The newest Event Center Task Force member, Boris
I really think the reason the Event Center task force is pushing for the bigger 18,000 seat facility isn’t because they think we need it, but because it is an excuse to raise our retail taxes by a penny.
Case in point, Â I think it was task force member Terry Baloun (?) who said, (paraphrasing) “If we were to use the the Bed and Booze tax we are looking at a much smaller facility.”
and as I mentioned earlier last week, councilor Quen Be De Knudson said at a joint county/council meeting, (paraphrasing) “I can’t wait to raise taxes to 7 cents so we can build all kinds of nice things for this city.”
These two statements have really gotten me thinking. They know they can build a smaller facility DT with a bed and booze tax, but it would require a retail tax increase (which would raise an estimated $100 million a year) to build a monstrosity at the convention center location and rebuild Howard Wood.Â
Don’t be fooled by the ‘NEED’ for an 18,000 seat facility, this is about increasing our taxes by a penny. That tax will never, ever go away, the De Knudsons of the world will just find other things to spend that $100 million on each year.
It really surprises me that a person who claims to be an advocate for immigrants and the less fortunate supports taxing food to build an entertainment facility. What are you spiking the honey with these days De?