What am I missing in wanting the McCracken County Fiscal
Court to allow use of the Transient Room Tax to pay for moving the dome, and
later, for other scheduled renovations to the Convention/Expo Center?
Here are the facts:
The purpose of the Transient Room Tax, which is paid by those
who stay in our hotels, is to pay for tourist related activities. Hence the dome
relocation would be covered.
The Convention Center through the City will honor its
contract to provide the dome space for the Quilt Show. Quilts are what we are.
The City will bond the money to move the dome. The fiscal obligation to repay the bond will
be on City taxpayers if the Transient Room Tax falls short of what is needed to
pay the bonds, not on County taxpayers.
The budget estimates for the bond payments were based on the
Transient Room Tax growing at 3% per year.
The Transient Room Tax had an annual growth of 4.4% in 2012, 9.3% in
2013 and 12.2% in 2014. The conservative
growth projections of 3% to pay for the bonds through the Transient Room Tax
certainly look, well, conservative.
The City will cover any shortfall on the operation of the
dome for the Quilt Shows, as we have in past years. Again, the fiscal obligation is on City
taxpayers, not on County taxpayers.
So here is what I don’t get. Why can’t the Fiscal Court vote
to let the Transient Room Tax be used to pay for the dome relocation instead of
putting the entire burden on City taxpayers.
Remember, we City taxpayers are also County taxpayers. And voters.
Tell me we are not shipwrecking a sound financial plan on
the rocks of just politics.
Hoping for a Happy New Year.
