DO YOU KNOW WHAT A TIF IS?
With all the financial turmoil in our country and our city, I have been investigating the various Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) deals in Memphis and Shelby County. What are our financial obligations and are the taxpayers liable for the bonds issued under the various TIF deals?
I have found that it is very difficult to get this information but I am making some progress. I have found that from July 1, 2007 to June 30 2008 the state of Tennessee returned to Memphis $1,050,683.25 for the FedEX Arena, $276,489.94 for the Red Birds and $2,373,742.90 for the Uptown Development. What we do not know is the amount of bond payments and if these required payments are being met. For instance the required interest and principal payments for the Arena for 2008 is $8.07 million as shown on the attached Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority audit and financial statement.
What is a TIF? The politicians claim that it is a no risk way to develop an area or a building (arena) or a convention center. We have four that I have identified and they are the FedEx Arena, the Redbird stadium, the downtown development zone and the Highland area. The FedEx Arena has several sources of money to pay these bonds. They are the seat rental fee at $1.15 per seat, the state and local sales tax (except the .5% designated for local education) paid on sale of admissions, sale of concessions and sale of NBA franchise goods and products, the car rental tax, the city wide hotel/motel tax except that that is dedicated until 2016 for the Cook Convention Center, the county-wide hotel motel tax except that it is dedicated for the Cook Convention Center, the Pyramid and the Convention and Visitors Bureau and finally $2.5 million per year of your MLGW payments from the Water Division.
With all the financial turmoil in our country and our city, I have been investigating the various Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) deals in Memphis and Shelby County. What are our financial obligations and are the taxpayers liable for the bonds issued under the various TIF deals?
I have found that it is very difficult to get this information but I am making some progress. I have found that from July 1, 2007 to June 30 2008 the state of Tennessee returned to Memphis $1,050,683.25 for the FedEX Arena, $276,489.94 for the Red Birds and $2,373,742.90 for the Uptown Development. What we do not know is the amount of bond payments and if these required payments are being met. For instance the required interest and principal payments for the Arena for 2008 is $8.07 million as shown on the attached Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority audit and financial statement.
What is a TIF? The politicians claim that it is a no risk way to develop an area or a building (arena) or a convention center. We have four that I have identified and they are the FedEx Arena, the Redbird stadium, the downtown development zone and the Highland area. The FedEx Arena has several sources of money to pay these bonds. They are the seat rental fee at $1.15 per seat, the state and local sales tax (except the .5% designated for local education) paid on sale of admissions, sale of concessions and sale of NBA franchise goods and products, the car rental tax, the city wide hotel/motel tax except that that is dedicated until 2016 for the Cook Convention Center, the county-wide hotel motel tax except that it is dedicated for the Cook Convention Center, the Pyramid and the Convention and Visitors Bureau and finally $2.5 million per year of your MLGW payments from the Water Division.
We need a full and transparent accounting of all these financial obligations, especially in this difficult period where sales tax and property tax revenues seem headed in a downward spiral.
Click here to see the latest financial statement for the FedEx arena
posted by watchdog at
1:32 PM
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