1452 replies to this topic

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt]

"It’s sited in a major sports and entertainment district in Glendale and we rely upon the 42 nights of hockey games to help to keep what we call Westgate healthy,” Clark said, “so that’s a major reason for supporting keeping the Coyotes in Glendale and in Westgate."

Ummm... what?! lol

[Shoreline]

Ummm... what?! lol

What do you expect? The city of Glendale can't even do the simple math of balancing a budget, no surprise this dumb broad can't count how many regular season home games the local NHL team plays.

The state of Arizona needs to tear that local government's credit cards up and send their council and people in charge of finances back to elementary school until they can add, subtract, and even count properly.

Edited by Shoreline, 25 May 2012 - 10:08 AM.

[cusimano_brothers]

It's not much of a stretch to assume that Councillor Clark was one of the three "yea" votes.

[Hatethedrake!]

Bring back the Nords. This team will be in Quebec next season.

[sleepwalker]

Sportsnet.

LOL

These morons are definitely in panic mode now.

"Its all Moyes' Fault!!!"

"The Canadians are all poachers!!!"



How pathetic.



The citizens of Glendale should be up in arms and at these f***ers houses with pitchforks and torches for spending millions upon millions upon millions of their tax dollars to support the parasitic welfare team that nobody out there even cares about

Edited by sleepwalker, 25 May 2012 - 12:40 PM.

[BottleOfSmoke]

http://www.azcentral...ility-fund.html

[WizardOfOz30]

I think someone needs to sue the city for homeowners for misuse of their tax dollars. Is that what the Goldwater group is for? I would be livid if I were stuck living in that city knowing my taxes would likely be raised and/or services cut because those idiots on the city council agreed to that kind of arrangement.

[Shoreline]

From the article two posts above:

That said, Martinez said he is not concerned that the money came out of the enterprise fund because it must be repaid. Glendale begins reimbursing the first $25 million payment next budget year at $1.1 million for 25 years.

Councilman Phil Lieberman said he learned in January or February that the pledge came from the enterprise funds.

"Nobody ever mentioned it to me until six months after it happened," he said. "That is my fault. I didn't ever think to ask where that money came from."

Lieberman has concerns about the interest costs the city will incur as it repays the utility funds. He doesn't think $1.1 million annually for 40 years will be enough.

The mayor's chief concerns are the "effect on our water and sewer bond ratings caused by the use of enterprise funds for arena management expenses" and the cost to the general fund to repay the "interfund loans."

The city has repeatedly dipped into its rainy-day account to shore up a fragile general fund after years of anemic revenue. The reserves are down to $2 million.

The council this month approved a preliminary spending plan for next fiscal year that closed a $35 million shortfall with layoffs and tax increases.

Moody's Investors Service earlier this year downgraded Glendale's bond rating, citing the low reserves and the $50 million in NHL pledges.

Scruggs also is concerned that turning to the utility accounts may become common practice. The city in 2010 had no intention of relying on the accounts for the first pledge as it planned to set up a taxing district around the arena. But the NHL pressed for the $25 million to go into an escrow account immediately, so the city borrowed from the utility funds.

The mayor said she was unaware that this year's pledge also came from the utility funds until April, after inquiries to staff.

But Councilwoman Norma Alvarez insisted staff informed council of the fund transfer before November.

Alvarez said it's not right that the city borrowed money from the enterprise fund -- or any fund. She opposes the professional sports spending.

"First place, it's not your money," Alvarez said. "It's direct money from the taxpayers."

And she questioned whether, if an emergency were to occur with water and sewer infrastructure, there would be enough funds to cover the expense. The enterprise accounts totaled $411 million in net assets for the year ending June 2010, according to an annual report.

This is just an utter disaster.

The city of Glendale is using it's sewage/utility funds to pay for a hockey team, it's credit rating spirals down the toilet as agencies have less faith they can repay their debts, if I was a Glendale resident I'd be kicking up a huge s***storm over this. Sadly this type of reckless debt financing and stealing funds from non-relevant departments that makes no sense whatsoever is highly prominent from the US federal government down to the most local jurisdictions. The economic lesson of this blatant, purposeful mismanagement is going to be an enormous one down the road.

Given the lack of lessons learned I hope Goldwater is watching this because I don't believe Jamison has any intent on fully exposing himself to this purchase, and why should he if the city of Glendale is full of idiots who will take down the city one department at a time for the sake of sports entertainment.

[cusimano_brothers]

"A new addition to the menu at the concession stands next season, at the Jobing.com Arena, will be a nutritious snack called the "Councillor Clark", pictured above. Each order will have 42 dates."

