  is to float "sweet deal" loans to duplex owners to convert them to single family houses.

As I stated in my earlier postings, I believe the conversion of duplexes to single family houses would be counterproductive to attracting the young families with children that we desperately need --- and would make Shorewood even more unaffordable for housing.

Rather than try to solve the problem by destroying it --- I believe that Shorewood can take positive steps to update and rejuvenate the duplexes, and revitalize its population base with more families that include school age children.

INFRASTRUCTURE:

Shorewood should make TIF funds available to property owners (both single family and duplex) to improve plumbing systems to copper (rather than the old galvanized pipes that are spring leaks) - update electrical to newer wiring, circuit breakers versus fuses, and minimum 200 amp service per housing unit. 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

TIF funds should be used to upgrade insulation and replace old in-efficient furnaces and boilers with new efficient models in both single family and duplex.

In regards to duplexes and multi family properties,  owners can be encouraged to  convert to efficient energy systems by mandating  that all rentals must include hot water, heat and air conditioning in the cost of the rent.

BULDING CODES AND ZONING

In designated areas, where appropriate and needed, set backs, lot line and  foot print requirement ratios, etc., should be amended to allow the adding square footage to existing duplexes, for more bedrooms, family rooms, etc. 

Amendments would also be necessary to allow the building of more garages, which may not meet the lot line and setback requirements now, to help alleviate the parking situation.  Car ports should also become a viable option.

In some cases, backyards may be all but totally eliminated, but this would not be inconsistent with high density housing that is already inherent in Shorewood. 

Loss of backyard space can be offset with additional planned green spaces, interspersed in the designated areas.  The loss of a few housing units for the green spaces, will be more than offset by the increased usable square footage gained in the enlarged duplexes.

 RENTAL AUTHORITY

The village should provide resources for both landlords and tenants, to meet the requirements mandated by housing law, and dispute resolution.  The Village could also operate a clearing house for landlords to list their available units and made available to perspective tenants. 

MORE

I am sure there is a lot more that can be done to improve Shorewood's  housing stock and attract more families to the Village.  Please share YOUR ideas in the Comments Section below !

In researching WHO can afford to buy a house or duplex in Shorewood, the best breakdown of the various criteria that may be relevant in the planning of any type of incentive program I found was at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States

and all the information contained in this posting (parts taken directly in italics) is from that web publication.

I think it would be fair to say that Shorewood schools and their economic viability  are (and have)  been a major concern to the residents of Shorewood, and are always listed as a concern in relationship to the various tax/building/planning incentives, conceived by the Village Board and its appendage bodies. 

The major concern with Shorewood schools and their continued independent existence is directly affected by the number of students enrolled. 

And the number of students enrolled in  Shorewood's schools, is directly affected by the population mix --- and by the percentage of that population mix that is within the normal child bearing years --- and which has the financial resources to buy property in Shorewood.

In my previous posting, I pointed out that a minimum household income of $79,000 was needed to come into Shorewood, at the lowest entry level cost of buying, which is a median priced  duplex --- living in one unit while renting out the other unit to subsidize the costs.

In order to afford the median cost single family house in Shorewood, a household income of $110,000 is necessary.

Per the "Age of Householder" information below (assembled from the U.S. Census Numbers by the web publication listed above) - the highest median household income age group is between the ages of 45 and 54 --- well past the biological clock for giving birth, and assuming a prime childbirth age of 30 years (my assumption), the children in these households would range from 15 to 24 years of age. 

The age group between 35 and 44, which would be a good prime age group for the likelihood of having school age children (my assumption), has a median income of $56,785 --- which is also well below our threshold of $79,000 noted above for base entry level buying in Shorewood. 

As the median income means that half are above that number, and half below that number --- not even ½ of the age group between 35 and 44 can find affordable housing in Shorewood as the lowest entry level buyers.

Age of householder

Household income in the United States varies substantially with the age of the person who heads the household. Overall the median household income increased with the age of householder until retirement age when household income started to decline.^[24] The highest median household income was found among households headed by working baby-boomers.^[24] Households headed by persons between the ages of 45 and 54 had a median household income of $61,111 and a mean household income of $77,634. The median income per member of household for this particular group was $27,924. The highest median income per member of household was among those between the ages of 54 and 64 with $30,544. The group with the second highest median household income, were households headed by persons between the ages 35 and 44 with a median income of $56,785, followed by those in the age group between 55 and 64 with $50,400. Not surprisingly the lowest income group was compromised of those household headed by individuals younger than 24, followed by those headed by persons over the age of 75. Overall households headed by persons above the age of seventy-five had a median household income of $20,467 with the median household income per member of household being $18,645. These figures support the general assumption that median household income as well as the median income per member of household peaked among those households headed by middle aged persons, increasing with the age of the householder and the size of the household until the householder reaches the age of 64. With retirement income replacing salaries and the size of the household declining, the median household income decreases as well.^[24]

Population Diversity by Race

In the same web publication, the chances for diverse homeownership in Shorewood is even less likely, with Black households having a median income of a little less than $30,000 per year, and Hispanic household being just a little over $30,000.

In conclusion --- if Shorewood truly wants to be a Diverse Community --- as measured by Income and Race --- we need to concentrate our Residential Incentive Programs to provide Affordable Housing for those groups !

In future posts, I will propose some ways that I think will help in achieving those objectives --- and I hope that readers will offer their suggestions also.

 

In my previous posting, I noted that the new Loan Program the Village Board is considering, would encourage the transition of duplexes to become single family homes. 

In this posting, I will attempt to  illustrate the housing availability and affordability factors in Shorewood - and the differences in affordability between duplexes, single family homes, and the impact on renters.

In doing research on the current housing that is listed for sale in Shorewood on the MLS  (of which I am a member), I found the following.

There are currently 28 single family homes for sale in Shorewood.  The least expensive is $219,000 and the highest is $1,495,000.  The median price is right at $400,000.

There are currently 11 duplexes for sale in Shorewood.  The least expensive is $280,000 and the highest is $675,000.  The median price is $319,000.

Of course, an integral factor in Shorewood housing is the cost of rents, so I  researched Craigslist  for 2 and 3 bedroom duplexes (not apartments) advertised for rent over the last month. 

There were 15 advertised, almost all in the $900 range ($950 is about average).

Now what do all these numbers mean for someone who would like to live in Shorewood - what is our "affordability factor" ? 

Affordability as quantified in a percentage of income is debated constantly, and varies somewhat depending upon the type of housing, the income strata of the household, and whether it is being used for subsidized housing programs, or loan qualifying by banks, etc. 

A good benchmark for our purpose here would be to use the FHA Income to Debt Income Ratio of 29% (round to 30) --- this means that a household with a monthly income of $4000 should be spending no more than $1200 on housing costs ( combined principle, interest, taxes, insurance or rent) but not including utilities.

For duplex renters we can calculate how much income a household would need, based upon the average monthly rental cost of $950.  

By using the inverse of 30% of the Debt Income Ratio (divide 950 by .30) , a household  would need an   income of $3200 per month to affordably rent a duplex in Shorewood.  That is a yearly income of $38,400.

For someone who wants to buy in Shorewood, we have to determine how much their payment would be per month working backwards on the cost of the house (just as we worked backwards from the rental cost above). 

To simplify our model,  I will assume in all buyer scenarios,  that the buyers have a down payment of 20% (gift from parents ?) and that their interest rate will be a fixed rate of 6.5% on their mortgage note, amortized over 30 years.

Our Median Priced Single Family Home noted above,  at $400,000 would then have a mortgage of $320,000. 

The mortgage payment would be $2023 per month, the taxes on the existing Shorewood house at that price are $679 per month, we'll ballpark  $50 per month for insurance, so their total monthly housing cost for ratio purposes would be $2752.00.

Using the inverse of 30% again, this household would need a monthly income of  $9175 --- or a yearly income of $110,000. 

But let's say that our folks who want to live in Shorewood, and want to buy a place, don't have that kind of income for a single family house.  Here is how they would do with a duplex:

Median Priced Duplex noted above is $319,000. 

Assuming again there is a 20% downpayment, the mortgage note would be for $255,200 and the mortgage payment would be $1613 per month.   The taxes on the existing Shorewood duplex at that price are $560 per month, using $75 per month for insurance, their total monthly housing cost for ratio purposes would be $2248.

Using the same inverse of 30% as we did above for our buyer of the single family house, the duplex buyer would need an income of $7495 --- or a yearly income of about $90,000. 

But there is a big difference - because this is a duplex, the buyer  benefits from the rental income on the unit they do not live in. 

Using our $950 per month number, that is an extra $11,400 in income, bringing their qualifying ratio number down to the $79,000 range.

Buying a duplex instead of a single family house ---  makes Shorewood affordable for a household making $31,000 less than our single family buyers !

