While Taxpayers Suffer Consequences of Bad Judgment, Bloated Budgets and Bureaucracy, Rays Want Taxpayer Billions For A New Stadium

Commissioner Ken Hagan plays round of Golf at the
Valspar Golf Tournament with Rays Billionaire Owner
Patrick Zalupski (pic from TBBJ)

Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan plays a round of golf at the Valspar Golf Tournament with Rays Billionaire owner Patrick Zalupski. Hagan then tells the Tampa Bay Business Journal that Taxpayers won't "feel" the costs of a new Rays Stadium. 👀👀

Hagan appointed himself in 2010 to lead the charge for a new Rays stadium. He's maintained being a commissioner for 24 way too long years by using a loophole to jump back and forth between single district and countywide seats.

Why wouldn't Hagan abide by the intent of the term limits in the County Charter?  Because he wants his legacy - a new Taxpayer funded Rays Stadium.  

Hillsborough County's budget was ballooning over the last decade or so with property tax revenues skyrocketing. However, NONE aka ZERO of the rising property tax revenues were being used to fund roads. County constituents kept demanding roads be properly funded using the existing revenue stream that was skyrocketing.

Thus, Hagan could have been a hero years ago to his constituents and taxpayers if he would have championed properly funding roads as the county budget ballooned. 

Hagan did not listen and instead kept advocating for new sales tax hikes instead of funding roads with existing rising revenues.

While roads and infrastructure were neglected and the County kept raising your water, sewer and garbage fees, Hagan has been pushing for a new taxpayer funded Rays stadium for 16 years. He has wanted another sales tax hike so he could help fund the stadium with other County revenues and a renewed CIT tax.

www.eyeontampabay.com/2017/11/the-day-hagan-became-candidate-hagan-r_20.html

As growth occurred and traffic congestion exploded, Hagan kept publicly scolding us that Cash Reserves cannot be used to fund roads because it would impact the County’s bond rating. Now Hagan is A-OK with the Rays raiding $103M of Cash Reserves - just as Hurricane season begins - to fund a New Rays Stadium.

www.eyeontampabay.com/2016/06/taxpayers-beware-sales-tax-hike-is-for.html

To the detriment of taxpayers, Hagan has a history of bad judgment. 

It was Hagan who pushed the county commissioners in 2007 to bond out the last 20 years of the 1996 CIT tax. Voters were told in 1996 those funds would be spent in 10 year increments on capital improvements and not be bonded out to incur massive debt. 

Hagan and Mike Merrill claimed in 2007 there would be so much CIT revenue that all the projects promised could be funded together with paying off the bond holders. 

The very next year the Recession hit Florida big in 2008. The CIT revenue tanked but the bond holders had to be paid first and projects promised could not be funded. 

CIT never recovered enough to fund what was promised due to the huge amount of debt Hagan caused the County to incur.

Hagan also led the charge in 2015-2016 for the corrupt Go Hillsborough (GH) sales tax hike for transit and trains. Like the Stadium deal, GH was orchestrated behind the scenes with little transparency. It was so corrupt it caused a law enforcement investigation and forced changes to County policies regarding lobbyists.

www.eyeontampabay.com/2018/08/the-three-faces-of-hagan.html

By January 2015 with the tax hike GH campaign underway, District Rays Candidate Hagan and his alter ego Tax Hike Hagan had his baseball and tax hike agenda both lined up. The District Rays Candidate Hagan had gotten his secret baseball committee created and got the county to hire an expensive NY baseball law firm Foley and Lardner to negotiate with the Rays.

From FY2020 to FY2023, the County Administrator departments - the County Bureaucracy - increased its operating costs from $1.1 BILLION to $1.8 BILLION. The County's Bureaucracy grew by $700 MILLION, a 61% increase in 4 years at an annual growth rate of 17.2% which is way over population growth plus inflation. 

That is un-excusable and fiscally irresponsible.

http://www.eyeontampabay.com/2023/06/hillsborough-county-blows-through-all.html

After a DOGE audit of Hillsborough County last year, Florida's CFO Blaise Ingoglia stated "

The taxpayers of this county should be outraged at the level of property taxes they are putting into the public coffers, only for it to be wasted by bureaucrats and career politicians

Abusive use of local property tax revenues is why DeSantis is looking to call a summer special session in July or August about putting a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate or reduce property taxes on homesteaded properties on the November ballot. 

If the Amendment gets on the ballot and passes with at least 60%, the Rays deal will totally fall apart.

Hagan clearly stated his support for NOT using CIT renewal funds for new Stadium at the CIT renewal public hearing in 2024:

I COMPLETELY SUPPORTED ELIMINATING A COMMUNITY STADIUM OR STADIUMS BEING BUILT WITH THE TAX, TOTALLY FINE WITH THAT.

It is now obvious that claim was one big lie to pacify voters to pass the renewal tax. A lot of Hagan's claims throughout the years have come with an expiration date.

Hillsborough County has been abusing taxpayers for way too long. We cannot believe Hagan and those commissioners who pompously pontificate to the public with scripted bravado about a Rays Stadium being the miracle drug for "economic development" (not economic prosperity). 

The buzzword "Economic Development" often results in prosperity only among a small elite. It does NOT equate to Economic Prosperity that is tangible improvements for ALL residents. 

If Stadiums were the miracle revenue drug, Hillsborough County taxpayers has been paying for 3 stadiums for decades - RayJay, the Arena and Steinbrenner Field.

With 3 such revenue miracle drugs, the roads should be paved in gold and flooding fixed long ago. Yet the County's roads and infrastructure continued to be neglected.

Commissioner Boles voted to approve the Rays Memorandum of Demand at yesterday's BOCC meeting. We will find out soon whether Commissioner Boles actually meant what he told voters in 2024 when he campaigned on:

It’s more important now than ever to stop wasteful spending and unnecessary costs in Hillsborough County’s budget. I am committed to focusing on the essential core functions of government: ensuring adequate public safety, enhancing our roadways, developing infrastructure to support sustainable growth, and maintaining fiscal responsibility with taxpayer funds.

Boles' Goals included: Invest in infrastructure to reduce traffic and address flooding and Keep a balanced budget, eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government 

Commissioner Miller also voted to approve the Rays Memorandum of Demand yesterday. We will find out soon whether Commissioner Miller, who campaigned in 2024 as a "Conservative" Republican who claimed she was "committed to meeting the NEEDS [Not WANTS] of the community and advocated for funding critical roads and infrastructure" actually meant it.

A new Rays Stadium is a WANT NOT A NEED. Spending $1.5 BILLION of taxpayer dollars to pay for a new Stadium is NOT FUNDING AN ESSENTIAL CORE FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT. Front loading a Billionaire's new Stadium with Taxpayer dollars forcing Taxpayers to the back of the line for the crumbs is even worse.  

Boles and Miller have already filed to run again in 2028. They may have to replace their campaign literature.

There are too many NEEDS in Hillsborough County that must be funded FIRST. For the Rays to race across the Howard Frankland Bridge and demand they jump to the head of the line to get your tax dollars First and Upfront is outrageous.

After witnessing all the massive fraud recently, taxpayers are sick of being the punching bag for crony politicians, bloated County staff, and pay offs to special interests.

The electorate is sick of pontificating politicians who lie to them.

Those across the political spectrum from Conservatives to Progressives vigorously oppose the Rays Stadium Subsidy Scam.

Because it's a Bad Deal.