Tuesday, December 20, 2005
A Cabela's Christmas in Pennsylvania
Cabela's continues to get all the breaks
By Bill Uhrich
Reading Eagle
December 12, 2005
Reading Pennsylvania
During the Christmas holiday season, I usually make some kind of gift recommendation for the bird watcher.
But this year, I have to pause because of a convergence of events in northern Berks County, especially considering how these occurrences reflect the values of Christmas. The late Esther Ludwig, a former Shoemakersville bank director, bequeathed $20 million to the Hamburg School District for scholarships to district students. The Christmas season demands that we ask ourselves: What will we, either individually or as a society, do for our children? And this gift to the school district is an overwhelmingly positive affirmation to that question. What better gift to give a child than education?
Now, I hate to counter this gracious act with a downer, but I have to. Esther Ludwig's generosity to the Hamburg School District stands in stark relief to the tax breaks Cabela's receives. I know, I know. Not Cabela's again. Longtime readers of this column will recall my criticisms of the tax deals that Cabela's wrangles out of every community the retailer builds in. But after Esther's gift, I felt compelled to find out what the numbers are regarding Cabela's tax breaks in Tilden Township and the Hamburg School District, especially considering the hot debates in Berks over property tax reform.
According to Hamburg School District tax records, Cabela's carries a property tax assessment of $19,818,900. Their tax liability for this year to the Hamburg School District would be $381,264.11 if Cabela's were paying its full tax. Instead, the district received just $68,627.54. The $312,636.57 that won't go to educating Hamburg's kids is going to pay off Cabela's bond debt. The numbers for Tilden Township are depressingly similar. Records from their property tax receipts from this year show that Cabela's tax would be $10,383.80, but the township collected just $3,143.75, and the rest likewise went to pay Cabela's debt.
Who has to make up for this shortfall? The overburdened taxpayers.
Tilden levies a $30 Emergency and Municipal Services Tax on every employee who works in the township. Cabela's had 609 employees on which the tax was levied during the first three quarters of this year. This number includes full- and part-time employees and includes new hires due to employee turnover. A further breakdown of these numbers shows Cabela's employed, including turnovers, 34 from Tilden and 81 from the borough of Hamburg. Tilden and Hamburg aren't reaping many benefits in regard to employment. To be fair, though, a majority of employees at Cabela's are from Berks. But what's also important to note is the retail sprawl that's taken place and its effect on the aesthetics and on the rural nature of the area.
A number of residents in Tilden and Hamburg are concerned about what's happening to their mountain township and mountain town, particularly in light of a developer's request to rezone 63 acres next to Cabela's from residential to commercial with plans to bring in a national big-box retail store. Some of these acres are located in the tax-relieved Keystone Opportunity Zone that was created for Cabela's. Big boxes at the foot of the mountain. Just what we need. If you are from Tilden and are as concerned about this issue as some of your fellow citizens, there will be a comment period on the zoning request during the next township supervisors meeting Saturday at 8 a.m. in the basement of the Tilden Elementary School.
Raise your voices and make a joyful noise.
Merry Christmas.
Contact Bill Uhrich at 610-371-5090 or buhrich@readingeagle.com.
