Pueblog USa
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Vote No on Ballot Initiative 2B
Many reasons why the the Vendors Fees should not be used for the Convention Center expansion.
Vote no on ballot initiative 2B:
The use of Vendor Fees for Convention Center Expansion
By Ted Freeman and Alvin Rivera
The proponents of the Convention Center have stated that the Vendor Fees are not a new or additional tax. However, what they don’t say is that funding the Convention Center expansion will create a new debt. The Pueblo tax payers already have considerable long term debt: the Harp River Walk, the new Police Station, the new Judicial Building, the new Health Department building, the School bonds, and various Urban Renewal projects. True, these come out of different budgets and different agencies, but they are all funded with Pueblo tax payer dollars.
Let’s be real for a moment. Would you run your household checkbook with this kind of debt? If you did, your home would be in foreclosure! Well, that’s exactly what your city officials, Urban Renewal and the proponents of this measure are asking you to do.
Has the existing facility had a major economic impact on Pueblo? Recent news releases in the Chieftain say that Pueblo is the poorest of the eleven largest counties in Colorado. Did the past performance of the Convention Center make a difference to change this poverty standing? It does not appear so!