Tuesday
Sep012009
« County misses deadline to sell stadium naming rights »
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 5:00PM
The deadline for Gwinnett County to sell naming rights to Gwinnett Taxpayers' Stadium (aka Gwinnett Stadium) has come and gone. As a result, the county will lose out on a greater share of the proceeds when naming rights are eventually sold. Fortunately, for Gwinnett property owners, the car rental tax that went into effect last year has been generating higher than projected revenues, enough to allow the county make payments on the outstanding bonds. Even still, as I outlined in a post here on the Buzz in April, 2008, the car rental tax comes out of the pockets of the Gwinnett taxpayer, meaning that Gwinnettians are still paying for the stadium.
To be honest, the Gwinnett County Commission is very lucky in that the car rental tax projections understated the true revenue. If the board were in danger of defaulting on debt service payments, could commissioners really risk the ignominy of a major county government defaulting on its loan? Given that the board has already cut the budget to the bone, would there be any choice but to move forward with the highly controversial property tax increase? So long as the naming rights are eventually sold and other income sources hold up, Gwinnett property owners should be spared yet another demand to provide funding for yet another government undertaking.
The real question is should the commission be let off the hook because they have managed to take more tax dollars than expected from Gwinnett residents via the car rental tax? They have still raised your taxes, just not property taxes. They have dodged a bullet thusfar, but here we have more evidece of the poor management of taxpayer dollars by this commission. They gambled with our money to build a stadium for a professional sports team that expects average Americans, during hard economic times, to underwrite a stadium while the team pays enormous sums of money to men to play a game. I do not think they should be applauded for good fortune masking poor management. Do you?
To be honest, the Gwinnett County Commission is very lucky in that the car rental tax projections understated the true revenue. If the board were in danger of defaulting on debt service payments, could commissioners really risk the ignominy of a major county government defaulting on its loan? Given that the board has already cut the budget to the bone, would there be any choice but to move forward with the highly controversial property tax increase? So long as the naming rights are eventually sold and other income sources hold up, Gwinnett property owners should be spared yet another demand to provide funding for yet another government undertaking.
The real question is should the commission be let off the hook because they have managed to take more tax dollars than expected from Gwinnett residents via the car rental tax? They have still raised your taxes, just not property taxes. They have dodged a bullet thusfar, but here we have more evidece of the poor management of taxpayer dollars by this commission. They gambled with our money to build a stadium for a professional sports team that expects average Americans, during hard economic times, to underwrite a stadium while the team pays enormous sums of money to men to play a game. I do not think they should be applauded for good fortune masking poor management. Do you?
Reader Comments (2)
All these clowns who thought that a stadium was a good idea need to be thrown out NOW! NOT AT THE NEXT ELECTION. NOW!
Instead of supporting candidates who say they are “fiscally conservative”. Why don’t we support candidates who’s personal finance support what they say. I want a Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey candidate. Some one who saves more, spends less and avoids being ripped off. We scream about the debt levels and the wasted money but we know nothing of the debt levels and spending habits of the people we elect. If the people we elect have no personal or business savings and loads of debt, why should we expect the Elected to act any different with public finances.
If you really want to a smaller government you need to be honest with yourself and show the Elected that it can be done. Do you continually borrow money to buy groceries, gas, clothes, toys? The state of California borrows money every year to pay it employees. No one can honestly say it is in a good financial position.
Free yourself of the chains of slavery. Free our country from the chains of China. “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
Read Financial Peace and The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. If we can free ourselves from the chains of the Banks maybe we can free ourselves from the chains of Government. Now that is change you can believe in.
Another great article.