Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A "Tight" Budget?

Although I could not follow the budget as closely as I would have wanted, I am nonetheless working on a post detailing all of the capital projects for future reference.

While doing so, I noticed something that jumped out at me. Despite the fact that the people behind the sailing hall of fame publicly said that they did not need any public money, the city has pledged $50,000 of taxpayer money for the HOF in each of the next 3 years.

You can see the budget item by clicking HERE and scrolling down to project 521, entitled "Non Profit Capital Funding".

All we hear about this budget is how lean it is...does this sound lean to you?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

$50,000, thats nothing. The budget has doubled and what do we get for it, nothing noticable. Where has $40M a year go?

Anonymous said...

I was going through the Capital improvement budget items, and would agree that funding a Hall of Fame for billionaires isn't exactly a good example of tight fiscal management. I think Annapolis is the obvious place for such a museum, and we should do what we can to support and promote the project. But, when it comes to the money part, Ted Turner's pockets are a bit deeper than most Annapolitans.

Another expenditure in the Capital Improvement program is a total of $2,000,000 for the Back Creek Nature Park. If you have some time, take a drive over there; it's off Edgewood Road. Take a look, and let me know where the $2,000,000 went.

Bob McWilliams

Unknown said...

I don't have that big of a problem with the sailing museum, if anything it defines Annapolis' image, and does bring tourists and create revenue. But I will have to check out the park.

Brian Gill said...

I think most people are like Peter in that they don't mind the idea per se of a sailing hall of fame. We are, as a was told growing up, the world sailing capital. Some think that Eastport would be a better location, but the thought itself is certainly worth entertaining.

The problem lies in the funding. All told, the city will have spent $410,000 in taxpayer money. As Bob notes, their members/founders have plenty of money to pay for the project, but more importantly, the group's chair said that they don't need any money because the people who have this hobby and want the HOF are rich!

Brian Gill said...

What, "Ivana", do you not understand about the PUBLIC sector? It is not the government's job to invest in or reward the sailing industry or any other industry. The hospitality business generates a ton of revenue--would you say that government should spend half a million dollars to open a bar?

Anonymous said...

I would say, thank you,

Brian Gill said...

$50,000 is not the total they are spending on the sailing hall of fame. they already gave $260,000, and they are giving $50,000 a year for the next 3 years, for a total of $410,000. Way to do your research, Ivana.