« With finances tightening why is Gwinnett spending millions on a stadium? »

Earlier this week, I summarized the cost overruns for the new Gwinnett Braves baseball stadium that were funded by the Gwinnett County Commission.  Against that backdrop, I would now like to explore the financial wisdom behind this move.  I will set aside for the moment the non-financial question of whether government should be paying in the first place for a place of business - which, after all, is what a stadium is to a baseball team - for a private organization.  The reality is that we are in a financial strain in Gwinnett.  So why are our commissioners cavalierly throwing around millions of our dollars?

Several factors are contributing to the revenue pinch that Gwinnett is feeling right now.  On factor is the effect of slowing population growth on revenue generation.  While many would applaud this slowdown, unless the cost of government similarly slows, the gap between costs and revenue will have an impact on the county budget.  In response, several cost-savings measures have been implemented by the county:

Last week, the county announced a hiring freeze meant to put a dent in rising costs that will sap $20 million from the county’s budget this year. The tax commissioner’s office recently cut the work week to four days to save on energy costs, and police and fire employees have been asked to take measures to save on fuel costs.

Let's consider this scenario.  If you are having to cut back on your living expenses - eliminating those premium cable channels or eating out less each week - because your household income has taken a hit, is that the time to go out and buy a new car that you don't really need?  What if you pay for that car by drawing money from your rainy day fund, a fund that you have already been tapping in recent years to make ends meet?  Consider now that you are buying the car for a friend of the family.  This friend has the money to buy the car himself, but you are going to buy it and let him have primary use of the vehicle.  Also consider that, rather than getting a nice, serviceable Chevrolet or Buick, you and your friend decide that you are going to get a fine Cadillac.  After all, if you are going to buy the car, you might as well do it right.  Would you consider this wise management of your money?  Well, this is basically what the Gwinnett County Commission is doing with the Gwinnett Braves stadium.  Yes, it is an oversimplification and it does not adequately capture the expectation that the stadium will generate additional revenues from various sources for Gwinnett County, but I think this is a pretty fair representation of the situation.

This reckless use of our money is further compounded by the fact that the County denied quite a few law enforcement funding requests during the 2008 budget process.  I understand how budgeting processes work and I understand that departments ask for more than they expect to get so that their basic needs are met.  However, funding only a quarter of requested county positions seems too thin to account for normal budget inflation.  Some of the key positions denied include:

• Two victim assistance positions


• One prosecutor for Juvenile Court


• Two assistant district attorneys for the drug task force


• One criminal investigator for white-collar and computer crime


• Three additional investigators


• 20 Sheriff's deputies and staff for criminal warrants


• 18 Sheriff department positions for jail operations

I do not know the total cost in compensation, benefits, training and other expenses that these positions would entail, but I think it is probably less than the $19 million that the commission just spent on upgraded leather, wheels, and navigation system for the their new stadium.  This failure to fund law enforcement positions is especially galling with today's news of the impact on crime by illegal immigrants.

While Gwinnett County government does not have as poor a record of wasting taxpayer dollars as some other government entities, the Gwinnett Braves stadium shows absolute disrespect by our elected officials for the taxpayers of Gwinnett.  Bert Nasuti and Kevin Kenerly were quite smug in their comments defending this move.  County Administrator Jock Connell exhibited a similar tone in saying the reserve allows the County to pursue "opportunities," noting, "We knew a time was coming when we would use these funds."  What about opportunities that Gwinnett taxpayers would like to pursue with their funds?

$31 million of our money is being given to the Atlanta Braves organization, a business that can afford to pay four of its employees $14 million or more apiece in just 2008 alone.  This amount by itself could pay for the entire "enhanced" Gwinnett Braves facility!  The $31 million represents a transfer of $150 from each Gwinnett household to a business that pays multi-million dollar employees to play a game that you have to pay for your kids to play at a local park.  (Note:  This value uses the 2000 census count of households in Gwinnett County.)  I do not subscribe the wealth envy/class warfare politics so often used by Democrats.  Pro sports is a free market business and the Braves can spend whatever the market will bear on their players.  However, forceibly taking money from families that cannot even dream of making millions per year and giving it to a private business with such an enormous payroll is irresponsible on the part of elected officials.  To do so in a time when crime is a significant issue and those officials cannot even fully fund law enforcement budget requests is a dereliction of their duty to county residents.