Congratulations to reporter Luke Broadwater for taking a hard look at Baltimore City finances ("Baltimore's development boom leads to loss in school aid," Feb. 7).
But jeers to the mayor and our pathetic City Council for trying to blame the state for the loss of revenue.
Baltimore needs to pay its own way, which means funding its schools — and all public services — out of an equal taxation program.
Why should I pay more in property taxes for my house than the multimillionaires who control our Gold Coast — and they also get preferential treatment on all city services. (Has your street been paved in the last 40 years?)
It's really outrageous to claim that the state is "punishing" Baltimore. Why should a farmer in Garrett County, or a retired steelworker in Dundalk, have to subsidize the wealthy 1 percent of Baltimore City?
The obvious solution is to tax all city property at its full value, just as homeowners are taxed. Of course, the city's leaders, who sleep — figuratively and, in one prominent case, literally — with the big developers will never consider this. After all, how would they get free gift cards and trips in exchange for the TIFs and PILOTs the city gives away?
And if the developers are unhappy and threaten to abandon their opulent buildings, that's great. The Marriott Waterfront and Lockwood Place will make wonderful homeless shelters.
William Barry