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March 21, 2011
Santa Clara to vote on "protecting" RDA money by giving it to 49ers
Ten days after voting to transfer its regional development authority's assets to the city, Santa Clara city officials have come up with an even more dramatic idea for blocking Gov. Jerry Brown from reclaiming RDA money for the state: Handing over $4.5 million, and possibly as much as $40 million, to the San Francisco 49ers, as an advance on the $114 million the city plans to give the team for their new stadium if it ever gets built.
"In order to protect that money, we have to take away one more argument from the state," Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews told the San Jose Mercury News. He called the vote, which is planned for later today, a "conceptual action to protect our funds."
Not everyone feels that way, as you might imagine. Councilmember Jamie McLeod told the Merc News that "we still have to make sure we don't overcommit the city financially," while Jay Keehan of the group Santa Clarans Play Fair warned that any contract with the 49ers would need to require that the team repay the money if the stadium is never built. (Or, better, if it isn't built by a certain time, since the thing about "never" is that it never actually arrives.)
In related news, meanwhile, Santa Clara County has settled its lawsuit against San Jose's RDA over $62.9 million in funds it said it was owed, with San Jose officials agreeing to hand over a property worth an estimated $10 million and commit to a payment plan on the rest. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed explained that Gov. Brown's war on RDAs was the motivation here as well: "It's certainly in our interest to get the money over to the county rather than have the state take it away."
Of course, the state can still take away the RDA's future revenue streams, and it's not entirely clear from the reporting what happens to Santa Clara's money if the RDA's pockets are empty when it's time to make payments. But for San Jose officials, it at least clears the way for them to attempt their own transfer of RDA land to the city for an Oakland A's stadium ... if that ever gets built.
This game of "hide the sausage" is beginning to look a little unseemly.
Mayor Matthews: There's nothing 'conceptual' about a very real $4.5 million being handed off to the San Francisco 49ers, in return for NO valuble consideration or goods of any kind. Not only won't the 49ers provide anything for the cash being handed to them, the team will proceed - over forty years - to take even more money out of our hides.
This is not what you do with **public** money - no matter what the five "stadium boosters" in this City Council believes that Measure J authorized them to do.
Regards,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair dot Org
-=0=-
Well, if the City of Santa Clara wants to make money off this, why not charge the 49ers 8.5% interest on the $4.5 million in RDA funds? Isn't that what the Yorks are going to charge us for loaning us money if there are any RDA shortfalls?
Posted by Andrew S. on March 21, 2011 01:22 PM
Santa Clara: You gotta wake up and initiate a recall against this mayor ASAP. This is simply irresponsible. Doesn't it seem like the State could sue Santa Clara for that money? I'd like to think so.
Unbelievable.
Posted by MikeM on March 21, 2011 02:16 PM
The city promised to have the explanatory documentation for tonight's meeting available this morning (Monday, March 21st). It's still not available, and the city manager's office says they worked on it all weekend, and it may not be available until the meeting tonight. Which gives people no time to review before the meeting (councilmembers included won't be able to review it). It is just plain wrong to rush things.
What's the rush? There's no contract yet between the city and the 49ers, the 49ers have no funding, there is a player lockout, so the likelihood is no funding will materialized during the lockout, a judge took away the TV contract $$ the owners planned on during the lockout, the NFL stadium fund has no money, starting construction is a long time off and dependent on funding...and on and on.
Who is behind this rush to give the 49ers dollars? Whose idea was this giveaway? The citizens of Santa Clara can't find out because the city is still meeting behind closed doors with the 49ers (88 closed door meetings at this point).
Posted by SantaClaraTaxpayer on March 21, 2011 02:32 PM
Could the give away be acting city manager Carol Mc Carthy's idea? I notice that she really seems to be carrying the 49ers water now.
Does she view this as the most expedient way to position herself for the CM job when it eventually opens up?
Not too comforting when you know about the problems besetting the city that the 49ers are what merits weekend work.
Yes, MikeM it is unbelievable to see what's going on here. Unfortunately when the majority of the residents don't pay any attention to elected officials it's what you can end up with.
Posted by SANTA CLARA JAY on March 21, 2011 02:45 PM
According to the San Jose Mercury News, on Monday March 21,2011 the Santa Clara City Council under the direction of Mayor Jamie Matthews and with persuasion from Carol McCarthy, acting city manager, the Santa Clara City Council intends to give over $4,000,000 (4 million) of public RDA tax funds to the 49er's organization for the express purpose of avoiding the possible legal acquisition of those funds by the State of California.
The money supposedly is earmarked for a sports stadium which may never occur whereas the State of California is entitled to grasp all misappropriated tax funds for which these funds were originally intended.
This "knee-jerk" action by the City Council representatives of Santa Clara is far too hasty and no doubt illegal, for which the city of Santa Clara will be a public embarrassment and will eventually lead to additional vast legal sums to retract the money back from a private LLC organization which could collapse and create an endless pursuit.
Like many other cities in California, intentional diversionary steps have been already been taken to avoid state acquisition of illegally earmarked funds but to actually transfer public funds to a private firm is taking drastic and dangerous steps without any certainty of any sort, regardless of what is stipulated.
A very frightening and stupid move indeed !
According to the San Jose Mercury News, on Monday March 21,2011 the Santa Clara City Council under the direction of Mayor Jamie Matthews and with persuasion from Carol McCarthy, acting city manager, the Santa Clara City Council intends to give over $4,000,000 (4 million) of public RDA tax funds to the 49er's organization for the express purpose of avoiding the possible legal acquisition of those funds by the State of California.
