Something new under the sun?

Some news media and local blogs have picked up on the fact that the once destitute Capital Improvement Board (CIB) has suddenly found $8 million to hand over to the city for part of the cost of entertaining the NFL moguls while they deign to play their football game in our city.

These other sources have commented articulately and accurately on the situation.  But we’ve seen one statement which we think deserves special attention.

"‘I think, in general, we get the hospitality taxes that are going to be coming in due to the event,’ said Lathrop. ‘Given the significant, one-time-only impact this is going to have, we think it is the right thing to do as a good corporate citizen.’"  The source of the quote, Ms. Lathrop, is the president of the CIB.

We wonder at her choice of words to begin with.  Does she really only "think" that the CIB is the beneficiary of one of the highest "hospitality" taxes in the nation?  A lofty position acquired by increases enacted for the specific bail-out of the CIB when it was pleading eminent bankruptcy.  May we ask which budgetary item was reduced by $8 million in order to make this magnificent gesture?  How many other such items have this kind of slush in them?  We know the Feds can simply print money.  Does the CIB have a couple of presses stashed somewhere beneath that (never) moving roof?

But the phrasing that really caught our eye was the last part of that second sentence.  We repeat: "...we think it is the right thing to do as a good corporate citizen."

Are we missing something?  When did a public agency, supported by tax revenues, become a "corporate citizen?"  And how is shoveling an excess part of its revenue to another public agency doing "the right thing?"  We would think the "right thing" might be shoveling any excess funds back to the taxpayer.

(Actually, we think good corporate citizenship would be demonstrated by downtown businesses voluntarily participating in something like our suggested Revenue Increment Financing plan!)

Well, at least we certainly have to applaud the creative approach.  The leadership of this city has been practicing fiscal sleight of hand for decades.  This is only another example of the shell game where the pea so mysteriously keeps appearing unexpectedly.  But we don’t remember the travesty ever having been played out in the name of "good corporate citizenship" with taxpayer dollars.

Watching the magicians perform the amazing budget manipulations really would be quite entertaining if it just had a less disastrous effect on the taxpayers

Comments

[Leslie Baker]

I first heard that "good corporate citizen" line on WTHR last night, and my jaw dropped. I had a feeling you'd be following up on that - and rightly so! - and I knew you'd do a better job with it than I would. Glad to see you did. "Good corporate citizen?!?" Sheesh.

[HadEnoughIndy]

That phrase caught my attention, as well.

Given the amount of taxes dedicated to that one municipal corporation, which equals the roughly sum of the budgets for the Library and IndyGo combined, a taxpaying citizen would hope that Lathrop knew the difference.

It is time that these muni corps get pulled back under the City's total control. Right now their main benefit is to the Mayor who can claim 'plausible deniability' even though he makes the majority of appointments to the Board, and they do not do anything he does not want them to do.