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Another Rant!
5/18/09 |
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David Tuthill |
In the Saturday,
5/16/9, edition of The Dallas Morning News, there was the article,
?City tells AG in letter it has ?draft studies? of hotel?,
and James Ragsdale's opinion about the timing of the
report.
It seems city hall is trying its best to deny
public access to this
report. It makes me wonder what
exactly the report states and if what effect
it would have had on the pro-hotel's
narrow victory (only 2000 votes plus) in the election. I
am reminded of the adage ?the only way to can a can of worms is with a bigger
can?.
It seems like ?de-ja vu? all over again in that last year the Dallas Independent
School board purposely withheld a report on the school
district?s audit until after the voters passed a $1.3
billion dollar bond proposal. Once the bonds
were passed, all hell broke loose as the report cited
examples of gross mismanagement and incompetence. Their
mismanagement and incompetence culminated ultimately in the mass firing of
teachers. They
attempted to change their terms from 3 years to 4
years, so three trustees could escape accountability
this May when they should have stood for re-election to their
posts. The Attorney General Abbot has
since declared that action improper.
We see hints that a report about the economic feasibility of a taxpayer hotel
might have been handled in a similar fashion. What
is up with those in power Downtown?
Is there something in the water? What
gives? Are those in power so intent on having
their way they knowingly and purposely mislead their
bosses, the electorate?
Back when I was in high school (1974),
they opened a police substation at Hillcrest High School to attend to the
student body. Perhaps we need something similar
to help enforce ethics and transparency. Are we
not currently awaiting trials of a
former council member and several city officials?
It certainly would be appropriate for the school
board considering its history.
This mess reminds me of the
farmer?s definition of breakfast: ?The chicken
makes a contribution with the eggs,
but the pig makes the commitment with the bacon.?
What should be done is to have the hotel bonds be
unsecured. Then, if the hotel goes bust,
the bondholders end up holding the bag as opposed to the taxpayers.
Junk bond ratings would apply. It might be
argued that no sane investor would buy them. However,
all those ardent supporters of the convention hotel could invest in them.
I can just see Mayor Leppert buying at least 50 of them.
Ron Natinsky would be a big buyer,
too; along with all the city council members
excepting Angela Hunt and Mitchell Rasansky,
who opposed the hotel. I would also
expect City Manager
Mary Shun, CFO David Cook, Asst
City Mgr. A. C. Gonzalez, and
City Atty. Tom Perkins would be big investors.
The various city chambers of commerce who
supported the hotel and their members will load up on
those bonds, too. As well as
the other supporters whose names appeared on the pro-hotel
advertisements. Certainly, the
DMN editors and their
columnists Steve Blow, James Ragsdale and Jacqueline Floyd would want in on the
action.
We could give each purchaser of 10 or more bonds a Green Dallas City symbol to
put on their cars (much like the various ribbon stickers that I see on the road)
to let everyone know they have put their money where their mouth is.
Perhaps a raffle for a weekend getaway at the
hotel could be awarded among the bondholders once the hotel is completed.
Why should the taxpayer be the pig with the bacon,
while our elected chickens are only
contributing the eggs!?!
So in closing I ask those who support the hotel ?how many bonds will you buy??
David W. Tuthill
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