Sahara Fragile

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Sahara desert
  • Namib desert
  • Kalahari desert
  • Savanna desert
  • Fragile States

Sahara Fragile

Header Banner

Sahara Fragile

  • Home
  • Sahara desert
  • Namib desert
  • Kalahari desert
  • Savanna desert
  • Fragile States
Sahara desert
Home›Sahara desert›Land Bank Self-sufficiency is a mirage in the desert | News, Sports, Jobs

Land Bank Self-sufficiency is a mirage in the desert | News, Sports, Jobs

By Christopher J. Jones
November 15, 2022
0
0

Ten years ago, supporting the Chautauqua County Land Bank was easy.

What’s not to like about a program that allowed a county in the midst of a housing crisis to access state money to tear down vacant, dilapidated homes? Even better, once the county received seed capital from the state, the Chautauqua County Land Bank would be able to reinvest that seed capital into the program, allowing the program to become self-sustaining.

“The OAG funding enables the Land Bank to leverage up to $2.8 in matching funds from county and state sources. Additionally, CCLBC is confident that with the dedicated staff funded through this program, they will be able to generate an additional $2 million in private funding to support this and future projects and become self-sufficient.

Ah yes, the promise of a stand-alone government program. Autonomous programs are the government’s version of a mirage in the hottest of deserts. They look great then, but they end up leaving you dry. As we now know in hindsight, the land bank did not in fact become self-sustaining despite receiving $6.4 million from the state from 2013 to 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic has not helped things by postponing the tax auction and cutting the land bank revenue stream, but let’s face it – if the organization was self-sustaining, it wouldn’t be pushing so hard to get $1 million from the American Rescue Plan stipend. Act of the City of Jamestown to do more than just demolitions. Don’t forget that the proposal before the council also includes a home ownership program for those buying a land bank or section 19a property, a mentoring program for first time buyers and the purchase an information management platform to work with a city program. It doesn’t look like durability. Rather, it feels like an organization seeking to find new paths to relevance.

Don’t let that mean the land bank hasn’t done a good job over the past 10 years. It certainly is. The land bank brought investment to desperately needed neighborhoods in Jamestown and Dunkirk. Neighborhoods have been improved through the efforts of the land bank.

But the land bank’s sustainability issue is a cautionary tale for Jamestown City Council members as they discuss a 19-year homeownership program that is also to be funded with $750,000 dollars. ARPA. And the program in front of the board has the same siren song “self-sufficiency” in the memorandum of staff supporting the program – “Finally, with a solid initial investment, this program can eventually become self-sustaining, ensuring it continues indefinitely.”

Unlike the land reserve, which exists outside of the county government, the 19A program would be a city-supported program. If the revenue isn’t as high as expected, the program ends or its backers will find themselves before the city council with their hands outstretched demanding more money. And the last thing the city should do with ARPA funding is create a program that could actually become a drain on city finances if the siren song of self-sufficiency ends up being a mirage at middle of the Sahara desert.



Today’s breaking news and more to your inbox







Related posts:

  1. North Africa: Adrar issues exposed as Sahara desert heats up
  2. Migrants rescued in remote Sahara desert
  3. Annual dust cloud from the Sahara Desert is en route to Mexico
  4. Paul Skipworth tackles seven-day Sahara Desert ultramarathon

CATEGORIES

  • Fragile States
  • Kalahari desert
  • Namib desert
  • Sahara desert
  • Savanna desert

RECENT POSTS

  • In South Dakota and Nebraska Deep Red, voters used ballot initiatives to reduce inequality
  • Innovative solution for financial ills
  • “We were abandoned in the desert at 2 a.m.”: migrants expelled from Algeria to Niger
  • ILoveBoobies participates in Desert Dash
  • Land Bank Self-sufficiency is a mirage in the desert | News, Sports, Jobs

ARCHIVES

  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • November 2012
  • May 2012
  • October 2011
  • November 2010
  • April 2008
  • July 2006
  • November 2005
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions