Siren Warning: Rays Will Loot CIT funds, Raid Cash Reserves and Confiscate Property Tax Revenues with Circular Taxpayer Financing

Do elementary school math. The proposed Rays Stadium Subsidy Scheme will loot a super super majority of taxpayers 2024 CIT renewal funds in the first 4 years of the tax.

Siren blares as Rays loot CIT

Hillsborough County Commission will vote on Wednesday  whether to approve the Rays "Memorandum of Demand" for your tax dollars to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. 

If county commissioners rubber stamp their approval, the Tampa City Council will rubber stamp theirs ASAP thereafter. 

Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa are running a dishonest disinformation campaign for the Rays. Below is what is being presented publicly on Wednesday.

The County is NOT telling the public the actual percentage of "estimated" CIT  funds they will "throw" to the Rays for a New Stadium.  

Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa know that if they show the percentages (graphics above), it will spark more public outrage. Voters and taxpayers were told in 2024 "they" were getting "their" infrastructure improvements FIRST NOT providing FRONT LOADING funding for a $2.3 BILLION New Rays Stadium.

Basic Math the County is NOT telling the Public Wednesday about
how much UPFRONT CIT funds are front loading a New Rays Stadium

What else is "conveniently" missing from the County's 4 years of Local Funding Framework chart?  The Rays' Cash Flow which adds to the County's deceptive disinformation campaign. 

The County is voting Wednesday whether to move forward on spending over a Billion dollars of your tax dollars but they are not telling you where the Rays funding is coming from. What is the Rays cash flow, where is it coming from and are they spending at least $500M in the first year? 

This lack of transparency is dishonest, deceptive and unscrupulous.

The CIT is a half percent sales tax that was initially approved by voters in 1996 to build the Bucs RayJay stadium, fund roads and needed infrastructure and build schools. 

City and County CIT funds are already used to maintain three stadiums in Hillsborough County: RayJay, the hockey Arena and Steinbrenner field.

As reported here, voters were promised in 2024 the CIT would NOT be used for any New Stadium. There was NO funding for anything related to any New Stadium, infrastructure or otherwise, in either the County or city of Tampa's list of projects they told voters would be funded by the CIT renewal. 

Even with promises to NOT fund a new stadium, the 2024 CIT referendum barely passed 51.57 to 48.43. This reflects a big trust issue voters have with local elected officials regarding how the County and city of Tampa spend their tax dollars. 

Today due to the elimination of the commercial lease sales tax, CIT revenue projections are reduced from the get go by approximately 8-10% per year from what voters were told in 2024. That reduces the  CIT revenues the County had expected to receive by hundreds of millions of dollars over the term of the 15 year tax.

Also missing from the County's Local Funding Chart is the Revenue side. Voters were told in 2024 the CIT would generate a total of $3.764 BILLION over its 15 year term. The County has never publicly adjusted that revenue forecast after the commercial lease sales tax was eliminated. More dishonesty, lack of transparency and unscrupulousness.

Less revenue generated will already impact projects promised voters in 2024. But the Rays demand they be FIRST in line to get a super super majority of YOUR CIT dollars UpFront. 

Due to sales tax revenue volatility, CIT revenues declined during the last 2 fiscal years - before losing the commercial lease tax funds. 

CIT revenues declined even with the Rays playing their home games at Steinbrenner field last year. 

But there's no CIT shortfall backstop from the Rays.

Risky Business.

Now, the "powers to be" are trying to evade a lawsuit by using semantics claiming your tax dollars are funding the Rays "New BallPark"... like the County is funding a little league baseball field not a Rays Stadium bleachers, walls, roof, etc.

Someone forgot to CYA on the use of "BallPark" instead of Stadium because the Rays agenda item on Wednesday's headlines as a NEW STADIUM PROJECT.  

But Houston There Is a Another Problem!

As reported here

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just sat down with the Tampa Sports Authority, Hillsborough County, and the City of Tampa to discuss a billion-dollar renovation of Raymond James Stadium.

Stadium funding stops being a one-time infrastructure investment. It becomes a permanent line item. Schools, roads, hospitals, all competing with the same tax dollars that keep a football team from leaving town.

Hillsborough already committed almost $600 MILLION of CIT taxes to fund "Public Facilities" that includes maintenance of RayJay, Steinbrenner Field and the hockeyArena. Tampa already committed $165 MILLION of CIT taxes to fund maintenance of RayJay and the hockey Arena.

Along with infrastructure and public safety needs, the Rays, the Bucs, the Lightning and the Yankees will all feed off the same budget and the same tax dollars. The math does not work. 