[vladdy16]

This is the biggest cluster#(%* in NHL history. Seriously? If the team leaves, hundreds of people lose their jobs in an already anemic-at-best economy, which completely sucks. However, given the pathetic state of the city's finances, I don't see that they have a choice unless they can find a buyer willing to shoulder the entire financial burden.
As far as I'm concerned, the writing is on the wall. Phoenix and the NHL just need to learn how to read it.
Personally, I'm shocked the other owners haven't lobbied hard and heavy to dump the financial drain.

[F.Michael]

This is the biggest cluster#(%* in NHL history. Seriously? If the team leaves, hundreds of people lose their jobs in an already anemic-at-best economy, which completely sucks. However, given the pathetic state of the city's finances, I don't see that they have a choice unless they can find a buyer willing to shoulder the entire financial burden.
As far as I'm concerned, the writing is on the wall. Phoenix and the NHL just need to learn how to read it.
Personally, I'm shocked the other owners haven't lobbied hard and heavy to dump the financial drain.

I'm pretty certain Uncle Gary runs a pretty tight ship, and any owner/gm who opens his mouth could get some sort of silly fine.

My guess is that you're right - with the BOG owning the Yotes - I'm fairly certain that shipping the team off to Quebec City sometime this summer (maybe an announcement just before, or quite possible at the draft) is a priority.

[cusimano_brothers]

From AZ Central:

In a behind-the-scenes move that may point to the imminent purchase of the Coyotes by a group led by Greg Jamison, team General Manager Don Maloney plans to sit down next week with the prospective owner to discuss the team's budget for next season, its future operating plans, and to map out a strategy for re-signing key players and coaches.
...

Also known as "spending money you don't have". Knowing the existing situation, this could only in Glendale.

[frankgrimes]

If I would be a citizen of Glendale Az I would call my lawyer over something like that. Lets face it, there isn't enough interest in a desert hockeyteam and the Yotes have been a wellfare team since what 4 years? Each year does cost o u r owner and the taxplayers lots of money then all of a sudden a rich guy like Peladieu (spelling) wants to buy them and the NHL works even harder to keep them in a city that couldnt care less.

Move them to Quebec, Hamilton or Seattle and be done with it Jesus

[cusimano_brothers]

TSN.

[cusimano_brothers]

AZ Central.

[cusimano_brothers]

TSN.

[Shoreline]

To quote some of the article from cb's link above:

PHOENIX - A conservative watchdog group plans to ask a judge for a temporary restraining order Friday to prevent a Glendale City Council vote on a lease agreement that would clear the way for the sale of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes.

The Goldwater Institute said Thursday that its request will be filed at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court. The institute bases its request on its contention that the city violated the Arizona open meetings law by failing to make public all documents related to the lease.

The seven-member council is scheduled to convene at 10:15 a.m. Friday to vote on a lease that would pay prospective owner Craig Jamison $17 million a year for arena operation costs and other items. The NHL has owned the team for three seasons after buying it in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Goldwater officials said they question the timing of the council's vote.

"The city of Glendale plans to consider what is estimated to be a $425 million arena management deal for Jobing.com Arena," Goldwater Institute president Darcy Olsen said in a statement. "Arizona's Open Meetings Law and multiple court orders require the city to make public all documents related to the proposed contract at least 24 hours before a council vote is taken, which it has not done.

"The 100-page deal released on Monday refers to a number of exhibits that are central to analyzing the impact of the deal on Glendale's finances, which the city must make public," Olsen added.

The article quoted above comes a day after these:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2012/06/07/20120607glendale-coyotes-proposed-deal-stirs-questions.html

Glendale's proposed $17 million taxpayer-funded arena-management deal with the Phoenix Coyotes for next year would be the only one like it among the Valley's major sports teams and may be one of the most lucrative in the National Hockey League.

The city would pay the team's prospective owner anywhere from $10 million to $20 million a year over the 20-year life of the deal, for a total of $300 million, leading some sports-industry experts and Glendale leaders to question whether it is more lucrative for the team than necessary.

A 4-3 majority of the Glendale City Council appears poised to approve the lease agreement with likely Coyotes buyer Greg Jamison to operate the city-owned Jobing.com Arena.

None of the other professional sports teams in the Valley -- the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks -- receives a tax-funded subsidy to run its stadium or arena, sports executives and local government officials said.

"It's very, very large relative to anything," said John Vrooman, a sports economist and Vanderbilt University professor. "It's probably a blanket fee that covers lots of other things."

