Dear Santa Clarans,
Item 7C2 from Tuesday evening's Consent Calendar got pulled for discussion. Sounds innocuous - but it actually lit up the night sky, if only briefly.
City Staff informs that it will be virtually impossible for our city to have a fireworks display at Central Park this July 4th. Not only do we not have the $65,000 it will cost, we don't even have the City Staff to supervise and conduct it.
Click the icon here for the details.
Boosters of the San Francisco 49ers' stadium subsidy have made this quite clear: It's OK for our RDA (what's left of it) to abolish its own debt deadline to subsidize the stadium, causing our city's General Fund to lose a nominal $19,500,000 over time. (See table, last page.)
But we can't afford $65,000 from that same General Fund for fireworks this year?
If these are truly the priorities of the "stadium boosters," maybe it's time for "fireworks" of a different sort.
When speaking of fiscal responsibility in Santa Clara, it ALL goes on the table - the subsidy for the San Francisco 49ers as well as our General Fund's ongoing spending patterns. Anyone trying to attack one and not the other is simply not giving Santa Clarans the whole story.
You as residents of Santa Clara can help put that discussion back in perspective. Please get involved. Contact the Mayor and City Council and tell them what you think.
Look upon it as another sort of "red glare."
Thanks and regards,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
49ers Stadium Subsidy: Fireworks of a different sort
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9 comments:
What good is it to call the City Council, or the Mayor!?!? They basically continue to do as they please...The Mayor, and City Council members work in behalf of the 49ers/Yorks, and there isn't a dang thing we can do to stop them!
Its time for the residents of Santa Clara who are not in favor of this 49er Stadium to hit the Streets, and protest in front of City Hall! Thats how you show them you mean business, then you RECALL their behinds.
Anonymous said...
"What good is it to call the City Council, or the Mayor!?!?"
If enough people do it - if this Council understands that people such as yourself understand and care what they do - it does a lot of good.
The Post Meeting report for the 3/21 Special RDA/Stadium Authority Meetings is on the city's website. Of 54 distinct comments, NOT ONE supported Mayor or Council on the 49er's $4.5 million grab of RDA money. This must have been at least a *little* disturbing down at City Hall.
So, what you can do to stop them: Refuse to support them or any other "49ers Friendlies" come Fall of 2012. Demand new Councilmembers who will challenge the 49ers on every grab, on every handout.
Coming up: PLEASE get involved in the discussion of the DDA, the Development Agreement, when it comes before the Council. Click here to see why that matters.
We urge Santa Clarans to speak out - the 49ers' stadium subsidy DOES steal money out of our General Fund while delivering almost nothing to Santa Clara in return.
Please. Speak up to our elected leaders.
Bests,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair.org
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I agree with the first commenter. This council could do A LOT of damage between now and the end of 2012.
The stadium supporters on the City Council don't care what those concerned about the subsidy have to say. They will NEVER listen.
We need to get rid of them NOW!!
Can you get rid of them before they sign a binding Development Agreement that really gives away the store to the 49ers?
BB
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ABSOLUTELY!!
Why on earth do we need to wait until AFTER the cow has escaped before we get some responsible people to make sure the barn door is closed???
The stadium majority on this council has already proven that they intend to give the 49ers whatever they want. We need to replace them as soon as possible.
I think you're very optimistic.
A DDA could come before Council in a matter of 2-3 months.
Even if you could force a recall election, that binding Development Agreement will bind any Council that follows.
But if enough Santa Clarans demand a better DDA now - we might be able to limit at least some of the city's losses on the stadium "deal."
Then you can elect a better City Council in 2012 - a Council that doesn't have five "stadium boosters" in the pockets of the San Francisco 49ers.
BB
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There MIGHT be a DDA in 2-3 months, but my guess is that it will take a lot longer. I don't think the 49ers will be able to commit to anything until there's a new CBA and they have a commitment of money from the NFL.
Wasn't that DDA supposed to have been ready late last summer? I'm not holding my breath that it will be ready anytime soon.
And even if it is, why not hold the councilmembers feet to the fire with a recall drive in progress? Without any real challenge to their positions, they will just give the 49ers what they want, as they have already done so many times.
This City Council has proven time and time again that they aren't about to listen to any demands from City Council residents.
I hope there are some Santa Clara residents who are willing to organize a recall effort. I know for many people, the $4,000,000 gift to the 49ers was the last straw. While our schools could use that money to improve education, this City Council just handed it over to a private company to do site improvement work on a site that may not need those improvements.
I'd like to see much more of a groundswell in favor of a recall than I've been hearing even since the March 21st special meetings.
Also: It doesn't matter when in the past that they claimed the DDA would be ready. The point is that one way or another it will come forward WAY before you can possibly recall the "stadium boosters" on the Council.
And once that's done: You'll be stuck with a binding agreement that hands just about everything - money as well as certain control of the stadium - over to the San Francisco 49ers.
If you can get together an organization dedicated to the recall of the five "stadium boosters" on the Council, I know you'll find many supporters among the Members of this group.
I'll be one of them.
We'll look very much forward to hearing more about that as you get that effort organized.
But please do not ignore the DDA when it comes forward - that will be a nightmare for our city with virtually NO escape clauses.
Best regards,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair . org
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