ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Thurs., March 26, 2009

Guest Opinion: Tucson misses a real economic stimulus opportunity

By Jack Camper

Well, Tucson has its own stimulus plan in place. Generally, the city and local developers seem to be happy with it. But was it really the best idea? The Tucson Chamber of Commerce was part of a 20-member Economic Stimulus Stakeholder Group, which was charged by the mayor and City Council to discuss economic-stimulus ideas for the Tucson community using Councilman Rodney Glassman's proposed suspension of development impact fees as a jumping-off point.

The group met six times in 30 days, but the discussions centered around impact fees and deciding whether to suspend or defer them. It struck us that the group didn't consider other ideas — reducing property taxes, sales taxes, waiving the garbage fee or even suspending parts of the sign code. There were many other things the city could have addressed to key the economy.

FULL OPINION: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/285967