Glendale will also foot the bill for $24 million in capital improvements to the 9-year-old arena. Glendale officials expect to collect roughly $2.2 million in annual rent payments, ticket surcharges, sales taxes and other fees. They also cite the intangible benefits of keeping the team in Glendale, among them hundreds of jobs and thousands of visitors.

Executives with the Suns, Diamondbacks and Cardinals declined to comment on the proposed deal between Glendale and Jamison. Privately, they say they want the hockey team to stay in the Valley because having four major professional-sports teams in one market contributes to community pride and notoriety.

However, one executive said the city's arena-management payment to Jamison likely would also be used to offset operating losses in running the Coyotes. Two executives said they were unaware of any other professional-sports franchise in the country that received such a lucrative subsidy from a municipality.

While Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs and two other council members have publicly questioned whether the proposed fee is too steep, other city leaders say the figure is supported by months of research on operation costs.

and also yesterday, Goldwater's letter to Glendale..

http://goldwaterinstitute.org/article/letter-mayor-and-councilmembers-glendale

Dear Mayor Scruggs and City Councilmembers:

As the City considers a deal that will add substantially to its existing financial obligations, at a time when it is overloaded with debt and has had to cut city services and lay off city workers, we hope the Council will carefully consider the following questions:

What is the actual cost of managing Jobing.com Arena, minus the capital expenses for which the City remains liable under the proposed agreement? If the agreement is challenged under the Gift Clause, a court will look to the difference between actual management costs and the amount the City is obligated to pay to determine whether the agreement is a subsidy. The Council should insist on knowing those numbers so that it can determine whether the agreement is lawful and fair to the taxpayers.

The City also is giving the arena manager parking rights. In the previous proposed deal with Matthew Hulsizer, the City valued parking rights at approximately $100 million over a specified period, and used those estimates to issue bonds. The Council should be informed of the value of the parking rights that are being transferred and the basis of that value, as part of the assessment of whether the agreement includes an illegal subsidy and is fair to taxpayers.

We understand that the Tohono O'odham Nation has offered once again to partner with the City to relieve some of the financial obligations related to the arena. We are not aware that there has been any formal analysis of alternative Arena uses or a request for competitive bids for Arena management. We hope that the Council will explore all options before it exposes taxpayers to substantial additional long-term financial obligations.

We understand the Council is considering adopting the deal as an "emergency" measure, which would deprive Glendale citizens of their right to refer the matter to a vote. As you know, the circumstances justifying an emergency declaration are limited. Given that the City apparently has been negotiating this proposal for quite some time, and the dire financial condition the City is in, denying citizens their right of referral seems inappropriate.

We hope that these inquiries will assist the Council in its deliberations over the proposed deal. We further urge you to not to rush to a vote. The terms of the 100-page proposal were released to the public for the first time on Monday, and not all the exhibits and associated documents have been released yet. There should be an adequate public comment period after all the documents have been released, particularly when they commit substantial public resources over many years.

tl;dr --- Goldwater submitted a restraining order on the city countil's vote at 8:30am, the vote was scheduled to happen 5 minutes ago. So certainly by today's end we'll hear some news on this topic again.

Edited by Shoreline, 08 June 2012 - 09:49 AM.

[BottleOfSmoke]

http://www.azcentral...phone/#_article

Non mobile link

http://www.azcentral...te-storify.html

Long story short, restraining order denied, city to vote today after "public discussion."

Edited by BottleOfSmoke, 08 June 2012 - 01:46 PM.

[BottleOfSmoke]

And here's the article on the denial of the restraining order:
http://www.azcentral...ndale-vote.html

[tjinaz]

Also known as "spending money you don't have". Knowing the existing situation, this could only in Glendale.

Are you really sure you want to be bashing another city's finances?

This is a Detroit board correct?

So here is a question.... which city has a STATE appointed financial oversight board that has final say on outlays of City money because they cannot balance their budget and are so deep in the hole they only see daylight at noon?

A hint... It's not Glendale

That a Detroit message board says ANYTHING about how another city handles their money is laughable.

What do you expect? The city of Glendale can't even do the simple math of balancing a budget, no surprise this dumb broad can't count how many regular season home games the local NHL team plays.

The state of Arizona needs to tear that local government's credit cards up and send their council and people in charge of finances back to elementary school until they can add, subtract, and even count properly.

Which Elementary School are Detroits people in? I assume that is what happened when the State took over right?

Hello ... Kettle? Probably a good idea to make sure your yard is clean before pointing at someone else.

Detroit out of money in a week

Detroit OUT OF MONEY

More Detroit financial disaster

Edited by tjinaz, 08 June 2012 - 11:21 PM.