In my next posting --- I will illustrate the different demographics involved, based upon household income --- and how that affects who can afford to live in Shorewood.

(note that in the above examples I rounded numbers to make working with them easier, and simplified some of the actual workings of mortgages and buying, and did not include expenses as maintenance, upkeep, depreciation etc.)

 

 

According to stories in the Current Issue of  ShorewoodNow (http://www.shorewoodnow.com/) , the Shorewood Village Board is contemplating a new loan program targeting residential housing. 

As reported by Dave Fidlin -- staff writer :

" outlined in a draft document, the village would disburse as much as $360,000 in loans to nearly 40 home owners if the program is enacted. Applicants must own and live in the homes to qualify for improvement loans.

Loans would be offered in one of four categories: down payment assistance for a single family or duplex, a loan for converting a duplex to a home, attic improvements and exterior maintenance.

Trustee Margaret Hickey said at a board meeting this month that a good target population for the loans would be elderly residents on fixed incomes who sometimes find it difficult to obtain bank loans.

"It's going to be a pilot program," Trustee Dawn Anderson said. "We're going to have to have some faith that the eligibility requirements will work."  "

The Loan Program as described above, in my opinion, is seriously flawed, and will result in the loss of a lot of affordable housing in Shorewood, and will adversely affect the enrollment in the Shorewood Schools.

There is no question that Shorewood needs to work on improving its housing.  When I ran for the Village Board in the last election, I made this issue a prominent point in my campaign.  I especially decried that the Village Board was focusing on the "business environment" in Shorewood --- including a Business Loan Program that would provide up to $50,000 in unsecured loans to businesses....

Unfortunately, at the time, my opponents Phinney and Eckman, and other Village Board members such as Anderson and Hickey did not agree, preferring to concentrate on ineffective business programs, and large grandiose expenditures, such as the multi million dollar Streetscaping.

An obviously logical question  would be, if I was proposing housing improvement programs just a few months ago,  why am I criticizing the program that is now being floated out for consideration ?

The program that I proposed would "enhance" the existing housing stock, making it more efficient, up to date, and  appealing for both buyers and renters. 

But I did not propose that we change the character or nature of the housing that currently exists.  Encouraging the transformation of existing duplexes to single family homes, will drastically reduce the population of Shorewood, and make Shorewood more un-affordable for young families - especially the kind that have school age children.

The program I proposed concentrated upon the infrastructure of the existing housing, which is rapidly becoming obsolescent - with outdated electrical, plumbing and heating. 

The program being touted now by the Village Board, concentrates on cosmetics and attics --- not the features, in my experience as a Realtor, that are of the greatest concern of school age families.

Encouraging the transformation of duplexes (which Shorewood has more of per capita than any other community in Wisconsin) into single family homes, will price most families with school age children out of the market !

Over the next week or so, I will be making postings that examine the affordability of housing in Shorewood , and the differences in costs and demographics in relation to renters and buyers of single family homes and duplexes.

 

I was happy to see Joe turn his attention to the RESIDENTIAL needs of Shorewood, which I feel have been slighted by the Village Board in favor of Hi-Visibility initiatives, such as the Multi Million Dollar $treetscaping Plan, and Dog and Pony Shows by the BID, which do little or nothing to promote business or residents.

The following is an excerpt from my March 1, 2007 blog, with some "starter" ideas for promoting the RESIDENTIAL needs of Shorewood.

In Shorewood we have a great place to live - we have one of the best school systems anywhere, and our Residential - Urban - Sidewalk - atmosphere is almost "Norman Rockwell" in its flavor.

Our underlying strength is not the businesses that are in the Village. Shorewood is not a shopping destination in itself. We have some destination shops here, such as Goldi's, Harley's and CC Conrad, but for the most part, businesses which locate in Shorewood are here to serve the people of Shorewood. Shops and businesses that fill the need of our population, with a convenience of being close to home.

It is no secret that our population is lower now than at our peak, and that our schools have excess capacity to serve more students. And there are steps we can take to help make Shorewood even stronger and more desirable.

We are foremost a residential community, and we have a larger than average stock of rental units. If we are to use TIF money to strengthen Shorewood, it should be used to help property owners to improve the housing stock --- ie. energy efficient furnaces, newer copper plumbing and updated electrical. We can promote energy systems that are affordable for the landlord to include heat in the rent.

We can develop programs to encourage owner occupied duplexes. And we can develop programs that work with both landlords and tenants, to make Shorewood the number one rental option in the Milwaukee Metro area.

