On   Whitefishbaynow.com is an excellent blogger, Kevin Buckley, who recently wrote a posting about getting a ticket for parking overnight in front of his house ----  (you can read his entire posting at:

http://blogs.whitefishbaynow.com/village_spillage/archive/2008/06/18/took-10-years.aspx)

Some excerpts from his posting:

 " We've lived in Whitefish Bay 10 years and it finally happened. 

I wrote some Comments back to Kevin regarding overnight parking ......

 Deciding not to let the voters of Shorewood elect a trustee to replace Phinney who resigned his seat, the Village Board interviewed 12 applicants ..........

( I believe none of the twelve have ever subjected themselves to the bright light of the election process and found this back door way to office to be more palatable !)

The Village Board Members selected Sean Cummings, who is the co-chair of the D2D Committee. 

The D2D project, replacing the SHS natural field with an artificial field, and possibly adding a big dome for winter, was touted as a private contribution project that would cost in the $3 million range.

The "private contribution" aspect of the project may have been well intentioned at first, but the D2D Committee, with Sean Cummings in the lead, quickly acquired about $1 million in taxpayer money from the School District, the Village Board and the CDA.

In the meantime ---  the School Board is cutting back programs like music, arts and languages, and is trying to figure out which school building to close for the lack of students and money  ..........

Mr Cummings should fit right in with the present Board Trustees, who have a penchant for overlooking the mundane every day needs of the Village of Shorewood, for the bright lights and glamour of the Big Dollar Projects.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT BELOW ! 

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

The Village is finally getting serious about providing the Shorewood Police Department with some decent facilities.  The present building they work out of is totally obsolescent for a police force their size in this day and age.

I had previously suggested that the Village talk to the School Board about the SIS building, as the school system has too much space for too few students.  The main drawback to that idea would be getting the School Board and the Village Board to come to a consensus within a reasonable amount of time. 

As the Village Board has been so delinquent in addressing this problem, and with all the different considerations that have to be taken into account by the School Board, it is probably not a solution that can happen in a timely manner.  Which is unfortuanate, as more than likely we will have the problem of what to do with the SIS building in the next  few years.

A viable site for the new police station that is going to be looked at is the AB Building at 4057 N Wilson Drive.  At first blush, it appears this is a site that can meet the physical requirements of the SPD.

The downside is that it will mean a loss of $63,000 in property tax revenues.  Considering all that the Village is doing in trying to increase tax revenues, this would be a step backwards.

I don't think though, that the site should be dismissed out of hand because of the tax consequences, if the Village can get innovative and perhaps make up the difference in other ways.

For instance, it has been mentioned in the past that perhaps the Whitefish Bay PD would be interested in sharing space with the SPD.  If the 4057 building has enough room, the combination of savings by both departments through shared resources, and the rental income from the Bay PD could offset the tax loses.

Other possibilities that could be explored would be rental of space to the Sheriff's Dept for a substation --- or possibly other law enforcement organizations.

If there is a decent gun range in the new facility, NRA hunter training programs and possibly range rental time for pistol leagueS could generate some additional revenue.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE COMMENT BELOW !

Whether it is the Village spending money or the School District --- it all comes from the same pocket --- Ours !

The Schools say they do not have enough students to use all the building capacity they have.  And unless we import even more students from Milwaukee, it does not look like our student population is going to grow anytime soon, if ever.  Especially as the Village Board is now entertaining thoughts of reducing the housing units in Shorewood, by subsidizing the transformation of duplexes into single family homes.   

Fewer housing units = fewer families = fewer students

And yes I know --- if we build enough High End Condos and Nursing Homes --- the case can be made that housing units will actually increase --- but I doubt we will see many students spawned from those kinds of developments.

The Village has a problem in that the Police Department is housed in facilities that are too small. 

 Just maybe the Two Problems that need to be Solved ---  can be Solved using Existing Facilities. 

One Possible Solution to the School Problem that has been Floated is to Close SIS and convert Lake Bluff and Atwater to K through 8 Schools.

 This would result in an Empty Building !!

A building that on the surface appears to be of Adequate Size for the SPD --- has an expandable receiving area and drive for covered parking and Prisoner Intake --- room for the Municipal Court --- and plenty of Parking in the area.

I know this is Not the Sexy kind of Project that our Village Board and School District Board prefer ---

Why Keep a Perfectly Good Building When It Can be Torn Down and a New Building Put Up ........................

An added bonus to the use of the SIS building, is that it is Not on the Tax Rolls now ---- whereas, if we used a Site like the one on Kensington and Oakland where the Mobil Station is --- we Lose Taxable Property !!

 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ???

 I had noted in an earlier posting that a major TIF property had a questionable assessment.

The property at 3907-09 N Sherburn, which is one of the parcels for the Sunrise Development that the Village Board is planning on funding for $800,000 plus had a drastic change in assessment for 2007.

