Why Can't They Just Say "No"?

The city council has done it again. They’ve taken the taxpayer, bent ‘em over and, well, you know the rest.

At last night’s council meeting, the council voted overwhelmingly to amend the contract regarding the Museum Square, which will allow it to lift the cap on tax-increment financing for the project. The original contract was for $500,000 a year. I don’t know how much it’s going to be now; I only know I’m hurting in my backside this morning.

The argument was that more capital was needed to accommodate underground parking. I will admit underground parking does make some sense. But why wasn’t this in the original plan and already budgeted for? And with the TIF now capped at a higher amount, is this extra money *really* going to pay for underground parking or will it be diverted to something else? I also have to ask about Caterpillar’s role in this debacle. A Fortune 500 company, flush with cash, stock price at record levels and they need this “corporate welfare” for a project the company doesn’t particularly need to operate efficiently? Good grief!!

Meanwhile, city services are lacking; roads and sidewalks in disrepair; swelling budget deficits. With the exception of Councilman Gary Sandburg, the city council needs to learn to say no. I had to chuckle when 3rd District Councilman Manning made the motion that developers should not come back for more financial help. Good one! Make all the motions you want; they’re still going to come back and ask for more money.

I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I do not foresee this museum being a big success in the future; actually I see it becoming a miserable failure. I see this following the same path as the other developmental projects previous city councils have undertaken. After the initial 3 months, visitor levels will drop, interest in the museum will collapse and the facility will begin to hemorrhage money. Like I said, I hope I’m wrong about this.

This is government bureaucracy at its best. The plan for a downtown museum to become a regional draw was ill-conceived from the start. Without rare and unique exhibits that would be popular with people, no one is going to come to this place. Do our leaders and those who will manage the museum have a business plan in place to acquire these types of exhibits? Probably not. Did the planners of the museum budget wisely, preparing for budget overruns and develop contingency plans? Probably not. Did the planners stick with their main plan for the museum that would have prevented budget overruns? Definitely not.

Common Sense of it All: By agreeing to bankroll more of this project last night, the city is getting in deeper and deeper. And this city can’t afford it.