Taxpayers should not pay for parking ramp.

Here is a great letter to the editor in today DNT.

I agree 100%, there is no reason we should be paying for this ramp in this amount.

Taxpayers shouldn't support parking ramp
This letter is to question the city of Duluth's commitment to pay for a parking ramp for St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic. According to the article, "Parking ramp cost shocks council," (Dec. 2), the cost to taxpayers would be approximately $480,000 per year for two years. While the city needs to promote development, it should be done for the community good. Part of that decision should be based on jobs and social justice.
In the Dec. 18 Minneapolis Star Tribune, an article was published on Minnesota's top 100 nonprofit companies. That same article listed SMDC's CEO salary at $980,000 for 2004. SMDC's own report on its IRS Form 990, a required document that all nonprofits must file, listed the CEO compensation at $1,199,812.
While it may be SMDC's right to pay this level of salary, there is no way taxpayers should pay to support this outlandish salary for what is supposedly a nonprofit enterprise. Given this generous salary, it strikes me that the $480,000 per year is available from SMDC and that they can pay out this expense for their own parking.BETH PETERSON SOUTH RANGE