As the head of a nonprofit government watchdog group, I hear comments about people’s cynicism toward elected officials all the time. No doubt trust in government is at an all-time low. I try to convince people to find reason to keep believing, but it is truly like pushing a boulder up a hill.
Look no further than Monday evening’s approval by the Atlanta City Council of the new Falcons stadium as a prime example of why people feel this way. Common Cause Georgia had called for a public referendum on the proposed billion-dollar stadium. We wanted Atlantans to decide if public funds should help build it. Be it a binding or an advisory vote, we believed a referendum was necessary for people to find out exactly how much public money would go toward the project.
You have heard time and again from Mayor Kasim Reed, Gov. Nathan Deal and others: The public will fund $200 million of the construction, while Arthur Blank and the Falcons pay $800 million. Here’s the math they do not want you to do:
* $882 million in hotel-motel tax revenue through 2050, all of which under current law must go to the stadium (but remember, laws can be changed).
* $50 million from the state in sales tax credits for construction.
* $24 million in free land from the state on which to build the stadium.
* $15 million from Invest Atlanta — city taxpayer dollars — for unspecified “community development.”
That alone is $971 million dollars of public funding. That amount would more than cover the $922 million backlog of infrastructure projects Reed often talks about. Is a stadium more important than crumbling infrastructure?
The $971 million does not include one more big thing: infrastructure costs. Blank has said he will pick up the tab for the first $50 million. But it’s public money after that. How much will it be? No one can get a definitive estimate. For example, it was revealed last week that the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive bridge will have to be moved to build on the preferred site.
Cobb County residents voted Tuesday to extend their education SPLOST. Last summer, the metro region got to vote on T-SPLOST, the transportation initiative. And Atlantans voted last year to extend the penny sales tax on sewer repairs.
But when it comes to a referendum on the $882 million in Atlanta hotel-motel taxes to be used on this stadium deal, some say, “Unless we’re raising taxes, the people don’t get to vote on it.” Stated more directly: “Once we’ve got our hands on the money, it’s none of your business how we spend it.”
Referendums were held on the public money for billion-dollar stadiums for the San Francisco and Dallas teams. Why not let Atlantans have the same chance to vote on our billion-dollar — or more — investment? Trust in Atlanta government likely took another huge dip Monday night. The boulder I push got a lot heavier.
