"By agreeing to a referendum, the Dolphins would test the lingering backlash against the 2009 deal that gave the Marlins a new ballpark largely funded by taxpayers. The Dolphins see their plan as more palatable, since Ross has agreed to use private dollars to pay for at least $201 million of the project, with state and county funds paying no more than $199 million.
Ross would likely use a mix of team and NFL funds, and some finance authorities have said NFL money could match the Dolphins’ contribution dollar for dollar.
The public money would come from a new, $3 million state subsidy for Sun Life, and from increasing the county’s tax on mainland hotels to 7 percent from 6 percent. The Dolphins have proposed the same hotel-tax hike in prior years. A Miami Herald poll in October found 84 percent of Miami-Dade respondents were against spending tax dollars on the stadium, but that was before Ross’ pledge to use private dollars for a majority of the work."
They must have gotten better poll results this time around. His contribution doesn't make a lick of difference to me. I would vote no on the stadium funding if he put 95% of the money in. I suppose that Mayor Gimenez might have told Ross, the stadium owner, NO WAY without a referendum. They had a meeting February 1st. Gimenez saw what happened to the last Miami Dade County Mayor who didn't do a referendum: Recall. He is not a stupid man. The referendum would cost between $3 and $5 million dollars. The Herald said they didn't know who was going to pay for it.
15 comments:
Gimenez must have hard-balled them. They didn't have a choice, a referendum or nothing.
But, the words "binding" were not in the article. Remember, they were proposing a "non binding" one. Also, Gimenez really should walk away. This isn't doing him a service and there's no reason to support this other than campaing contributions, which there are so many other players involved (think procurement & zoning).
If the Marlins lose a binding or non-binding referendum it is over. No one would go against the will of the people.
The last mayor that didn't use a referendum on a staduim ended up buff and greased. Wonder how this one would look?
no i haven't been polled but get alot of calls i don't answer because i don't recognize the tel.; that said, i just checked the miami-dade calendar for elections in 2013 and it doesn't show anything for May. does this mean it will be a special election? how much will that cost? is Ross footing the bill for that? why can't we just have a trustworthy government body that does the people work and tell Ross to go to either pay for it all or shut up? if we want to raise taxes for anything, it should be for something that benefits everyone who lives in Miami-Dade. how about a fund all homeowners making less than 100K can share in to help pay for our skyrocketing windstorm insurance?
Vote No!
There are no elections that was discussed in the Herald article. We don't know who will pay for the election.
Just vote NO, if the legislature actually approves this nonsense. However, do any of you really, really trust the ballots in Miami Dade? I don't. Think about who's on board and the lobbying & campaigning that will be going on.....I truly believe the Dolphins are under the impression they can either rig the ballots or convince enough voters to approve this.
The other issue is Broward. They're putting nothing towards the deal and all those jobs are not guaranteed to Miami Dade residents. I would venture to guess a lot of those jobs will go to Broward residents at a cost of approximately $48K each in tourist taxes per job as a previous poster pointed out when this blog first reported the story.
And, of course, how many of those jobs will need to be bi lingual? I would guess not many, so the bulk of the English speaking jobs will not be for the residents in this County purely based on a guess of our demographic make up......And, I'm saying that tongue in cheek after what the Marlins did with the "bi lingual" only need apply stuff! Talk about reverse discrimination, which is a whole other issue but one that will come up in regard to the "jobs" promise which is getting really old as well.
Steve Ross, write a check for this stadium upgrade! We can use the funds for our dilapidated water/sewer system which no one wants to talk about at the county level!
I got polled on this yesterday late afternoon from area code 646 (Manhattan). It was a 15-minute, very detailed live poll. Seemed like a push poll because it went through extensive arguments for and against the funding, checking to see if arguments changed opinion, but I am sure they were just evaluating messaging and maybe even doing supporter ID. Asked opinion about Marlins stadium, soccer, opinion of Loria, Ross, and Gimenez. Asked party affiliation, race, income, age, liberal vs conservative, televised and live sports habits, and fantasy football participation. Open ended questions, also. A normal person wouldn't have had the patience for the whole thing. Logic of the script all broke down if you supported stadium improvements but not with public money. Don't think this poll could have been analyzed in time for this referendum announcement. I think the campaign has begun.
I was polled. I was pushed in every direction to see which one would work on me. None did. I was not budging.
Rules: Do not attack the bloggers, no trolls and stay on topic.
I deleted the one that attacked the blogger.
A special election will cost between $3-5 million. Some people are OK with that, if the Dolphins foot the bill. Really?
The idea that a corporation can pay government to conduct an unscheduled election on a date of their choosing to secure a favorable vote for a tax windfall is obscene.
There will be countywide ballot in 2014 when the voters will be choosing a governor. Ross can front-end the project and wait for the next election.
Thank you Ross Hancock for the feedback on the poll.
Yeah, I would be livid with a special election for this type of tertiary issue. It would be ludicrous if the county funds it, and it would be ludicrous to allow a corporation to fund a special election.
The County & State has made it almost impossible for a regular citizen to get anything on the ballot during a regularly scheduled election. The behind the scenes hanky panky with the Dolphins just makes my blood boil. If the Dolphins are allowed to just "pay to play" as I would deem it, than the process for regular citizens and groups should be level and it should be as easy for everyone.
Think about "Fair District's" and other issues the State litigated to death to even be allowed on the ballot. So, if the legislature allows this, then all bets should be off. I have a bunch of proposals I'd like to put on a referendum, which I'm pretty sure enough funds could be raised privately........
In the alternative, just make this go away. Gimenez is doing the County no favors here by negotiating away tourist taxes, which can be used, as Mr. Hagen pointed out, for parks and so much more which will net tourism 365 days a year.
This has got to stop. Our legislature shouldn't allow this however they probably will.......
Look at someone like Daphne Campbell to see the kind of people we have in Tallahassee!
It's time for a citizens revolt! We cannot allow this.
If the City of Miami Gardens supports this as has been written, I have an idea, issue Bonds to pay for it! See how your property owners would like that. They have the greatest net benefit, and behind them as someone posted will be Broward, who is putting in nothing!
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