This shady sketchy stadium subsidy scheme allows the Rays to raid $103 MILLION from the County's Cash Reserves just as Hurricane Season begins. How ironic that it's been Ken Hagan who has lectured the public for years the County must keep its Reserves high to keep the County's credit/bond rating. 

What's also missing from the County's Local Funding chart is the bonding debt and interest costs forced on taxpayers for decades. Bonding the Tourist Tax only will cost taxpayers between $240 and $280 MILLION in interest payments. If CIT was also bonded, those interest costs could approach $1.55 BILLION.

The Rays get circular financing by the taxpayers. The taxpayers foot the bill to hand the Rays hundreds of millions of dollars Upfront. The increased property tax revenues that exceed the debt service for their Stadium District Community Redevelopment District (CRA) will keep circling back to the Rays. 

 

The County continues their deceptive disinformation campaign for the Rays on Wednesday. They dishonestly leave out critical information to intentionally deceive the public. 

This backdoor Stadium Subsidy Scheme is a slap in the face to voters and taxpayers. 

Concerned about the County allowing the Rays to loot your CIT funds UPFRONT, raid the County's Cash Reserves, and the taxpayers circular financing that benefit the Rays Billionaire owners? 

Want the County to honor their 2024 Promise that CIT renewal funds NOT fund a Billionaire's Ballpark?

Want Roads, Infrastructure and Public Safety Funded FIRST, NOT a New Stadium? 

Contact All the Hillsborough County Commissioners NOW before Wednesday's meeting.

Sign up to speak in person or virtually at Wednesday's meeting.

 

Voter Betrayal, Payoffs & Massive Taxpayer Debt So Rays Can Get "Their" Stadium Funding Upfront and FIRST

Game on! 

Hillsborough County commissioners set to vote whether to approve the latest Rays "Memorandum of Demand" at the May 20th BOCC meeting.

Fearful of a lawsuit, semantics is now being used by Hillsborough County and city of Tampa to defend their use of CIT funds for a Rays stadium. 

As we reported here, Ken Hagan and majority of county commissioners told voters in 2024 that the CIT renewal funds would NOT be used to fund any NEW Stadium. They specifically removed "Community Stadium" from the referendum ballot language.

Below is from the February 2024 Hillsborough County CIT Workshop:

According to the latest "Memorandum of Demand" from the Rays, 

The CIT Contribution Amount may only be spent on Public Use Areas, and only if each of the County’s and City’s respective CIT project list, is amended, following respective public hearings, to include the New Ballpark Project as a “public facility”. 

In other words, the Rays demand "they" get "their" infrastructure UPFRONT and FIRST.

The 2024 CIT renewal ballot language included no wording in it to fund anything for any NEW stadium.  Hillsborough County and city of Tampa provided voters with a list of projects the CIT renewal tax would fund before the election. Those lists included NO funding related to any new Rays Stadium to gain voter support. The County and city of Tampa knew voters would reject using CIT to fund anything related to a New Rays Stadium.

Now they are using word games to subvert the intent of the voters they misled in 2024. 

While the "Rays infrastructure" gets priority with YOUR CIT funds, projects such as the Lithia Pinecrest and CR29 intersection have been delayed. This project, delayed for years, will not complete until at least 2033 years after the Rays have gotten "their" infrastructure projects completed. 

Many CIT projects could be at risk if CIT revenues fall and/or bondholders must be paid first.  

Thanks to Commissioner Wostal for documenting a comparison of changes made since the Rays April 9th "Memorandum of Demand" he addressed to Hillsborough County Taxpayers. It is not a pretty picture for taxpayers.

• If CIT revenues do not meet projections, there is NO Rays-secured shortfall backstop - aka the County must rob Peter (other projects) to pay Paul (the Rays).
• Rays Demand an additional $103M of County funds in addition to the CIT, CRA (your property tax revenue used to enrich the Rays owners) and Tourist tax funds.
• There is NO Documented Revenue Source for where the funds will come from
• Wostal indicates the additional $103M will likely come from the County's Property Tax General Fund that are the most flexible funds that only requires a simple commission majority vote, no public hearing needed.
• Bonding of the Tourist Tax only will cost taxpayers between $240 MILLION  and $280 MILLION in interest payments.
• Bonding of the Tourist Tax and CIT will cost taxpayers between $500 MILLION and $600 MILLION in interest payments.
• Total Interest payments forced on Taxpayers could be approximately $1.55 BILLION not including Bond Issuance Costs and Pre-Pricing Rate-Rise Risk Costs.
• Public Funding Cap does NOT include bond and risk costs to the Taxpayers.
• Rays get credited back on a dollar-for-dollar basis, future increased property tax revenues that exceed scheduled debt service for the CRA Bonds.
• Rays will retain ALL revenue from tickets, suites, sponsorships, concessions, special events, merchandise, broadcasting rights, royalties, licensing fees, concession fees, non-public parking and ALL naming rights revenue.

