Plain Press

  • Cleveland City Council passes new tax abatement legislation

    Cleveland City Council passes new tax abatement legislation Plain Press, July 20220                             At a special meeting held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Cleveland City Council passed legislation that will restructure the City of Cleveland’s tax abatement policy.       A press release immediately following the meeting from Cleveland City Council Chief of Communications Joan Mazzolini explains the new…

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  • Local and state politicians show more empathy to developers than to Cleveland’s children

    Local and state politicians show more empathy to developers than to Cleveland’s children by Chuck Hoven Plain Press, July 20220                             Cleveland’s new tax abatement policy set to start on January 1, 2024, while better than the current policy, does little to address the glaring need to substantially increase the flow of property taxes to the Cleveland…

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  • Cleveland City Council weighs proposals to change Cleveland’s tax abatement policy

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Monday, May 16, 2022; Cleveland City Council Meeting, Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue: During the Public Comment period at the Cleveland City Council Meeting, Ward 4 resident David Beach addresses Cleveland City Council on the issue of the reauthorization of the City’s residential tax abatement program.  Speaking of the Justin Bibb…

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  • How residents can address issues concerning tax abatement and the Cleveland Community Development Corporations

    How residents can address issues concerning tax abatement and the Cleveland Community Development Corporations To the Editor: (Plain Press, June 2022)          The May 2022 issue of the Plain Press has to be the finest edition of the Plain Press of all time. It should be framed and mounted on the wall of Cleveland City Council’s chambers: https://plainpress.blog/2022/05/ .      Here…

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  • Cleveland’s approach to community development should put people before developers’ profits

    Cleveland’s approach to community development should put people before developers’ profits by Chuck Hoven Plain Press, May 2022             The City of Cleveland’s tax abatement program is coming up for renewal at the end of May. For many years, the City has used tax abatement as a means of attracting new residents and improving its housing stock…

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  • Homeowner’s bills higher in Cleveland than in Mentor

    To the Editor: (Plain Press, February 2022) I would like to comment on your article in the December 2021 Plain Press on property taxes. I grew up in Mentor and own the home I grew up in, and currently rent it out. The property taxes for that house are much lower than the Cleveland house I currently live…

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  • Cuyahoga County Department of Appraisals updates information on 2021 property taxes

    Cuyahoga County Department of Appraisals updates information on 2021 property taxes by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, December 2021)                 Michael Chambers, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer, admits most people fail to understand how property taxes work. At the November Lincoln Heights Block Club meeting at the Tremont Taphouse, he talked about an update on 2021 property taxes.      Chambers…

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  • Legislation introduced to establish Ohio City Entertainment District

    Legislation introduced to establish Ohio City Entertainment District (Plain Press, December 2021)           Ward 3 City Council Member Kerry McCormack has introduced emergency legislation to Cleveland City Council to approve the application of Ohio City Legacy, LLC to establish an Ohio City Entertainment District. The entertainment district is designed to benefit prospective hospitality industry tenants in the…

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  • Council of Cleveland Neighborhoods presents concerns to mayoral candidates 

    Council of Cleveland Neighborhoods presents concerns to mayoral candidates  by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, November 2021)        With the majority of registered Cleveland voters staying home and choosing not to vote in the mayoral primary, it remains uncertain whether they’ll decide to cast a vote in the general election on November 2 for either Justin Bibb or…

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  • Cleveland needs leaders with a moral compass

    Cleveland needs leaders with a moral compass by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, August 2021)       As Clevelanders prepare to select a new mayor and consider their choices for city council representatives for the next four years, we may be asking ourselves how do we best judge who will make a good mayor or city council representative? What qualities…

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