What Does A Stupid Decision Cost?

November 12th, 2007 by Justin Thibault · 22 Comments

About $75 Million

Thanks for that, City Council.

Category: Cabarrus Communities Tags: Concord

22 responses so far ↓

1 MarkMartin // Nov 12, 2007 at 12:36 pm

“Commissioners Chairman Bob Carruth confirmed the $75 million figure Saturday night but called raising property taxes a last resort. Carruth said officials still need to work out the financing and he hopes the state comes in as a partner with the city and county.”

A note to Bob… raising property taxes IS NOT AN OPTION. I refuse to become a victim of a blunder by Concord City Council.
2 Justin Thibault // Nov 12, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Mark, I hear ya!

I think there is a good reason why this shouldn’t have been leaked by a commissoner.

Any guess as to which one would do something so self-serving?
3 LiberalNC // Nov 12, 2007 at 2:14 pm

Starts with a P and ends with rivette?
4 Aaron // Nov 12, 2007 at 11:08 pm

Wonder why it was kept so hush hush? perhaps because of a municipal election a few days ago???

If they raise taxes I’ll move north of Mount Pleasant, just about 25′ inside the Stanly County Line… They better give me some rebates and widen my driveway!!!
5 Justin Thibault // Nov 12, 2007 at 11:36 pm

LiberalNC - That’d be my first guess.

Aaron - The same reason you don’t publish what you’re planning on paying someone for a job…the next person just needs to beat them by 2%. Also, this was in preliminary stages.

When the rubber meets the road - they have to go public.
6 Bob Carruth // Nov 13, 2007 at 7:31 am

We do not set the tax rate but once per year, in June. There can be no special tax increase to give money to Bruton. It ain’t gonna happen!

We are in a very difficult situation, that yes, was not helped by the action taken by Concord. The economic engine (excuse the pun) of the speedway is such that if it left, it would leave such a gaping hole in our local economy that we would fee the reprecussions throughout the county, to include our tax base.

The list, and the proposals mentioned in Sunday’s paper, were very preliminary, and consisted of a “wish list” that was put together by Bruton’s folks, and the collective brainstorming of a group of individuals on what was available to pay for such a list if we did all of those things.

Our board of commissioners have yet to discuss any package, but I can assure you that the #1 and main thing being discussed are PUBLIC road improvements around the speedway area, that will enhance the ability of traffic to move around the area on race weekends, but more important, provide much needed relief to the citizens of the county that use these roads the other 49 weeks of the year.
7 MarkMartin // Nov 13, 2007 at 11:49 am

If the #1 item is public road improvements, then the State and Concord can spend all of their Gas Tax Fund to resolve the situation (since NC Gas Tax is one of the highest in the Country).

Note to Bob: We know that the property tax rate is established once a year (you are talking to an educated group on this site). You were quoted in the paper as saying “raising property taxes a last resort” and my comment was “raising property taxes IS NOT AN OPTION”. Meaning, the words ’speedway incentives’ and ‘property taxes’ should never be used in the same sentence. We are also well educated in Economics 101 and we know the impact of the speedway on the county. We are frustrated by the blunders of Concord City Council, not the existance of the speedway.
8 MarkMartin // Nov 13, 2007 at 11:52 am

‘existence’… see, I am all flustered by this topic!
9 Erik Olson // Nov 13, 2007 at 2:07 pm

This from the same team that brought a bigger jail to downtown. It is hard to imagine a bigger group of bunglers having their hands in this.

Funny how the $75M wasn’t in the news cycle prior to election day. Funny… like a dread disease. Secrets like this might just cost the average, uninformed Cabarrus County taxpayer a percent or so - really soon.

Mr. Smith should exploit these dopes for every incentive he can. They deserve it and so do we for slipstreaming them right into office again.

e
10 Justin Thibault // Nov 14, 2007 at 5:42 am

Bob - Thanks for stopping by.

Mark - I doubt it will come to that. Your taxes are going up; but for other reasons.

Erik - This from the same team that brought a bigger jail to downtown.

…initially at the request of the people downtown.

Funny how the $75M wasn’t in the news cycle prior to election day. Funny… like a dread disease. Secrets like this might just cost the average, uninformed Cabarrus County taxpayer a percent or so - really soon.

You’d have to believe that the County Commissioners were part of a conspiracy to influence the Concord City elections - is that what you’re saying?
11 MarkMartin // Nov 14, 2007 at 6:33 pm

Yes, the Cabarrus Youth Tax. Thanks for the refresh.
12 Aaron // Nov 14, 2007 at 6:46 pm

Heck, I guess in a gun to your head situation I’d accept a 1% increase over a 5-7% increase if the speedway were to leave…

As for Eriks comment: Leave it to the fringe to somehow tie in our public safety needs to City Councils double tail tuck on the speedway…
13 Justin Thibault // Nov 14, 2007 at 11:25 pm

Yes, now y’all are seeing that we need tax-paying businesses to offset the residential burden on the budget.

I knew this blog was good for something.
14 Erik Olson // Nov 15, 2007 at 8:08 am

I wasn’t referring to Cabarrus County commissioners. I was indicating that City of Concord officials had successfully kept the package under wraps through the election.

Aaron, you may not agree with me on one issue and that is fine . More residents should take an active role in their community. However, no matter how divergent our positions are on this issue, you only do yourself a disservice by making me over into a one-issue, marginalized citizen.

