No
on Q and R Volunteers “Pass the Hat” and Ask Morning Commuters to
Donate to a “Relief Fund for Billionaires and Out of Town Developers”
SACRAMENTO–CALPIRG,
the statewide public interest advocacy organization, announced their
opposition to Sacramento County Measures Q and R on October 5th, the
measures to increase the sales tax to pay for a new Kings arena. While
CALPIRG explained why the measures are a bad deal for Sacramento, local
citizens opposed to the arena tax stood in a downtown Sacramento
intersection, “passing a hat” around to morning commuters. They
jokingly asked commuters to donate to a “Relief Fund for Billionaires
and Out of Town Developers.”
“Measures
Q and R require Sacramento County taxpayers’ to shoulder much more than
their fair share of the costs for a new arena for the Kings,” said
Emily Rusch, CALPIRG Advocate. “Sacramento taxpayers should not have to
pay for more than 90% of the costs of an arena while the Kings’ owners
receive all of the profits.”
CALPIRG
expressed concerns that if Measures Q and R passed, taxpayers would be
asked to fund almost all of the construction costs, as well as any cost
overruns of a new arena. Meanwhile, the Maloofs would lease the arena
for only $4 million a year, less than what they would pay in property
taxes if they owned the arena property outright. At the same time, the
Maloofs would receive all of the profits from ticket sales, parking,
naming rights, and concession stand sales (even from non-Kings events).
Columnist Daniel Weintraub calculates that the percentage of the costs
that taxpayers are being asked to shoulder to build the arena “would
set a new standard” for sports arena development around the country
(The Sacramento Bee, August 8, 2006).
“We’re
disappointed that negotiations between local officials, the developers,
and the Maloofs give away so much in taxpayer dollars while local
residents receive so little benefits in return,” continued Rusch.
The
volunteers with the No on Measures Q and R campaign were dressed in
business suits and passing a top hat around to morning commuters in a
spoof on legitimate “pass the hat” campaigns to raise funds for
important causes. Armed with signs, they playfully highlighted the
over-the-top nature of the demands of the Kings owners and the proposed
developer of the arena that taxpayers shoulder the costs and financial
risks of a new arena.
“Measures
Q and R are the wrong deal for Sacramento,” concluded Rusch.
“Sacramento needs to make smart choices about how to invest in our
community wisely and efficiently, but Measures Q and R sell taxpayers
short.”
