South KC Perspective
By John Sharp
Jackson County voters will get to vote April 2 on a 3/8-cent countywide sales tax for 40 years to help finance modernizing and improving Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs and constructing and equipping a new baseball stadium located in the county and KCMO for the Royals that if passed should assure both teams stay in Jackson County for two generations.
The Royals are expected to announce the site of their new stadium in Jackson County and KCMO that is acceptable to the county by the end of this month.
If approved by a majority of those voting, the new park sales tax will be used to pay for the county’s share of this work and its share for maintaining and operating both stadiums as specified by lease and development agreements with both teams that are required to be finalized and made public before the April 2 vote.
The ordinance submitting the tax to the voters noted both teams already have committed to pay for insurance coverage for the stadiums which is estimated to save the county hundreds of millions of dollars over the life of the leases.
The teams also have agreed to forego receiving any park property tax funding in addition to the funding generated by the new sales tax over the life of the leases.
They are expected to finalize community benefit agreements for both stadiums before the April 2 vote which will specify the teams’ responsibilities to help the community such as agreeing to provide living wages to all stadium employees and providing opportunities for local businesses to provide services to the stadiums.
The ballot measure specifies that the existing 25-year 3/8-cent countywide capital improvements sales tax approved by voters in 2006 for the stadiums now set to expire in 2031 will be repealed and replaced by the proposed 40-year 3/8-cent countywide park sales tax.
The ordinance approving submittal of the proposed sales tax to the voters was sponsored by County Legislator DaRon McGee and was approved on January 8 by the county legislature by a vote of 8-1 with only Legislator Megan Marshall voting no.
County Executive Frank White, Jr., vetoed the measure on January 18, noting in his veto message that the county should secure “a more concrete and mutually beneficial agreement with the teams” before agreeing to put the sales tax on the ballot.
He also said the county should secure the teams’ commitments to maintain their headquarters and training facilities locally and to enter into robust community benefit agreements.
His veto was quickly overridden by the county legislature the same day it was issued to meet the deadline for putting the measure on the April ballot by a vote of 7-2 with Legislator Jeanie Lauer joining Marshall to sustain his veto.
The quick override also gives the county and teams time to work out all the details of their lease and development agreements and gives the teams time to finalize community benefit agreements so voters can be fully informed about all of them before the April 2 vote.
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This is a perfect example of the combination of oppression and corruption that has characterized a large percentage of ‘business’, and the way in which it’s performed across the United States since the inception of this oligarchy of a government. Major projects that are unnecessary, not beneficial, do not benefit the general population, designed for the sole purpose to enrich the bankers, and businesses, corrupt politicians who get paid off and kicked-back. The present stadium is a state-of-the-art facility that has been revamped a few years earlier; has an excellent highway and roadway system leading to and from it. And, besides, a downtown location is not feasible in a city that has narrow one-way streets that’s impossible for city buses and normal traffic to negotiate on a good day. People, don’t be taken in by these crooked bankers, businesses, and politicians in cahoots with each other wanting your money unnecessarily.
Why should the public be responsible for even 1 dollar of these games which have been generating unbelievably high revenue for decades?! Even if every Jackson county resident got free tickets, the principle is wrong. Keep public money out of private business. We need to get rid of taxes, not raise or maintain them.