I’m active in our community in civics, charitable organizations and in the public school system. That we disagree is one thing, that you so quickly paint me as “fringe” is another.

By hook or crook, our taxes will likely go up in June. Why is up for interpretation. Do whatever you need to do to make that fact more palatable.

e
15 Justin Thibault // Nov 15, 2007 at 8:19 am

Erik -

I wasn’t referring to Cabarrus County commissioners. I was indicating that City of Concord officials had successfully kept the package under wraps through the election.

While I love being a spectator to skullduggery as much as the next guy - I don’t think there was some evil cover-up. This situation has been evolving so rapidly that I think that it wasn’t in a complete form until the end of last week.

Also, you’ll notice that officials were upset that some self-serving dolt released the information while it was still a closed item - so it was supposed to be under wraps in the preliminary stages.

By hook or crook, our taxes will likely go up in June. Why is up for interpretation. Do whatever you need to do to make that fact more palatable.

You have Coy and his allies to thank for the impending tax increase and also for the jail. He only changed his mind when he realized he found a pliable constituency.
16 Aaron // Nov 15, 2007 at 7:54 pm

Higher taxes for safety versus higher taxes for giveaways to developers??? which one to choose??? Hmm, I’ll go with the former…
17 MarkMartin // Nov 16, 2007 at 10:00 am

OK, it is time to focus on the future. What has happened is in the past, we just need to pull together and fix it / move forward. We need to turn our attention to recruiting a replacement for Philip Morris. Perhaps a large, leading edge, company involved in alternative fuel development. How amazing would it be for Cabarrus County to be know for Motorsports, Bio-Tech, and Alternative Fuel?
18 S.P.O.U.S.E. // Nov 16, 2007 at 2:04 pm

Quoting John Cox, “We know without a doubt he[Bruton Smith] has the will and the resources to move Lowe’s Motor Speedway out of Cabarrus. What does John Cox know about economics? Nothing! His college degree doesn’t certify him as a CPA. Cox’s solution to everything is to throw water on it.

John Silvia, Wachovia’s chief economist can’t do much better. The comment by Silvia that someone from Long Island (New York) will buy two houses in the Concord area for the price of one in New York. He failed to mention that the Subprime has sucked the value out of 45 million homes across America and the folks in Long Island can’t sell their homes either. So where’s the money coming from? Most of the those people struggling to sell their homes at a price high enough to cover the balance of their mortgages are going to suffer from the PTSD better known in the accounting world as Post Traumatic Subprime Disaster and in Concord we can call it Post Traumatic Smith Disaster.

The sale of the Concord Mills by Simon Properties(Indiana) may actually have a greater impact on the Speedway’s future and Bruton Smith knows what an economic disaster it will have. As the immediate necessity for widening I-85 becomes more of an issue it spells economic hard times for the Concord Mills as well as Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The traffic problem will be growing and with the highway on ramp and off ramps being effected, the race chasers and the mall haulers will pass right on “buy”!

I personally don’t believe that Bruton Smith is the billionaire that he is touted to be. I think he’s actually trying to bail out of Lowe’s since he’s over extended at his other speedways, and the subprime no doubt has impacted race goers free spending habits and fuel for their RVs, and no doubt Smith’s offshore hedge funds are being frozen out by the Citigroup debacle. Why didn’t he win the bid for the purchase of Rockingham and bought a track for $340 million in New Hampshire which is a state that’s tax friendly? Drag strips are the only way he can generate revenue especially in Concord. If Bruton Smith already has a buyer it came with a contingency that the drag strip had to be approved hence the capitulation of the Concord City Council as well as the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners. Naming rights are just part of Smith’s overall ego.
“Cabarrus County is the finish line for the state of North Carolina,” John Cox chief executive of Cabarrus Economic Development was quoted, and little did we know that the finish line would be compromised by the wheeling and spinning that the officials of Cabarrus County have been driving.

When John Cox was quoted “We found that if we (Paulding County)Georgia didn’t have a plan, the money would all go to Atlanta.” So what did Paulding County do? They recruited state investment: a regional youth detention center and a minimum-security prison. Prisons for profit is Cox’s claim to fame.
19 Justin Thibault // Nov 16, 2007 at 2:16 pm

Mark -

OK, it is time to focus on the future. What has happened is in the past, we just need to pull together and fix it / move forward.

Those who do not understand their history are doomed to repeat it. The Jail situation should be hashed out as how not to handle situations like that.

Perhaps a large, leading edge, company

That’s where I’m going to stop you. I think that instead of going “elephant hunting” - the PM situation gives us a great way to retask our incentives program. Wouldn’t it be great to redevelop the land into a large mixed-use business, industrial, retail, and public-use (I’m thinking Parks) area. I think that most citizens would be for an investment in roads and utilities for that; but make clear that the companies coming it would not get the same incentive deals we’re offering other companies coming into the County.
20 Justin Thibault // Nov 16, 2007 at 10:16 pm

S.P.O.U.S.E - And I thought the crazy train was
21 Happy Thanksgiving: Hiatus Notice | Cabarrus Cheap Seats // Nov 17, 2007 at 3:04 am

[...] What Does A Stupid Decision Cost? - Want to express your opinion about the Concord City Council and the Speedway? [...]
22 MarkMartin // Nov 17, 2007 at 9:41 am

Justin - I am not saying forget the past, I think we have learned from the past. I just want to see progress in a positive direction. And, I would be OK with a park at Philip Morris. Sounds like a good idea.