The money supposedly is earmarked for a sports stadium which may never occur whereas the State of California is entitled to grasp all misappropriated tax funds for which these funds were originally intended.
This "knee-jerk" action by the City Council representatives of Santa Clara is far too hasty and no doubt illegal, for which the city of Santa Clara will be a public embarrassment and will eventually lead to additional vast legal sums to retract the money back from a private LLC organization which could collapse and create an endless pursuit.
Like many other cities in California, intentional diversionary steps have been already been taken to avoid state acquisition of illegally earmarked funds but to actually transfer public funds to a private firm is taking drastic and dangerous steps without any certainty of any sort, regardless of what is stipulated.
A very frightening and stupid move indeed !
Ahh, this brings to mind one of the Top 10 Dumbest Reasons to Build a Stadium, Mike Murphy saying of opponents of a new Miami Heat arena, "Some politicians want to kill the new waterfront park, and keep the tourist money for their wasteful spending!"
What's the line about those who forget history being doomed to repeat it?
Posted by Brian on March 21, 2011 04:11 PM
Late this morning, I got the word that no Agenda Report for this evening's giveaway was yet available.
In other words, there is no way - yet - for the public to see the *exact* contractual obligations to which the San Francisco 49ers will be held after we hand them all of our RDA money - $4.5M which should be going to our Stadium Authority.
The team will always be able to afford better lawyers and accountants than we will, anyway.
Didn't James Madison warn us that there would be days like this?
Regards,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair dot Org
-=0=-
Ref.: "Transparency-and-City-Government-Communications.pdf"
I don't know about anyone else here, but I'm starting to get that Al Davis/Irwindale feeling.
Posted by Andrew S. on March 21, 2011 07:05 PM
I'm sure we'll have a few more contractual protections than the leaders of Irwindale gave themselves back in '87.
But it could still turn out just as you've claimed, because in any litigation, the 49ers could wear us down. If we ever have to sue them over this, we'd probably be forced to accept a humiliating settlement -- and nowhere near the $4.5 million that we're apparently going to give them this evening.
Regards,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair dot Org
-=0=-
Posted by Bill Bailey on March 21, 2011 07:14 PM
I'm currently reading a book on the Dreyfus affair, so I'm maybe in a conspiratorial frame of mind, but I just can't help but relate those fin de siecle events to what's happening in Santa Clara now.
When confronted with evidence of the monumental idiocy of the stadium plan, the lack of ethics involving the stadium election, and the possible illegality of the funds giveaway, the Santa Clara Council and officialdom seems every bit as obstinate and implacable as the French high command was.
Bill Bailey is our own worthy Zola; people need to start listening...
In an article offering advice to Santa Clara last year, Ray Ratto (if memory serves me correctly) said that NFL lawyers will always be better than any city lawyers. Just as Measure J (stadium ballot initiative) was written by the 49ers campaign to benefit the 49ers, chances are high that any contract between the city and the 49ers will also be written in favor of the team, not the city. The deal outlined in the Term Sheet is a great deal for the team, but a bad deal for the city.
And the actual ballot language was written by, ta dum, Carol Mc Carthy.
You know, the ballot lanuage that didn't disclose any costs...
Of course, she's the one to say the city officials are practically dripping with ethics.
Seems to me that if that's true, you don't need to tell people.
True story, after the Steelers won their first SB, their receptionist answered their phones: "World Champion Pittsburg Steelers."
Team owner Rooney apparently overheard this and shook his head No and told the receptionist "They know."
Posted by SANTA CLARA JAY on March 21, 2011 09:35 PM
Well, they passed the giveaway 5-2. There were 70 pages of emails in the city's pdf file - all against the giveaway. 2 council members (McLeod and Kennedy) eloquently showed why this action was not necessary, and was not included in the ballot measure. It will be interesting to see if the state of CA takes notice.
Posted by SantaClaraTaxpayer on March 22, 2011 01:20 AM
So The Shenanigans, Slight of Hand, and Con Game continues in Santa Clara. The Mayor, and City Council Members of Santa Clara "GIVE" Corporate Welfare to the Millionaire York Family - aka 49ers.
When is the Citizenry of Santa Clara going to start yelling out their windows..."I'm Mad As Hell, and I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore!" The Yorks/49ers are riding Ruff Shot all over your Town, and you residents just get politely upset about it! No wonder the Yorks picked the Santa Clara site for their Stadium. :P
This calls for Feet on the Streets! PROTEST PEOPLE...at ur Local Santa Clara City Hall, BE Vocal!!! Let Them Know how you Feel!
I agree that we should recall our Mayor! That idiot made a comment in the Santa Clara Weekly, something like: "We starting this 4 years ago and we are going to make sure it happens!" Well times have changed and the City cannot afford to pay for their stupid stadium. My feet are ready to protest! The City Council Members should NOT also be the Stadium Authority! This is wrong! Let's sue them!
Posted by Rosey on March 22, 2011 09:39 AM
Here's the link to the SJ Merc article:
www.mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_17669440
"Santa Clara leaders agree to pass cash to 49ers"
The emails from residents attached to the agenda report last night were 54 out of 54 against the city giving RDA cash to the 49ers.
The Asst. city manager was asked who initiated this action (twice) and she wouldn't directly answer the question.