Bait & Switch Bonding Part Deux: "What Will Be Done With That Extra $700,000 of Pool Bonding Dough?"

As taxpayer rip-offs go, we're labeling this a “two-fer"

In our haste to showcase yesterday's Gentle Reader Smaatguy's very legitimate Weber County Library bonding gripe, there's another  nerve-jangling Standard-Examiner story which we did (unfortunately) leave on the back-burner yesterday. It's therefore time to play "catch-up" wethinks, now that we move into the pre-24th of July sometimes "Red Meat Lean" news cycle week-end. And what better time to do that when most of the other Utah journalists are slackin' off and enjoying the summer weather?

Here's the full text of yesterday's SE' companion"Ogden City Schools Pool Bonding" story, "peeps" wherein SE reporter Rachel Trotter asks the question: "What will be done with that extra $700,000" of taxpayer-extracted pool repair bonding dough?":

• District will be left with extra tax funds after repairs on pools

“If it is earmarked for educational purposes, why didn’t they just call it that instead of masking it in this pool bond? Ogden School District needs to be more accountable to the taxpayers of Ogden,” says Ogden resident Simon Post.

We already learned earlier that the Ogden City Redevelopment Agency was also quietly taking it's own "pound of taxpayer flesh," of course.

Therefore, as taxpayer rip-offs go, we'll go along with Mr. Post, and furthermore label this a "two-fer,"  with zero amount of hesitation.

And howbout YOU?

Standard-Examiner: Weber County Library Bond May Not Cover All items Approved by Voters

Bait and switch? Ogden and North Ogden branches have a lot of unknowns

By: Smaatguy

Surprise, surprise... talk about bait and switch... all that info for the bond election and now they say two of the projects have "unknowns"!!!

Here's the lede...

OGDEN — When Weber County voters passed the $45 million library bond in June, they were given a detailed description of how the money would be spent for each planned addition and alteration to the libraries that applied. However, some of those plans might be scaled back if any of the first plans scheduled to go forward exceed the budget originally set for them.

“I do not think that we need to spend quite a bit less than the bond specified. We need to make sure we are going to have the funds to deliver the product and resources that all of the libraries need, and since the Ogden and North Ogden branches have a lot of unknowns as far as what’s needed, I want to make sure we have the budget taken care of,” Commissioner Matthew Bell said.

And here's the full S-E story...

• Weber County library bond may not cover all items approved by voters

This just chaps my hide... how'bout you?

Dan Schroeder Guest Commentary: Not All of New Tax Will Go to Libraries and Pools

Which Utah legislator will be the first to break the bad news to their fat-cat campaign donors?

Tax increment diversions are currently costing the Weber County Library System more than half a million dollars per year.  If it weren’t for these diversions, the library could have funded most of the planned improvements without a tax rate increase.
For the Ogden School District, tax increment diversions reduce revenue by much more: a few million dollars per year. That would be enough to cover not only the maintenance of the two swimming pools, but also the salaries of the recently laid-off school librarians and the rest of the district’s recent budget shortfall.

Standard Examiner - Dan Schroeder Guest Commentary
Not all of new tax will go to libraries and pools
July 2, 2013

The TIF Financing Scam

In the wake of all the hoopla over the passage of  last week's Pool and Library bond measures, we're delighted to put the spotlight on this morning's top-notch and sobering Dan Schroeder guest commentary, which reveals the ugly underbelly of the tax increment financing economic development fad, which has become the darling of Utah crony-capitalist politicians over the course of the past decade or two:

• Not all of new tax will go to libraries and pools

We'll thus enthusiastically join Dr. Schroeder in calling upon the legislature for serious reform of this locally much-abused "welfare for the rich" economic development scam.  Yes, "it’s time for the state Legislature to severely curtail this misuse of tax revenue." 

This of course invokes The Question: Is there anyone amongst our "fiscally conservative" Utah legislative body however who might be willing to break the bad news to their fat-cat campaign donors that they're willing to stop "robbing Peter to pay Paul?"

Nope.  We don't think so either.

The floor's open for your comments, O Gentle Ones.

Standard-Examiner: Weber Residents Say 'Yes' to Libraries, Pools - Updated

As a followup to yesterday's special bond election deadline reminder, the Standard carries two hot-off the-press stories this morning, reporting that Weber County voters approved both the pool and library measures by 57.58% and 54.3%, respectively:

• Officials: Current vote tally shows Weber residents say 'Yes' to libraries, pools
• Most voters back repairs, upgrades of Weber libraries

How happy are Ogden/Weber pool and library boosters this morning?

Update 6/27/13 5:30 a.m.: The Standard reminds us that the "official" vote counts are not yet in, and that the celebrations might therefore be a mite premature; although in truth, the realistic odds of still-uncounted votes upending these preliminary reported tallies are somewhere between "slim to none":

• Election results won’t be ‘official’ until July 9

Standard-Examiner: Residents Voting Today on Bonds for Weber Libraries, Ogden Pools

Don't vote? Don't complain, folks

Here's a quick reminder for Ogden and Weber County residents, who may have forgotten to vote:

OGDEN — Many Weber County voters may have already cast their ballots by mail for today’s bond elections, but officials want to emphasize that people who have not yet voted still have the opportunity to add their votes traditionally at the polls today.
Poll stations are set up in the North Ogden and Marriott-Slaterville city offices; the South Ogden and Roy municipal buildings; the Weber Center; and the Ogden Valley Branch Library, with the voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Get the full lowdown here, via the Standard-Examiner:

• Residents voting today on bonds for Weber libraries, Ogden pools

You don't vote? Then don't complain, folks.