Larry hit the nail on the head.
First, the City gives the developers a gift of $1 million. This is paid for NOT by the City, nor by the county, the school district, the library, the Port, or the PUD, but by the taxpayers who face higher property taxes to cover the $1 million in avoided taxes over and above what would be allowed by the normal operation of state law.
Then the developer gives the City a kickback of $250,000 on the gift of the MF tax exemption.
The City is better off by $250,000 than if the developer had built the project without the MF tax exemption. The developer is better off by $750,000 than if the developer had built the project without the MF tax exemption.
And the public is worse off by $1 million than if the developer had built the project without the MF tax exemption.
What's not to like here (if you are a developer or the City manager)?
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