Last quarter, Moody's Investor Services declared the debt issued by Harrisburg, Penn., and Woonsocket, R.I., to be junk, or below-investment grade. ...
These ... cities are struggling under the weight of the recession. Residents are unemployed, and without a job, they can't pay their property taxes, which are the foundation of local budgets. And cities' operating expenses continue to soar; pension and debt payments don't go away. And as their credit gets worse, the cost of borrowing for municipal projects -- such as sewer plants and roads -- just gets more expensive.
This may not come as a shock, but despite the fact that it hasn't a major league franchise to its name, Harrisburg has apparently managed to fill a whole island up with athletics-related taxpayer-subsidized stuff. This problem is endemic in cities across America, too.
Here in Indy, they're firing teachers and school bus drivers, but our losing roundball team is catered to like royalty.
The city would burn every book in the library if that was the only way to light the arena.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with these sports things?
A couple hours south of you, Tam, and the city fathers decided to build an enormous new downtown arena for a major league basketball team we don't even have.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, it was first to be part of a deal with an NBA franchise it seemed nobody wanted. When that fell through, they built it anyway so that the local college team could use it, despite the college having a budget and basketball stadium of its own.
staghounds,
ReplyDeleteBread and Circuses
The Run-as-Fast-as-You-Can Center, our new turd, was built with the hopes of landing either an NHL hockey team (in a town with no meaningful traditions in the sport) or an NBA team, which we used to have, until they picked up their ball, literally, and moved to Cali 25 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe place is being used, instead, as a concert venue for about 200 days a year, right now, with absolutely nothing in sight for filling it by way its intended tenant(s).
At least its not empty 360 days a year.
I just don't get the pro sports thing in the first place. Think of the rifle range you could have in one of those stadia.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of home. They announced last week that the Formula 1, U.S. Gran Prix would be held in Austin in 2012. That came as a surprise to me, given Austin doesn't have a road race course capable of hosting a Gran Prix. Then they announced they would be building a "venue specific" course. I thought, "Oh wow, some million/billionaire really wants to waste some money, huh?"
ReplyDeleteThen came the big news, the millionaire wants the City of Austin tax payers to foot a portion of the bill. After all he says, "Austin benefits from the increase in tourism from a Formula 1 race." Right, until Bernie Eccelstone yanks the race at the last minute and leaves Austin with a 350 million dollar "venue specific" race track.
Despite wanting to see a nice race track with plenty of road racing going on in my hometown, I won't be supporting ANY bond elections to make this happen. In fact, I will go to the city hall meetings and speak before the council on this behalf. F1 is not to be trusted to hold their promises and City tax funds shouldn't be used to build a venue specific sporting arena, that won't be used except for one weekend out of the year.
These wasted basketball/football stadiums are the same thing. Tax payer dollars that could be spent on other things that could improve tourism and the city in general.
-Rob
Governments here always pitch the shortfall for the more necessary government provided services. Sheriff's levies, schools. That sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteThen, when the taxpayers fall for it and vote the new dedicated levy in, the powers that be re-align the budget, taking away all the general fund dollars that used to go to schools and police, to the extent of the dedicated levies. The schools and cops are right back where they started, the taxpayers are stuck with new taxes, and the .gov has more funds available for wasting on non-essentials.
Needless to say, I've voted against every single tax measure to come down the pike for the last twenty years. It doesn't matter how much I like the recipient of the tax increase or how much I think they need the funding. They aren't going to get to keep any increases, so why should I vote myself a tax increase for an ultimate expenditure I disagree with.
If they stop giving the people circuses they may have to give them bread.
ReplyDeleteThe last mayor here in Tulsa spent money like it was going out of style. We spent 196 million to build an arena downtown (BOK Center) although supposedly only 178 million of taxpayer money and the rest in "private donations". The city has bragged that it generated nearly 1 million in tax revenue in the first quarter of the fiscal year (it will only take 44 years to make back the investment at that rate).
ReplyDeleteWe built a new ballpark downtown for our AA baseball team (60 million total cost), vacating a perfectly good ballpark with plenty of parking for one with less capacity (so it doesn't look quite so empty on game nights)and NO PARKING.
We bought a new skyscraper downtown for $78 million to serve as the new city hall. The city government only occupies about 1/3 of the monstrosity and can't find tenants for the rest of it.
So the last mayor bailed and didn't run leaving the new mayor saying WTF? on teh budget. We are laying off cops, turning off the lights on all the highways, closing parks and pools, dodging potholes and falling chunks of bridges and leaving the citizens to fend for themselves 'cause the popo are running call to call to call.
At least ball game attendance is up somewhat :)
I liked this from the Wikipedia article about City Island:
ReplyDeleteBy the 1980s, concerts were held in the old field that was leftover, such as Metallica and Grateful Dead. However, major bands slowly stopped coming to Harrisburg when the Amusement Tax was created in 1982.
Awww. Who woulda guessed?
I was going to note that, but it felt too much like piling on. :D
ReplyDeleteWorse, they had all the surrounding counties pay for the new Indy arena and stadium, on the grounds that, "it's a tax someone else pays" -i.e. gas and food.
ReplyDeleteThe problem being Indy is physically small enough people are 50 miles out before they stop for gas or food.
The scalpers and parking lots make a lot of money, though. I'm sure that's reflected in their taxes. I'm certain of it.
They keep telling us how a major sports team gives a city "Credibility" and brings in other revenue.
Meanwhile, the team makes hundreds of millions of dollars. One would think they could afford the overhead.
Sports,the opiate for the masses.
ReplyDeleteSports...it worked for Rome to rile the masses need for working off their anger and frustration by participating in passive aggressive spectator voyeurism...and, it provides another keen distraction so the citizens keep their noses out of the governmental doings.
ReplyDeleteHow long will it be when we're throwing nubian servants to the lions again????
Our city/county government got blackmailed for a new $30 million stadium (for a single A baseball team) by the team owner, who supposedly ran out of funds after construction began.
ReplyDeleteWhen our nearest neighbor built essentially the same stadium for their minor league team only a few years ago for less than half that price, solely with private funds.