Lawsuit aimed at stopping $380 million Owensboro Development
By: Import User
Updated: September 21, 2007
A group calling itself Citizens for Public Accountability has filed suit against the City of Owensboro, hoping to block efforts to use Tax Increment Financing to fund a $390 million public/private development project called Gateway Commons. The project still needs approval from the state to become reality, and that approval process is rigorous to say the least.
Before that happens, Citizens for Public Accountability is asking a Circuit Court Judge to quash the project on the grounds that it does not fit the approval criteria for TIF funding, and that it was conceived of in closed door sessions that violated that states open meetings law.
The city of Owensboro has 20 days to respond to the suit. Citizens for Public Accountability co-founder Calvin Ray Robinson says the organization isnt going to stop with this suit. "We intend to make it our business to participate," Robinson said, saying his non-profit group intends to become a watchdog when it comes to local government.
