Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________
The Pioneer Press editorial board/Stadium Pep Squad does its best to make the City Council's vote into a playground squabble. But they ignore who started the fight. For months, the City Council and citizens citywide have been telling Mayor Kelly that his plan for taxing restaurants and requiring only a 10% contribution from one of Minnesota's richest billionaires wasn't going to fly. Ignoring this, Mayor Kelly has made the search for a publicly financed stadium a legislative priority, has used political capital at the Legislature on it, and continues to advocate for it publicly. It seems to me, it would be irresponsible for the City Council to sit-back and allow a stadium to be sited in St. Paul if there is not a plan (that will be accepted by the City) to pay for it. If the City Council doesn't support the 600% increase in St. Paul restaurant taxes, why should they wait for the Legislature to 1) force St. Paul to take the tax, 2) ignore the issue until it is too late and the whole process has to be started over again, or 3) just sit back and be the fake option to get the Twins a better deal in Minneapolis. The PPress Stadium Pep Squad doesn't want the City Council or the public to have a voice in the new tax. They want the issue to be a fait accompli. To allow the stadium to progress so far along, that the argument becomes not whether we are willing to subsidize the Twins, but how are we going to subsidize the Twins. The Pep Squad has ignored the fact that the City Council is simply responding to what is on the table, before it is too late. Soon, maybe the City and the Pep Squad can focus on other issues. Jim Mogen Lex-Ham St. Paul _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
