Wednesday, October 04, 2006
White Elephant Slurps From Government Trough
How generous of the Regional Asset District Board. Their proposed 2007 budget of $76.9 million includes $2 million for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center as a temporary measure until the great gaming savior delivers annual monies to take care of the operating deficit of the center.
Look again at the brief history of the center and its funding mechanisms: when the old center was torn down and the larger one built, more of the hotel tax—a perfectly sensible user fee—was put toward debt service, eating up the dollars available for tourism promotion and covering the operating deficit. Boosters then hatched a plan for a car rental tax, which was never enacted. Now slots money will close the gap, but since there is not one slots parlor open in the state, the RAD leaders, under pressure from the elected leaders who appoint them, have ponied up $2 million until that money materializes.
The RAD leadership states that since collections of the sales tax are up and the debt service to the Mellon Arena is dropping that this is merely a $600,000 outlay. Tell that to any of the other regional assets or groups that applied for funding that were turned away that the mechanism that funds libraries and parks now has to contribute to the convention center because regional leaders and their “bigger is always better” attitude put the region into this situation. Those groups ought to question just how well bookings are going at the center.
Let’s hope that the gambling train is moving along this time next year because if it isn’t, the RAD board will once again be funding the center’s operations. And though the RAD tax dollars might have gotten a small boost from the All-Star game that padding won’t be there next year.
Look again at the brief history of the center and its funding mechanisms: when the old center was torn down and the larger one built, more of the hotel tax—a perfectly sensible user fee—was put toward debt service, eating up the dollars available for tourism promotion and covering the operating deficit. Boosters then hatched a plan for a car rental tax, which was never enacted. Now slots money will close the gap, but since there is not one slots parlor open in the state, the RAD leaders, under pressure from the elected leaders who appoint them, have ponied up $2 million until that money materializes.
The RAD leadership states that since collections of the sales tax are up and the debt service to the Mellon Arena is dropping that this is merely a $600,000 outlay. Tell that to any of the other regional assets or groups that applied for funding that were turned away that the mechanism that funds libraries and parks now has to contribute to the convention center because regional leaders and their “bigger is always better” attitude put the region into this situation. Those groups ought to question just how well bookings are going at the center.
Let’s hope that the gambling train is moving along this time next year because if it isn’t, the RAD board will once again be funding the center’s operations. And though the RAD tax dollars might have gotten a small boost from the All-Star game that padding won’t be there next year.