As Shorewood has grown more mature, there is also a greater need for housing that serves the needs of our senior citizens who would like to stay in Shorewood, but don't necessarily want the responsibility of a large property to maintain. As I can attest to, after both a hip and a knee replacement, a two story house with a basement, is not very user friendly to those with older joints !

(And by the way --- as a residential, sidewalk friendly community --- we need to resume show removal !)

Our focus in building a stronger Shorewood should be on our housing, and filling the needs of all the different segments of our community, higher and lower income, younger families with school children and seniors with mobility needs.

I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the 596 citizens who cast their vote for me for Village Trustee.

I hope that my campaign for Trustee raised awareness in the Village about some very important issues; IE. New Sreetscaping Program without a Post Mortem as to why the last Sreetscaping was such a Disaster, Bid District Expenditures, Unsecured Loans to Businesses, Consideration for the Needs of our Senior Population, Ecology Consciousness and Awareness in Government Actions, and the Overall Emphasis on Shorewood Business (hi visibility sizzle) with a Decided Lack of Attention to our Residential Infrastructure (low visibility steak).

As the voter turn out for this election was quite low, I do not think it reflects a mandate for the status quo, and I have to wonder if I could have / should have, done more to get the message out.

These issues and others I believe, are very important, and suffer the lack of attention they deserve, by a Village Board that values consensus and status quo, more than introspection and questions. Hopefully, through continued publication of this blog, more deserving questions will ultimately be addressed.

Shorewood citizens hear quite a bit about the Shorewood BID, but in talking to many residents, I have found that they really don't know exactly what the BID is, how it is funded, or what it does. This is understandable, as the BID Tax does not apply to most Shorewood residents.

In short, the BID district is a Taxing Body, that only taxes Commercial Property owners in Shorewood. If you own a Residential property, you do not pay the BID tax. If you own Commercial property (or mixed used), you pay hundreds or thousands of dollars per year to the BID tax.

The purpose of the BID is purportedly to "help" Shorewood businesses.

In this blog, I have already listed many of the reasons I believe that the BID in Shorewood is not needed, and how it actually hurts Shorewood business. Adding to those reasons is a look at the BID sponsored events for 2007 --- and how they do Nothing for the average Shorewood business --- at best --- and actually Hurt Shorewood Business --- at worst.

One of the big events that BID sponsors is the Shorewood Criterium (bicycle race) that is planned for July 19th. For this event, the race course is closed most of the day with no parking allowed (much of Oakland Avenue). This is obviously bad for the businesses on Oakland, as their customers have nowhere to park. As the race time approaches, traffic is totally closed for an even larger area of Oakland, to facilitate tents and displays, etc.

There are a few businesses which may see a small increase in their business, such as coffee shops --- but by and large, it is a lost business day for most businesses on the race route.

Perhaps if the Criterium brought a lot of folks from other communities to Shorewood, for the novelty of seeing a bike race, there could be some benefit to the exposure. But the Criterium is run virtually everywhere ! There is no need for folks from other communities to come see ours --- they have their own. Except for spectators who may follow the bike circuit (which from my observations couldn't be too large), the race isn't attracting "new" prospective shoppers to Shorewood.

Listed here are the dates of the Criterium in the various nearby communities, surrounding our date in July:

July 9th Menasha
July 10th Manitowoc
July 11th East Troy
July 12th Burlington
July 13th Hales Corners
July 14th Shorewood
July 15th Milwaukee - Schlitz Park
July 16th Waukesha
July 18th Hartford
July 19th Milwaukee - Lakefront
July 20th DePere
July 21st Sheboygan
July 22nd Kenosha
July 23rd Milwaukee - Downer Ave
July 24th Whitefish Bay

Obviously, this is not a unique event which showcases Shorewood.

Another event that BID sponsors is the Art and Craft Fair on the lawn of the Shorewood High School. After last years Art and Craft Fair I did an informal poll of business owners situated nearby the high school, as to whether this event helped their business. To the contrary, they told me that they noticed a drop in business, as folks who might drop in to browse and buy something, where at the Art Fair instead.

Also, the Art Fair was composed primarily of business people from "Outside of Shorewood" --- our BID money was enhancing businesses from other areas, in competition with our Shorewood based businesses !

In all fairness, at least two of the planned events, the Artwalk on April 7th and the Holiday shopwalk on December 1st basically have the right idea of getting actual potential shoppers out in front of the shops.

