Welcome to Beatrice, Neb. Want some land? (Photo Credit: CC BY Beatrice Murch/Wikipedia)

If you give land away, people will build. Or at least that’s the hope. Beatrice, Neb., once provided public domain lands to pioneering farmers via the Homestead Act of 1862. That was during very different economic times for America. Today, town officials have drawn up their own Homestead Act of 2010 in the hopes that giving away essentially free land will generate real estate tax revenues to bolster the town’s cash reserves. Recurring property tax is something Beatrice needs more than more baseball fields and parks, reports the New York Times.

Small town America should follow Beatrice’s example

Budget deficits that hamstring the largest cities are deadly to smaller towns like Beatrice, Neb. Dayton, Ohio and Grafton, Ill., are currently on that wavelength, writes the Times. Even Boca Raton, Fla., is considering it as it faces a $7 million budget gap. Such small towns are giving away land for a nominal fee or even free of charge, hoping that will bolster the city tax register and remove the burden of lawn maintenance from the town and place it upon the shoulders of private owners. More residents would mean greater cost to extend services, but the hope is that the property tax revenue will make up for that.

Does that non-profit deserve to be tax-free?

Places like Manchester, N.H., and Concord, Mass., are pondering whether all non-profits should be exempt from taxes. Non-profit organizations that were typically given tax-exempt status are under evaluation by city leaders. Considering that 15 percent of Concord is taken up by tax exempt structures, there are many potential costs that could be made up. At what point will organizations that benefit society have to do more in order to keep their communities afloat? Private schools, churches and numerous other organizations could come into question. The need in small towns clearly exists, and the New York Times isn’t the only publication to notice this.

Beatrice was the home of the original Homestead Act

Perhaps it is appropriate that the Nebraska town is drawing attention to the property tax issue. Clearly a figurehead is needed, if the National League of Cities’ recent findings are accurate. According to that organization, “Between now and 2012, America’s cities are likely to experience shortfalls totaling $55 billion to $85 billion.” Slumps in property tax, sales tax and less state support of smaller towns means that some drastic action may be necessary. Bringing new homesteaders to Beatrice, Neb., and other small towns would likely mean new and improved homes, which  benefits the values in existing neighborhoods nearby.

Dollars and sense

Critics of the Homestead Act of 2010 and similar ventures elsewhere question whether it should be within a city’s power to dole out public land to “any non-taxpaying outsider who asks.” However, as Graton Mayor Tom Thompson told the Times, “What is the value of a lot to us if it’s empty?” The harsh reality may revolve around simple dollars and cents.

Sources:

New York Times

What is “home?”

So many places to go.

Every year, CNN’s Money Magazine names the best places to live. Today, the list of the 100 best small towns in the United States were published at money.cnn.com.

“Small towns,” according to Money Magazine, are places with populations of 50,000 or fewer. Rather than just rehash the top few places, I’ve chosen some random selections from the top 100 Money Magazine best places to live.

Something new in Nebraska

The No. 3 city on Money Magazine’s best places to live is Papillion, Nebraska. It has an unemployment rate of just 4.5 percent, and there are plenty of places to get an easy payday loan. Money Magazine says:

It’s rare for a town to rack up great scores in both economic performance and housing affordability. This friendly community outside Omaha delivers both.

Papillion has acres of open space, traffic jams are unheard of, and par­ents feel comfortable letting their kids ride bikes unsuper­vised.

The knocks on Papillion used to be a tired-looking downtown and few things to do. But the town has been working hard to fix both problems. It is $750,000 into a multiyear downtown revitalization project that in­cludes new sidewalks and antique lighting.

Near the Great Salt Lake

No. 14 on the list of Money Magazine’s best places to live is Farmington, Utah. This town has 16,500 people, and the report says:

A one-stoplight town squeezed between the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake, Farmington has a quaint, quiet downtown with few shops.

Most Farmington residents commute south to Salt Lake City, but some travel north to Hill Air Force Base, Utah’s sixth largest employer.

Go west

No. 17 on the Money Magazine best places to live is Newcastle, Washington. This town has only 9,800 people, but it’s a favorite getaway for golfers.

Once full of coal miners, Newcastle now has a much more diverse jobs base: The town is 15 minutes from both Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters and Boeing’s 737 plant in Renton.

But the biggest draw here may be The Golf Club at Newcastle. Built by former Microsoft exec Scott Oki, the massive site includes two 18-hole public courses and a 44,000-square-foot clubhouse.

An inkling about Iowa

The town of Urbandale, Iowa, is ranked No. 42, and it has gotten some support from residents in the comments section.

Attracted by a strong local economy and low taxes, some 35,000 people have made this Des Moines suburb home since its 1917 incorporation date.

There is much to do within city limits, including exploring 900 acres of parkland and hiking 36 miles of trails.

Go for the ribs

In the home state of the president, Batavia, Illinois, makes No. 56 on the Money Magazine best places to live. The article doesn’t mention that Batavia is near Naperville, which holds a competitive rib-making festival each year. That sounds like a selling point to me.

Here’s what Money Magazine did have to say about Batavia:

Lined with 19th-century limestone buildings, Batavia has an old-town feel despite its location 35 miles west of downtown Chicago and easy access to commuter trains. … Batavia is also home to nearly 200 manufacturing, research, and warehousing firms as well as the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a world-renowned center for physics research.