Where is the Rays Upfront CIT funds coming from if the County does not Bond out that revenue stream? Will they raid the County Reserves or raid more of your Property Tax Revenues?

Beware of the legal jargon use of the word "OR" instead of "AND" when the Rays "Memorandum of Demand" claims:

Funding from the CIT hereunder shall be implemented so as not to impact any public funds allocated for public infrastructure improvements or public safety within the region, including fire protection, law enforcement and emergency medical services. Using the word "OR" means either one but not both. Using the word "AND" means to include both. The County and city of Tampa are trying to skirt a lawsuit by including this claim. However, the voters were told BOTH much needed backlogged infrastructure AND public safety would be funded by the 2024 CIT Renewal.  It appears this claim is to sway (perhaps Payoff??) Commissioner Chris Boles who spent 28 years as a Hillsborough County firefighter and was an Officer and Spokesperson for the County's Firefighter's Union. Every single First Responder's Organization in Hillsborough County, including the Firefighter's Union, the Police Benevolent Association and Sheriff Chronister endorsed Boles in 2024. They were all a large part of his donor base. We have a good idea where he will land if having to choose between public safety OR infrastructure funding.   Boles 2024 campaign website states: 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. We need to bring critical thinking and common sense back to our government,” Boles continues. We will find out on the 20th whether Boles thinks spending a couple Billion dollars of tax dollars and interest for a new Rays stadium is a "core function of government". We'll find out if he thinks it is fiscally responsible for taxpayers to fund the Rays sketchy stadium subsidy deal and incur massive debt for decades. And we'll find out if he likes the use of the word "Or". The Rays have never specified where their own financing is coming from that begs the question whether they actually have a financing scheme. Their latest "Memorandum of Demand" states the Rays will give public funders access to their own financing information prior to "commitment of public funds". This is absurd! Could you even apply for a mortgage and not provide the mortgage company with your income information?  Perhaps this is the Rays "Give Us Your Tax Dollars Upfront and we'll run to the Bank/Investors and get our financing" moment. The Rays want it all - Your CIT, your Tourist Taxes and your Property Taxes all Upfront and loaded with taxpayer debt. If one is actually critically thinking about the Rays "Memorandum of Demand", as Commissioner Boles claims he will do, they would JUST SAY NO!  If the County and the City approves the Rays sketchy stadium subsidy scheme, they will: Break their promises to the voters Put a massive debt repayment burden on taxpayers Be ramming thru the Ray's demands to meet the Rays timeline using a process of backroom dealing and too little transparency Instead of approving the Rays Risky Business, the commissioners should be calling Three Strikes Rays and you are Out!  And remember INTENT means something!

Baseball The hand writing is on the wall

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog .

The Rays attendance problem continues to worsen. They are now last in league attendance with even the usually high draw games seriously lacking.  As I have often quoted Bud Selig, "St. Petersburg is not a major league baseball market."

 It remains unclear to me why it is so difficult for the politicians to accept the fact Selig was right.

The Kriseman administration has put together another version of the now famous Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which addresses the development rights issue that seemed to be the reason the last MOU went down the toilet.

 Payout money for an early move was also a big issue.

Kriseman has been playing it a bit coy with Council saying he does not want to bring his latest MOU forward until he has enough committed votes for it to pass. Not exactly the way a representative government works.

What he is really saying is he does not want another embarrassing discussion where he gets a bunch of questions he does not want to answer.

Kriseman has refused to conduct the economic impact study Council member Kornell asked for the major reason likely being the only really serious economic benefit has probably been for Fergs Sports Bar.

It's time for a Mayor and the City Council to just fess up to the fact major league baseball will not work here. Selig was right.

For now, if the money portion of the MOU is still the issue with Council, how about a counter to the Mayor's most recent "offer": Rays give up all development rights, construction can begin any time, City agrees to keep 1,500 parking spots on the site, payout to move is set at $50 Million this year, reduces $4 million every year with the payout portion of the MOU sun setting in 2026.  

It is time to let the Rays look any where they want because unless there is someone in Tampa with a big ego and really deep pockets I don't think there will be a Tampa stadium deal.

With two major league sports teams in Tampa, rising ticket and concession prices and the history of baseball in the bay area, it is hard to imagine a new stadium will simply make all of that go away.

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos