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Knowledgeable business people know that they have to spend money to make money.
To Blair County's credit, the governing board of commissioners recognizes that sometimes it is wise to forgo some tax revenue now in order for taxing bodies -- the state, county, a municipality and/or a school district, for example, to reap a larger collection amount in future years.
The two commissioners who were in attendance at the board's Sept. 26 meeting -- Laura Burke and Amy Webster -- put that thinking into play when they endorsed resolutions extending the availability of tax breaks through December 2030 for undeveloped parcels in two locations.
Commissioner Bruce Erb was absent from the meeting in question but there has been no indication that he opposed his colleagues' decision.
The bottom line, though, is that the action makes sense, from the governmental standpoint.
Rejection of the proposal might have ruined chances for a developer or developers to come forward with proposals anytime soon, although there is no assurance at this time that a developer or developers will in fact come forward. However, wait and see is better than no chance.
As noted in Mirror reporter Kay Stephens' Sept. 28 article dealing with the meeting two days earlier, the vacant land parcels in question are located in the vicinity of the former Bon Secours hospital in Altoona and within the Martin J. Marasco Business Park in Claysburg.
Based on resolutions the then-board of commissioners adopted in 2013 and later amended, the parcels are part of a Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone or Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone, with the undeveloped parcels being scheduled to be returned to tax rolls as of Jan. 1, 2024.
The two commissioners' action of Sept. 26 means that the county and other taxing bodies agree that once an occupancy permit is issued for the vacant parcels, no local-level real estate taxes or state taxes will be collected through December 2030, when the program concludes.
As Burke noted, the vacant parcels currently are subject to taxes -- albeit, not a substantial amount -- because of not yet being developed.
It is taxing bodies' hope that the vacant status will change in the not-too-distant future, even though some revenue will be lost temporarily.
Burke and Webster emphasized the Sept. 26 action was a way to keep trying to attract development to the undeveloped parcels.
"We don't want to shut off that opportunity," Webster said.
"If we don't do it, there may be no chance of development," Burke said.
Altoona City Council also is continuing its initiative aimed to attract interest in vacant parcels. Meanwhile, the Altoona Redevelopment Authority has begun a new effort aimed at saving blighted dwellings before they reach a deteriorated condition where demolition is the only option.
All of the efforts merit praise and must not fall victim to pessimism.
When an effort is unsuccessful in attracting interest, what is being sought sometimes falls off the radar and is forgotten.
Regarding the properties in question, the county must strive to bring new information about their attributes to the forefront at their meetings, in hopes that someday some tidbit of information will attract someone's interest.
Knowledgeable people do know what can be reaped as a result of their outlays or initial concessions.
Blair County's leaders have demonstrated again that they are equipped with that same mindset.