To the editor:

Apparently, the City Commission believes that it is a good idea to give away $12 million in tax revenue to one of the largest developers in town. They have chosen, on your behalf, taxpayers, to enrich the private coffers of local tycoon Doug Compton, et. al., at the expense of community needs.

This commission and staff have shamelessly promoted the Ninth and New Hampshire project in spite of the fact that its overall economic value has been questioned by many, many people. Further, this project has been bitterly opposed by the adjacent historic neighborhood. They will suffer most in the encroaching shadow of this misguided project.

Tax incentives like the ones just given to Compton and Treanor represent a direct drain on public resources. We are forgoing decades of tax revenue to subsidize a hotel that is neither needed nor wanted. The incentives granted add insult to injury. Indeed, the pandering observed at City Hall this season has been breathtaking.

We don’t need a new hotel or a new parking garage. What we need are city leaders brave enough to reject backroom sweetheart deals and, instead, protect community resources while exercising some semblance of fiscal sanity.