The assessment dropped $598,059 or about 21% of its former assessed value.  In addition, the assessor changed the property from a parcel with improvements to vacant land --- even though there is still an apartment building on the property.

When I questioned the Assessors Office as to why the new assessment discounted the aparment building, I was told that the Assessor knew there was an offer on the property, and that the new owners planned to tear down the building and get TIF funding for a new project --- and that the Assessor valued the property as though is was empty land, based upon what might happen.

In fact, the property had an occupied apartment building and there was not even a closed sale on the property.

In checking with the WI Dept of Rev, they affirmed that the assessment was done incorrectly, and that the property should have been properly assessed with the improvements, and not as vacant land.  Future planned use has no affect on the present use and market value.

The almost $600,000 that the assessor dropped off the value of the property means that all property owners in Shorewood pay more in taxes to make up the difference.

Also when the TIF district does their calculations on the increase of value on the property, they will have an extra cushion of $600,000 that will go to the TIF and not to the schools, county, MATC, etc ......  which again will be taxes shifted from that property to other property owners in Shorewood.

Following are the assessments for the Sherburn property for the past few years, applying the applicable State Equalizers:

Sherburn                                      Land                           Improvements                    Total

2004                                           474,000                        1,627,240                         2,101,240

2005                                           507,900                         2,250,282                        2,758,182

2006                                           530,425                         2,350,081                        2,880,506

2007                                          2,282,447                       00000000                         2,282,447

                      This is a drop in the assessment of $598,059  which equals a 21% drop in value !!

HERE IS A COPY OF THE ACTUAL TAX REPORT THAT STEVE REQUESTED I POST

                    WHAT DO YOU THINK?               YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED !

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 !

According to property tax information available on the internet, the property at 3907-09 N Sherburn, which is one of the parcels for the Sunrise Development that the Village Board is planning on funding for $800,000 plus has changed dramatically for 2007.

The past assessments for the Sherburn property had a separate assessment for the land and a separate assessment for the improvements (buildings) which is the normal breakdown, and is the way that the property at 1111 E Capitol (Riverbrook Restaurant) is assessed.

Following are the assessments for the Sherburn property for the past few years, applying the applicable State Equalizers:

Sherburn                                      Land                           Improvements                    Total

2004                                           474,000                        1,627,240                         2,101,240

2005                                           507,900                         2,250,282                        2,758,182

2006                                           530,425                         2,350,081                        2,880,506

2007                                          2,282,447                       00000000                         2,282,447

                      This is a drop in the assessment of $598,059  which equals a 21% drop in value !!

                      (note: the 1111 E Capitol Dr property had a decrease in its assessment of about 4%)

• Is this the only property in Shorewood that has dropped in value by 21% ?
• Why is the assessment no longer broken down into its parts ?
• What implications does this have for the proposed Sunrise Development ?
•  Inquiring Minds Want to Know !!

                                     Do you Know ?            Do you have any Comments ?

During the Cold War, there was a real possibility of armed conflict between the NATO Forces and the Warsaw Pact Forces.

Among other considerations if such a conflict occurred, was that the battleground would have been in Europe, with a fairly dense population living in cities.

Having recently gone through the nearly total destruction of many European cities in WWII, NATO Forces developed a nifty little nuclear bomb (called the Neutron Bomb) that killed people with radiation, while leaving the buildings standing! 

Fortunately in the political and military world, the conflagration in Europe did not happen (albeit due to millions of lives lost in various wars fought by the surrogate forces of the Super Powers and the threat of MAD - Mutual Assured Destruction ) .

But in the business world, Jack Welch the former CEO of GE  earned the nickname of ''Neutron Jack,'' due to a series of dramatic restructurings and layoffs he instituted, that cut over 100,000 jobs - cuts that  were so painful to employees that they began referring to him as  ''Neutron Jack,'' after the nuclear bomb that vaporizes people but leaves buildings standing.

Soooooooo about now, you are asking yourself "just what does Jack Welch or neutron bombs have to do with Shorewood Schools "?

The Connection between them became apparent to me as I contemplated the Dis-Connect of the messages that the Shorewood School Board has been sending to us over the past few months.

Just last September (07) the School Board was saying that we have to seriously look at closing a school due to falling enrollment. 

From an article by Dave Fidlin,  dfidlin@cninow.com published September 5, 2007 :

Shorewood school closing possible

Reconfiguration scenarios created for district

Dropping enrollment

http://www.shorewoodnow.com/story/index.aspx?id=657702

"Based on its examination, administration found that the district's four schools are currently at 75 to 80 percent capacity. By 2010-11, those figures could dip to 65 to 70 percent if the schools were to stay as is."

One of the options discussed was closing the Middle School. Superintendent Blane McCann said  "If the district were to close SIS, it could result in a savings of $622,000 in operational and staffing expenses." 