On the other hand, the small business group that we had before the BID, sponsored the same kind of events, for an annual dues cost of about $70 --- while the BID is spending tens of thousands of dollars to achieve the same result. And although every commercial property is paying the BID tax, these walks are focused on North Oakland and East Capitol --- so the businesses in other areas are paying in --- but getting nothing out.

I believe it is time to do some serious reconsideration of the entire BID. We don't need an additional tax on business in Shorewood --- especially with ill-conceived events that do more to hurt, than they do to help, the very businesses paying the BID Tax.

(Note to readers: I had posted this earlier in the articles section before my blog was up and running --- but I think it is too important not to include on the blog)

NEED A BUSINESS LOAN --- DON'T ASK A BANK, ASK SHOREWOOD --- WOULD YOU LIKE $25,000 OR MAY $50,000 ?

Under a new loan program approved by the Village Board, WE --- the taxpayers of Shorewood --- will make loans of between $25,000 and $50,000 to both existing and new Shorewood businesses.

The loans can be used for almost any reason, including for "working capital". There are no requirements that the loans be secured by collateral, or even by personal guarantee.

Speaking as a Shorewood citizen, property owner, and small business owner, I am very much against this program, for several reasons. First and foremost, when did this need to subsidize Shorewood businesses develop ? Has there been a single instance in which someone closed their Shorewood business, or decided against starting a business in Shorewood, because the village would not lend them money ? And if they cannot get a loan from a bank, why should the Village take a risk that a bank will not take.

Secondly, how do we decide which businesses to subsidize ? Should we help a new liquor store get started or how about a tobacco shop? We do have more than a number of places in the Village to get a bagel or a croissant, but don't we really need a good donut shop ?

In Shorewood we have a great place to live - we have one of the best school systems anywhere, and our Residential - Urban - Sidewalk - atmosphere is almost "Norman Rockwell" in its flavor.

Our underlying strength is not the businesses that are in the Village. Shorewood is not a shopping destination in itself. We have some destination shops here, such as Goldi's, Harley's and CC Conrad, but for the most part, businesses which locate in Shorewood are here to serve the people of Shorewood. Shops and businesses that fill the need of our population, with a convenience of being close to home.

It is no secret that our population is lower now than at our peak, and that our schools have excess capacity to serve more students. And there are steps we can take to help make Shorewood even stronger and more desirable.

We are foremost a residential community, and we have a larger than average stock of rental units. If we are to use TIF money to strengthen Shorewood, it should be used to help property owners to improve the housing stock --- ie. energy efficient furnaces, newer copper plumbing and updated electrical. We can promote energy systems that are affordable for the landlord to include heat in the rent. We can develop programs to encourage owner occupied duplexes. And we can develop programs that work with both landlords and tenants, to make Shorewood the number one rental option in the Milwaukee Metro area.

As Shorewood has grown more mature, there is also a greater need for housing that serves the needs of our senior citizens who would like to stay in Shorewood, but don't necessarily want the responsibility of a large property to maintain. As I can attest to, after both a hip and a knee replacement, a two story house with a basement, is not very user friendly to those with older joints !

(And by the way --- as a residential, sidewalk friendly community --- we need to resume show removal !)

Our focus in building a stronger Shorewood should be on our housing, and filling the needs of all the different segments of our community, higher and lower income, younger families with school children and seniors with mobility needs.

The next time you walk or drive through the Village, look around and see what kinds of business is here in Shorewood. It is business that is primarily focused on the needs of the neighborhood --- grocery stores, coffee shops, dry cleaners, barbers, hair stylists, pharmacies, insurance agents, realtors. We don't have any of the "Big Box" stores, ie. Target, Home Depot, Best Buy --- and we don't want them --- where would everyone park ?

If the Village really wants to help Shorewood business, it should disband the BID District. When I first came to Shorewood about 15 years ago, we had a local business association, that most of the businesses belonged to. It cost about $70 a year to belong, and we would get together once in a while, share ideas and conversation, and put together occasional events. All in all, the association didn't do too much --- but then again, it didn't cost much either.

Unfortunately, the Village decided that whatever the local businesses were doing, it could do better. Thus the Shorewood BID District was born. Now anyone who owns commercial property in Shorewood pays a tax, for the Village to spend for our business welfare. Whereas business property owners paid about $70 to belong to the business association, they now pay more like $700 or $800 to the Village BID.

We still don't get much --- but we sure pay a heck of a lot more for it !

The best t