I think the idea of a casino near the dump is a great idea. It is a really great way to raise money from those who have no better use for it. There are many positives and just as many negatives to plan prior to proceeding. As usual our planners on staff have mostly included their own desires in their plans and left the needs of the residents rather vague.
The city manager let the cat out of the bag when he said of the casino revenues, “It’s a general use tax,” and then talked about an alternative half-cent sales tax with the obvious implication that we will need to have one if we vote against the casino. Just weeks ago he said we can relax as we now have a balanced budget and can hire more union employees and pay their outrageous salaries and benefits. A councilwoman sounded off that she “would like to see gambling revenues go toward city services like police, fire, and street and capital infrastructure.”
Sounds a lot like the old slush fund that was named the redevelopment agency (RDA) doesn’t it? It is a $10 million a year windfall that can be spent with no vote by the residents. I forgot, we will all get one minute each to fully explain our desires prior to the council voting after the special interests get unlimited time to talk. Lots of interests out there are elbowing up to the trough to suck up a big portion. There is plenty for the unions (benefit and pension debts are piling up daily), the employees themselves (ever larger compensation demands), and developers (more cheap loans and land give-aways for their profit insurance). The line will be long with lots of political contributions, etc., to grease the skids.
Special interests like government revenue as it is, is risk-free money. Who takes all the risk? Eighty-five percent of the city employees leave our city at the end of their shift to go home. Who takes 100 percent of the unknown risks? We, the residents, do.
What about our property values? Big revenues result from big losers. Losers don’t buy property.
What about more traffic from Fremont, Pleasanton, San Jose and all around us? $10 million a year is just chump change when you need more freeways and overpasses. The rapid transit stations are 4 miles from the site. I don’t think gamblers will be wasting time away from the card games by taking public transportation. Perhaps the site will be on the senior shuttle route.
No crime outside? I have had great dinners at Garden City a few times (don’t gamble but do eat) and noticed the hard men patrolling the parking lots. We don’t want our police moonlighting there, do we? Lots of unhappy people leave those places.
Since we take all the risks, we should get all the gain. Any ballot initiative must include strong controls on the uses of the revenue to get my vote. General use tax my ass! I have a few ideas:
Our city staff and planners have obviously been working quietly on this idea for a long time. The Post article is first I have heard about it. They kept it real close, didn’t they? Now they want to fast track it past the residents with a vote in November. The plan is to give each resident one minute to fully state our case just prior to a vote by the council to put it on the ballot. Then lots of special interests will spend lots of money on lots of half-truths and outright lies to get our votes, after which we will be stuck with the plan forever. When was the last time the unions gave any ground on their own nickel? At first glance the plan is:
We have the vote and it only takes 51 percent to pass. I want some very strong controls in that initiative to protect me and you from the big union bosses and special interest groups. This will bring at least one more big union into town to influence our politicians with donations and maybe freebees at the casino. We know that once they get control, they will never let it go.
Vote in haste and repent at leisure. There really is no rush. That land’s not going anywhere. About $10 million a year can justify the cost of a special election that will change the character of our city forever. Let’s get it right the first time.
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Dan Manassau is a retired certified public accountant who served on the Milpitas Citizens Budget Task Force. Comments, questions and differing viewpoints can be posted on his blog: dmanassau.blogspot.com.