At the time, the School Board was of the opinion that it needed to go slow in reviewing the options and doing more research before taking action.

Back then Board  Member Paul Zovic said "I think we need to have some real numbers for all these options -- These are big decisions. We're not in planning mode."

Superintendent Blane McCann was quoted as saying "I would advocate careful planning,"

But now - barely 5 months later --  the School Board is asking for about $10,000,000 from Shorewood Taxpayers to Remodel and Upgrade the schools !

The message we now hear from the Shorewood School Board members is one of Urgency!  We need $10 Million NOW!

As quoted in http://www.shorewoodnow.com/  January 30, 2008:

"Board member Paul Zovic said he favored investing in the technology upgrades, for which the district will ask for $1 million.  (It is) something we not only haven't been keeping up with, but have been chiseling away"

"We're addressing some really, really old problems," board member Michael Mishlove said. "We're dealing with infrastructure that is ancient relative to the rest of the state. We need to take action. We can't hand it down to the next generation."

"Superintendent Blane McCann said there would be some reconfiguration of the north gym, with lockers and classrooms in new areas. The library remodeling, meanwhile, would encompass the construction of stadium seating and modifications to the computer lab. "

BTW (by the way) --- the School Board decided to request $9.65 million from taxpayers in a referendum, as "During deliberations, a consensus was reached that a referendum of less than $10 million would stand a greater chance of being approved by constituents."

I Am Wondering What Happened To The Slow And Steady Approach Of 5 Months Ago That Was Concerned With Dropping Enrollment And The Need For Consolidation --- And Taking Actions That Are Well Thought Out And Will Address The Future As Well As The Present ?????

Is the School Board "Neutroning" our schools?  We have already eliminated clerical, maintenance and librarian personnel among others --- and our student population is on a decline (in part from the inability of school age families to pay Shorewood taxes??).

 The student population that we do have is highly dependent upon Open Enrollment and Chapter 220 Students --- both programs which are vulnerable to the vagaries of political action in Madison and the decisions by the Courts!

The Village of Shorewood and the Shorewood School District are inextricably linked and co-dependent.  If the Shorewood Schools develop a cough, the Village gets the flu, and when the village has a temperature, the schools develop a fever.

We currently have a Village Board that is betting the economic future of the Village, with a plan that in a flat realty market could backfire into big time loses for the taxpayers.

 In one scheme the Village Board  is looking at, it will pay  duplex property owners to convert their buildings to single family residences, making living in Shorewood even less affordable --- and further diminishing the student population.

 Now the School Board wants to spend $10 million on buildings that are under-utilized, and may become more so, as families with children cannot afford Shorewood's taxes.

As our good friend and fellow blogger Joe Mangiamele wrote in his  Spirit of Shorewood blog on Monday, Jan 28 2008 

"We have acquired stacks of stodgy documents called plans, none interrelated nor integrated nor linked  to each other within a spirit of what is Shorewood. We have no "visible component" within our village that brings all of these together, to express the total of our community spirit.  We have no code or ordinance and no commssion or commission head to give us direction and leadership. "

http://blogs.shorewoodnow.com/from_the_village_square/archive/2008/01/28/spirit-of-shorewood.aspx

In summation, I urge the Shorewood School Board to step back, reconsider, and look at our school system from a "sum zero" perspective.  Don't "neutron" the system, saving the buildings at the sake of the students and teachers. 

If it costs more money --- so be it --- as long as the investment is the result of a unified plan, with the Village, in making our schools the best they can be - now and for the future - and maintaining our school system as one of the major factors in making Shorewood a place people want to live.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.

 For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

  You Paid for It: A Shining Shorewood

 For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

Two nights ago, on the 18th, the Shorewood DPW committed a large crew during the night to do a snow removal operation in the Business District.

Hooray !!!!!

On my block (4400 N Oakland)  and south, they did a great job.  Shoppers can actually get from their cars to the shops now.  

However -- (you knew there was going to be a however) -- the Merchants on Capitol Drive have nothing to cheer about.  As of this afternoon, their stores and the street are still separated by mounds of ice and snow.  

I wonder if anyone on the Shorewood Board of Trustees has ever had any retail experience (other than shopping).  If they ever depended upon retail sales for their livelihood, they would know that this week -- the week before Christmas -- can be a make or break event for many of the merchants.

With the high rate of property taxes that are paid for commercial property in Shorewood --- in addition to the BID tax that commercial property owners pay --- it is outrageous that these merchants are not taken better care of by the Village.

Note to Village Trustees:  Forget about bicycle races, and forget about artist displays by outside vendors at the high school, and forget about spending Tens of Thousands of Dollars Advertising how Friendly Shorewood is to Pedestrians and how Upscale the stores are for Shoppers --- try spending the money on clearing the snow banks so the merchants can make a little money and keep their businesses open.

 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.