Episode #17 — Sustainable and Just Economic Development

When most people think about taxes and fees, they want to know how they can pay as little as possible. What they don’t think about is how these taxes and fees could be benefiting their communities, the economy, and even their pocketbooks.

My guest today is Rick Rybeck, the director of Just Economics LLC and attorney with a master’s degree in real estate and urban development. Rick has spent over 30 years reengineering taxes, fees, and regulations for local and state governments. He specializes in assessing and updating tax and fee structures to promote job creation, affordable housing, transportation efficiency, and sustainable economic development.

Rick believes it is possible for public and private sectors to work together in a mutually beneficial way to improve communities and economies. And, understanding how each affects your community will be important come election time.

In this episode, Rick and I talk about the purpose and benefits of user and access fees, and how private money can actually help the community and infrastructure. He’s sharing some enlightening stories of how private and public money benefitted each other and the community, and why we need to understand each parties’ stance on these issues. November is approaching, and Rick’s insights will come in handy when you’re looking over your local ballots.