Will city residents pay $100 per over two years to help support a major downtown Salem revitalization?

I guess they will if they're made to. But will they like it? No. I wonder how much talking and money has been thrown at this topic already for the last 20 plus years, and yet certain people still want money thrown at revitalization schemes that evidently haven't worked up to this date.

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As long as Josie's stays right where it is, I'm happy.

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Yea your right the whole town can look like a ghetto as long as we have Josie's

I can see why Salem doesn't grow.

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Yea lets dis-agree .As long as we got Josis. God help us

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Could anyone else see this going the way of the Community Foundation with the Community Center? Where in the beginning, there is no intention to pay past a certain number but then you realize the money isn't enough and you have to extend it? I still haven't wrapped my mind around what 2 million dollars would do downtown, the brick sidewalks cost more than 3 million. I'd hate to get into the situation where the tax has to be extended.

The more I read and consider the TAC plan, the more I don't like it. At all. But I still applaud Mr. Cahill and the other members of the group for putting together a real plan and presenting it, not enough citizens do things like that.

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The town is turning into a ghetto because most of the industry left. Since asking people to get some type of education or training beyond a GED and being able to pass a pre-employment drug screen is asking too much, then I would expect the businesses that are operating in the Salem area will continue to pay very little. With little or no incomes, the city will continue to make little or no tax collections from many residents.

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I'm not necessarily against a revitalization effort but it must been done smartly to get my support. Too many times I have seen city governments (not just Salem) throw good money after bad at obviously dead-end projects. I would want to know exactly what they intend to do, a detailed explanation as to how it will be a good investment and what kind of return the city expects from it, and what the long term plan is to maintain it. If it doesn't add up then forget about it.

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Why should citizens pay when the city is sitting on big money and already in the drilling unit Roy D? Your city leaders are just playing your lack of knowlegde that they are in fact about to become rich. Their policeis have given you the city they want. Let them rebuild it.

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Can't wait to see the law on this. City council even so much as falls this bogus attempt to squeeze money out taxpayers for this is going to be comical. They are going to open the doors to legal challenges. This nonsense has to stop.

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Swager sez "Why should citizens pay..

They don't. They can't be forced. Can't be taxed and if they do...it is fraud.

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This is almost hysterically funny. Cahill get your projected 5 business business foretasted return plan ready. I want to know your budgets, balances and assets. As a taxpayer and investor into your business, I want to see it. Tell the rest of the business owners to prepare theirs as well.

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Wait...let me make the clear so their is no mistake about it.

Cahill get your projected 5 year business forecast-ed revenue return plan ready. I want to know your budgets, balances and assets. As a taxpayer and investor into your business, I want to see it. Tell the rest of the business owners to prepare theirs as well. We have a right see our investment profits. All of it.

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Go ahead Cahill, keep opening that door wider.

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Sadly i can see this will never happen

So i will continue like many others take my buss, to Boardman & Alliance.

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Ladybug, that's easy for you to say. You're probably 5 minutes away from Josies. I have to drive 26 hours to get me a slice. LOL. The only thing I've done in the last 25 years downtown is get a Josies or a Mario's and one of them is likely gone forever. Actually I take that back. I was in BB Rooners a time or 2.

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Not knocking Josies.I like their greasy o0le pizza.

But the gringinal Marios was better.

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Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. Me and Ladybug agree on something..LOL.

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You think someone might be smelling the shale money the city got and potentially may get and thought they would come up with a plan to try to help them spend it?

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Do you think the city is going to spend that shale moneydon't think

Thats rainy day money when the other funds run out.

Mayor said a $400000def .in a cou[ple yrs.

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You know what is sad? That jerk Cahill had a couple good ideas, he really did. Then he blew it with this money grab and his attitude. The saddest part about all of this...this project is nothing more than a gamble. 2 million dollar gamble. It will work or it won't work. I haven't seen one thing he has laid out with this plan that will show a return on this investment anyhow. Nothing, except the whim, the buildings will look pretty. Well, pretty on one street don't mean anything if the rest of the city looks like crap. He lives in a dream world that it is going to attract tourists. That is a joke. Salem offers NOTHING to attract tourists. Salem is boring boring boring. This is the 21st century. Times have changed, society has change. When are people going to figure that out? This has stagnant for years. There is not night life. Every thing is controlled, controlled, controlled and the busy bodies of this town are destroying it.

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I still can't get my head wrapped around this. Salem has all these parks and they do nothing with them...NOTHING but the old boring crap they usually have. I have that parks commission with their uptight rear ends defy more ways of making money than I have ever seen in my life. Then they wonder why the kids in Salem pack up and move out after they graduate. They have the cruise. They still control it. That event alone should be bringing in profits out of this world. It is almost like somebody is afraid to put a little effort into it.

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Cahill plan? Where is the plan to go with this plan to make sure these building never look like crap again? There isn't one, like everything else Salem does, wait until it looks like crap then nose dive in to do something with it with a over sized unrealistic plan of gungho kill it. I can guarantee we could invest in this plan right now and 5 years after the plan is done the building will be right back to deteriorating.

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All that cruise is nothing more than a party. It hosts the local poor, drunks and kids with a couple of bucks in their pockets to spend. That is why the return is so low.

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Watchdog I agree Mr. Cahill might have some good ideas. The problem in his plan is that he needs to get some private investors in it. It is not the taxpayers responsibility to fund private enterprise. This attitude that government is the Mr. fix it of all our woes, keeps appearing in this country. The government is getting into areas that the founders never intended for the gov. to get into. In fact it was an over bearing gov. that lead to our country coming into existance. Seems some folks want to take us back to the future by always wanting gov. intervention. Find some investors, buy downtown, properties and bring about your vision Mr. Cahill but don't ask the taxpayers to be your partner. I really don't think the majority are interested, just look at the poll results here in the Salem News. That is probably pretty close to what will happen at the ballot box concerning any tax increases to fund your project.

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Watchdog said: Then they wonder why the kids in Salem pack up and move out after they graduate.

Yep, I'm one of them. I tried to come back in 1996 but no jobs.

Check out Forbes list of 20 most miserable cities. A few of them are in Ohio, including Youngstown.

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