Paul Berry III Congressional Exploratory Committee
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-October 31, 2015
ST. LOUIS, MO- Paul Berry III Congressional Exploratory Committee releases the following statement regarding the City of St. Louis bid to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency requesting NGA operations currently located in Downtown St. Louis remain in the City of St. Louis and relocate to a property development to North City of St. Louis:
“The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency relocation site proposal is the single most important business development project directly affecting North City of St. Louis on the horizon. Without considering standard Federal employee cost of living salary increases or potential future operational expansion of NGA West operations, the proposed City of St. Louis NGA West campus will create 5 billion dollars in employee income over the next twenty years.”
“Additionally, NGA West campus successful relocation to North City of St. Louis would serve as a shining example to private businesses and government agencies alike that Missouri Congressional District One is open for start-up and relocation projects. However, while I support the efforts to keep NGA operations in St. Louis, I have grave concerns regarding issues identified by the Army Corp of Engineers associated with the City of St. Louis bid for NGA West relocation and seek to work with my fellow Missourians to provide the best possible NGA West relocation bid the St. Louis region can produce.”
“There are five main issues the Army Corp of Engineers and Southwest Illinois officials (competing for the same NGA West campus relocation bid) have identified regarding the City of St. Louis NGA West campus bid that the City of St. Louis can immediately address to support keeping the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in the City of St. Louis. Without swift and corrective action to address the following issues, the City of St. Louis may lose the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus relocation bid to Southwest Illinois.”
“First, the City of St. Louis must demonstrate that eminent domain required to develop the proposed City of St. Louis NGA campus site is supported by the affected property owners and provides respectful treatment of residential tenants residing within the proposed City of St. Louis NGA campus site boundaries. The United States government takes seriously the use of eminent domain when developing government projects, such as the proposed City of St. Louis NGA site. Additionally, over 90,000 signatures were submitted to the NGA in opposition of utilizing eminent domain to build the proposed North City of St. Louis NGA site.”
“The City of St. Louis must immediately identify each property owner and homeowner that will be affected by the proposed City of St. Louis NGA site and work to gain their public support for the proposed NGA campus project. While I am normally an opponent of use of eminent domain, I believe that the vacant property vacuum within the proposed City of St. Louis NGA site presents both a blighted property and criminal safety issue that provides eminent domain appropriate in the instant matter.”
“While the City of St. Louis following my suggestion will expose opposition to the use of eminent domain for the proposed City of St. Louis NGA site, our elected officials in the City of St. Louis should embrace the opportunity to engage the community and lobby to their affected constituents to support the proposed City of St. Louis NGA relocation proposal. This is one instance where eminent domain is not being utilized to hurt a private business to promote the business interests of another private business.”
“Further, the City of St. Louis needs to establish eminent domain procedure that provides any residential tenant required to move are compensated for the cost of surrendering the affected property to eminent domain purchase. I proposal such residential tenant relocation amount equal three months of rent, to compensate for affected residential tenant’s new rental property deposit, relocation costs and one month’s residential property rent.”
“Second, Mayor Slay and Jay Nixon failed to consider the creativeness of the Southwest Illinois officials bid to establish higher education initiatives to couple with the overall NGA operational mission and employment opportunities offered by the proposed NGA West campus. Organizing job training and continuing education that supports the overall operational mission of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is low-dollar/high-impact component to the Southwest Illinois NGA relocation bid and our elected officials should not feel shameful to effectively follow suit. Respectfully, the City of St. Louis is best served by Governor Nixon providing executive leadership on the above-stated education components to the City of St. Louis NGA West campus than utilizing the same efforts lobbying NGA officials.”
“Third, the Army Corp of Engineers have identified a few buildings within the proposed NGA West campus that are registered as Historical buildings with the Federal government. Such as with eminent domain, the Federal government takes the destruction of buildings designated by the Federal government as historical in nature very seriously. I believe that the City of St. Louis is best served by immediately conducting a citizen survey related to the required destruction of buildings within the boundaries of the proposed City of St. Louis NGA West campus. Again, the City of St. Louis must not be fearful to articulate the needs of the St. Louis region to all of their constituents.”
