Things have never been better in of Idaho as we were just named the fastest growing economy of any state. On top of that, Coeur d’ Alene now ranks as the sixth best performing small city in the country. This index is based on one-year/five-year measurements of employee and salary growth as well as the growth in technological output.

I believe that a good share of this story relates to the 48 urban renewal districts in Idaho. These districts have been formed to stimulate billions of dollars of investment in the reclamation of mines, mills, gravel pits and blighted areas in the state and their transformation to new, high-quality developments. These dollars become the blood supply for Idaho’s economy and represent the amount of confidence that investors have in the state as well.

In Coeur d’ Alene, we have all witnessed what a great job has been done by Mayor Sandi Bloem, the City Council, Planning and Zoning, and the Lake City Development Corporation.

Today we see a new library, new bike trails, a new Chamber of Commerce building, as well as projects such as the Kroc Community Center and Riverstone Park. This should make all of us very proud to claim Coeur d’Alene as our home.

The LCDC has been critical to the implementation of this positive growth. Through their efforts over the last six or seven years, they have created huge public benefit while watching every dollar that goes into these improvements. People who try to discredit this remarkable effort have claimed that developers are lining their pockets. This is not true and is not possible. Tony Berns and the LCDC Board make sure that every penny is accounted for and every public dollar is well spent through the auditing process.

There is estimated to be more than 10,000 urban renewal agencies in the country, being utilized by 47 states. The reason there are so many is because they work.

There is over $2 billion worth of tax-increment valuation in Idaho alone — revenue that can be used to help in the development of public roads, parks, parking garages, etc., as well as supporting the development of affordable and living-wage housing. Now, as a benefit of urban renewal, Coeur d’ Alene has its lowest unemployment rate in 10 years and more quality development and jobs than they’ve ever had in the history of the city. Riverstone alone is expected to generate $86 million in total tax increment by the year 2012 for the LCDC. Furthermore, there are 450 new, high-paying jobs that have been created at the Riverstone site.

If you look back nine years in Coeur d’ Alene to the start of urban renewal and consider all of the projects that have been impacted by this agency you will recognize why urban renewal is so important for this community. As the tax increment grows, so does the ability of the urban renewal agency to do additional projects such as parking garages, affordable housing programs, and to help light up projects like the education corridor. With the help of urban renewal, Coeur d’ Alene can become a national showpiece and an even more remarkable city than it is now.

When thoroughly investigated and understood, there is no down side to urban renewal. Your property taxes have not and do not change due to the existence of the urban renewal agency. Property within the districts is taxed the same as all other property within the county, but the tax money that is derived from the new developments is added to an increment that will be invested by the LCDC into the future community of Coeur d’Alene.

Furthermore, new projects that are located in the urban renewal districts create value which ultimately translates into a larger tax roll, reducing the burden on the taxpayer in the future. Thanks to urban renewal, Coeur d’ Alene has transformed itself from the extraction economy of the past to the new economy of today.

Urban renewal is an amazing tool that is used all around the country and is very effectively used here in Coeur d’ Alene. The LCDC has been a great bargain for the citizens of Coeur d’Alene. Congratulations to all of our public leadership in making Coeur d’Alene the best performing city in Idaho.