IS IT TRUE August 7, 2013

IS IT TRUE August 7, 2013

IS IT TRUE that the City of Evansville may just be understating the cost to the taxpayers by saying the hotel deal will only cost the taxpayers $37,500,000?…the complete story that financial experts estimate the real cost of handing the developer after fees and capitalized interest will cost the taxpayers $44,000,000?…that when any project funded by the purchase of municipal bonds, those investors want their interest at the time of purchase?…that this hotel project will require over two years to complete and during that time, the City will have to pay interest during the construction period just like the Ford Center did?…that the lawyers serving as “bond council” will get their cut that will typically run close to $1 Million for a bond issue of this amount?…that the underwriters will get their cut?…that Mayor Winnecke says that this project will be totally financed through the downtown TIF funds, but, failed to mentioned that the taxpayers will have to pledge their local income taxes from their paychecks in order to finance this deal?

IS IT TRUE that the Ford Center had to pledge the employees local income taxes as well, in order to finance that project?…that Bugsy Segal sold over 400% of the famous Flamingo Hotel but such things are expected of folks like Bugsy whose employer was not exactly an upstanding honest organization?… that the County will come to the table with only a meager $2.5 million and the unfortunate City Citizens will be footing the remainder of the tab?…to get their hands on the $2.5 million, the County will be refinancing the Centre which will have similar legal and underwriting fees?…when the transaction fees to get the $2.5 Million are considered the County may be paying an APR of nearly 100%?…that the City will have to wait until 2018 until 100% of the Food & Beverage taxes go directly to the Ford Center and by refinancing the Centre, that may prolong the Ford Center from receiving the Food & Beverage taxes to its fullest and requires more of the declining Boat Revenues?…that Mayor Winnecke may be following the Russ Lloyd, Jr. playbook in fast-tracking what many taxpayers believe is an elitist project?…the CCO will be following the developments and actions of all City Council Members who have already started getting calls to demand support from local Union Bosses?

IS IT TRUE that yet another financial operations report for the Ford Center has been released to the media with no line item for expenses in the category of bond interest?…this time reporting for Ford Center even had the audacity to exclude the arena-related costs incurred by the Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority, which are between $1.2 million and $1.5 million per year?…even excluding the interest the Ford Center which was sold to the public as being a net profit by now?…by including the interest payments of approximately $5.1 Million per year and annualizing the reported results the Ford Center should be reporting a net loss this year of roughly $5 Million for its second year of operation?…that not including the interest on the bond debt in the operating expenses may be an acceptable accounting trick during the early years when interest is capitalized but it is intentionally misinforming the public of the true operating costs to the taxpayers?…we do wonder what goes on inside the mind of someone or some entity that tears down one building because it is losing $125,000 per year but praises the success of another one that is losing $5 Million per year?…in their own way we could be convinced that the powers that be do not even have the awareness to understand that interest is a cost?…one would think that a banker would be in tune to such things?