To Regional Roundtables:
I understand the pressure the
DOT put on the members of the Regional Roundtable Executive Committee and how
the projects and their cost were decided on. It was a ramrod deal with little
that could be done by the individuals on the committee. As one county
commission chairman explained, it was a “carrot and stick” program with no
carrot. I admire the ones who know it is a bad deal and have avoided promoting
it. For fear of retribution from the DOT, many have said nothing negative. Others
have promoted it heavily to enhance their position with the DOT and have sold
their voters down the drain.
When politicians succumb to
peer pressure and communicate with other elected tax and spend types, they
actually start believing the hype and the one-sided plan that sounds so good,
with no challenging questions, no critique, and no problems - they convince
themselves this is a good deal.
Attached is the TIA data for
the Lowndes County project list and TIA funds available. The more facts
the public has, the less interest there is in passing the tax. As you can see,
the facts make a bad deal even worse.
From a business viewpoint, it
does not appear to be a good deal for taxpayers.
In Lowndes County there are
$190 million in projects but only $129 million in TIA funds committed to these
projects - leaving a $61 million shortfall. The TIA law and the DOT make it
clear no project will be started without financial assurance of completion in
the required time period.
My county is projected to raise
$252 million in 10 years or $25.2 million per year.
My chart shows the build out:
Years 1,2 &3: 2 projects
costing $4.2 million (we will pay in $75.6 million during these 3 years)
Years 4,5,6&7: 4 projects
costing $26 million (by the end of this period we will have paid in $176
million in taxes)
Years 8,9 & 10: we get 76%
of our TIA money ($98.8 million) pushed into the last period
SUMMARY: we pay in $252 million
and get back $123 million from the RR - or 51%. From a business standpoint, I
can’t imagine how it is beneficial to the city or county. We would send out
collected tax funds to other counties while our projects are $61 million
underfunded. Plus we are holding the tax bag hoping for our regular fuel tax
funds to complete our projects. This is fiscal irresponsibility to the
residents of my county.
Please note that 96% of our
projects occur in years 4-10 (20% year 4-7) and (76% in 8-10). The big selling
point of our Chamber of Commerce and mayor is “jobs and economic improvement.”
In reality if you can wait 4 to 10 years for a job or economic recovery, you
need neither. When the public understands the facts, they are irate about the
deal designed by the DOT and Roundtable. The DOT has aggressively overplayed
their hand and many public officials are supporting the DOT to their own
demise. If the voters express their feelings at the polls, there is a big
political upset coming that will play out for years with voters, due to the DOT
and political excesses.
Last but not least, our project
list includes the rebuilding of a privately owned railroad, the Georgia Florida
Railroad, using $6.25 million of our tax money. If it was a deal where the
county or city got a percent of earnings it might be worth the risk, but we get
nothing but “HOPE it improves our economy” as a return. If this was an
economically viable venture, I know some people who would invest in this,
however the taxpayer who funds this has no one to protect his investment. This
is why Public/Private Partnerships are generally a bad deal, the public
pays the bill and takes the risk and private business gets the profits.
Public/Private Partnerships was a big legislative push for the Georgia Chamber
of Commerce and the Republicans in state government. When the “good ole boys”
in government and the “good ole boys” in business get together, the taxpayers
take a shellacking.
Would you invest your money like the Regional
Roundtable has done? Their lack of credibility and accountability is telling, a
huge front-end investment and back-end-loaded with few real benefits and a lot
of risk, maybes and questions.
Nolen Cox
-- Source: "Transportation Leadership Coalition" Google Group. http://www.traffictruth.net/
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