The question is, obviously, if the deal points on the Marlin's desperately-sought-for-stadium suddenly got better-- more in favor of the public on the issue of sharing profits when the private owners sell the professional baseball team-- why didn't city negotiators (and let's not leave the county out, too) do a better job from the first? (Here's a shout-out for City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who had the temerity to question the deal, sparking the latest round of 'improvements'.) There are probably many reasons the Marlins have been driving the deal that puts the cost on the back of the public and the riches, when the stadium and team are sold, into the pockets of private owners. (Please click, 'read more'.)
It is no surprise: top government officials, including former county managers, agency heads, and "senior aides", have the same golden handshake as financial executives: they are rewarded for playing the game, and more so where the outcome is more heavily weighted against the public. Its a different facet of the revolving door with big engineering and contracting firms. They slip from one role to another, without losing a step.
Another reason arises, by reference, in today's Miami Herald: that the prospective no-bid contractor for the Marlin's stadium, to be voted on today by the City of Miami Commission, was terminated from his prior job for illegal campaign contributions. "The Miami City Commission will vote Thursday on granting Bob L. Moss' new firm -- Moss Construction -- a bid waiver to build the proposed 37,000-seat ballpark in Little Havana. The Miami-Dade County Commission is scheduled to vote on the Moss bid waiver on Monday. In 2003, Moss was ''terminated'' from his job as Chief Executive Officer of Fort Lauderdale's Centex-Rooney Construction, Federal Election Commission records show. But Moss said Wednesday he was not fired, he left on his own accord."
Apparently this was news to the city of Miami, yesterday.
A year and a half ago, in response to the federal conviction in a Miami courtroom of the Richard Wickett, former chairman of the massive engineering firm-- PBS&J-- I wrote, "Keeping the spigot of campaign contributions flowing is integral to the work of big engineering firms as it is to petty despots at the county level who use public hearings to throw citiens off-guard, changing agendas at the last minute, holding people who take time off from work to testify-if they are given a chance to speak publicly-for hours and hours. In most cases, big engineering firms like PBS&J are in the background, watching the proceedings on television, leaving the heavy lifting to the developers and lobbyists."
The process describes what is going on with the Marlin's deal to a "T". And it also accounts, partly, why government negotiators are playing T-ball against the owners of a professional baseball team.
8 comments:
Did you read that the County wants to use the BED TAX for a tourist police force? Only Javier Souto could think something like that up!
What does everyone in Government think, that the bed tax is a bottomless pit from which to divert money to the under-funded?
And remember how Sarnoff was pilloried for his "political grandstanding" at the 11th hour. He deserves a lot of credit.
Still, an awful deal is now only slightly less-awful. It still needs to be voted down.
"why didn't city negotiators (and let's not leave the county out, too) do a better job from the first? "
uhhh...because Miami politics is corrupt and incompetent? Oh, and why isn't our award winning daily newspaper on the forefront of this? Too busy with front page stories on someone joy riding in a stolen freight train to actually COVER a key story for the city and county. Sorry to break the news to everyone!
The bed tax is a ripoff and no way to lure tourists to Miami. Tourists are not interested in the Marlins when they come to Miami, they can watch them play in other cities. Professional sports have been ripping off the taxpayers for too long. If the Marlins want a $600 million stadium, let them build it themselves with their own money they scalped from the people who want to watch their games.
This sorry chapter reveals the necessity of reforming the application and uses of the tourist bed tax. But how will that ever happen with the special interest control of the legislature?
Bed taxes are a great funding source to maintain and promote tourism. Unfortunately the intent of bed tax revenues got twisted and preverted by Carlos Alvarez and Manny Diaz and the lobbyists who control them. Now the Marlins, which attract almost no tourists, will be getting 100% of all unallocated bed tax revenues. $2 billion to the Marlins and their lobbyists.
I hope to God that the voters will REMEMBER who votes how on the issue.
We seem to have short memories here. And both Mayors are playing the cards the way they are because of something. And it doesn't matter what their personal reasons are, because they didn't care enough about their constituents (read this as: constituents = WHOLE Miami-DADE, not just sectors) to do the right thing.
The County Mayor, as a lame duck, doesn't care what the voters want, unless he is running for election in a Hispanic district for another post. So, think about where he is going to go next; he is.
The two Mayors are chumps. Neither have ever been successful businessmen, unless you count shaking down donors to fund campaigns as a business.
How anyone could think diverting money meant to support and maintain tourism and giving it to a private company that does NOTHING to attract tourism is a good idea is beyond me.
Tourism is a 365 day a year business and it needs supporting.
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