“Fourth, the level of crime in the City of St. Louis and employee safety has been brought to the forefront by supporters of Southwest Illinois bid competing for the same NGA West campus relocation development project. I was dismayed when I heard the allegations made by a City of St. Louis Alderman who sought to discuss a comprehensive crime plan directly with Mayor Slay and until recently, such crime reduction strategy meeting never took place. Mayor Slay should personally dedicate at least a thirty minute meeting to each City of St. Louis Alderman to discuss any need thought relevant to the needs of such Alderman’s constituents, including crime reduction.”
“Addressing the whole issue of reducing violent crime in the City of St. Louis within the confines of a bid to host NGA West campus is unrealistic. However, I sincerely believe that it is vitally important for the City of St. Louis to recognize the challenges Missouri Congressional District One has with violent crime and demonstrate the willingness to implement short and long-term solutions to provide a safe working environment for National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employees. Additionally, the City of St. Louis should promote the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s ability to provide employee safety at other Federal government operations campuses within the City of St. Louis.”
“Fifth, the City of St. Louis should not require City of St. Louis local earnings taxes upon the paychecks of employees of the proposed NGA West relocation site campus. The final NGA West relocation decision completed by the NGA Director will consider the effect of NGA campus relocation upon NGA employees. Supporters of Southwest Illinois NGA campus relocation bid believe the burden of City of St. Louis local earnings taxes places their NGA campus relocation bid above the relocation bid submitted by the City of St. Louis.”
“I strenuously urge Mayor Francis Slay and the City of St. Louis Board of Alderman to immediately draft and authorize legislation to forbid any City of St. Louis earnings tax upon the employees of the proposed National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus before the Thanksgiving break. The loss of $225,000,000 of employment income earned annually from 3,100 well-paying jobs maintained within the City of St. Louis may occur if the City of St. Louis does not take swift and corrective action to address the $2,400,000 in yearly local earnings taxes attached to the paychecks of employees working at the proposed National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus site.”
“Many jurisdictions within Missouri Congressional DIstrict One utilize tax increment financing to attract private businesses from other jurisdictions within Missouri Congressional DIstrict One, in some cases no more than a few miles away from the previous business location. To legislatively forebay the City of St. Louis local earnings tax burden upon Missouri workers is a more honorable way to win the bid for National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus relocation than ill-advised utilization of tax increment financing to attract low paying private sector jobs the St. Louis region has traditionally been involved in. The best way to attract private business start-up and relocation opportunities in the City of St. Louis is to limit the amount of taxes businesses have to pay by providing fiscally conservative government operations.”
“The natural reaction to my contention regarding eliminating City of St. Louis earnings taxes upon employees working at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is why should such NGA employees not pay any earnings tax and the rest of the City of St. Louis residents and employees be required to pay the City of St. Louis earnings tax? I wholeheartedly agree with the basic proposition that government should not pick winners and losers. However, I do not believe any City of St. Louis resident or person employed within the City of St. Louis should pay any local earnings tax upon their income. It is of the utmost importance the City of St. Louis officials take swift legislative action to ensure local earnings tax scheme does not serve as an obstacle to attracting public and private sector job growth.”
“Without considering fiscal inflation, changes in tax rates or cost of living payroll increases, the elected officials of the City of St. Louis must consider if over a twenty year period are they willing risk 5 billion dollars of payroll income available to their constituents, 1.7 billion dollar NGA West campus construction project and 160 million dollars of tax withholdings at the chance of receiving 48 million dollars of local earnings tax revenue for the City of St. Louis from the relocation of the NGA West campus?”
“I adamantly believe Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and City of St. louis Mayor Francis Slay must take immediate action to address each of the above-stated concerns within the next thirty days to place the City of St. Louis NGA campus relocation bid in the best form possible. Maintaining 3,100 jobs in the City of St. Louis that average $75,000 each per calendar year should not be threatened by the utilization of local earnings taxes by the City of St. Louis. The City of St. Louis and the State of Missouri is best served by Governor Nixon and Mayor Slay focusing on refining the substance of the bid to relocate NGA West to North City of St. Louis, instead of blindly lobbying on behalf of a deficient NGA campus relocation proposal.”
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