KFOX TV ran this segment about local hotel occupancy the other day.
“I can tell you that hotel revenue in this city is down 3.1 percent from last year,” said Rick LaFleur, president of the El Paso Hotel Motel Association.
The city budgeted a 3% increase for this year. That comes to a 6.1% shortfall.
Ball park funding
The hotel occupancy tax has been designated as the primary funding source for our new ball park.
The segment showed our city manager deliver this line: “”All of our revenues are meeting our projections so I don’t know what they’re talking about”. As though we should believe any financial numbers coming out of her office.
Not to worry
The city manager explained “Well, we have multiple sources of revenue that are going to pay for it. So it’s rent, it’s parking revenues, it’s sales tax”.
If they take money from sales tax revenues (which are not meeting the city’s budget either) then you can expect a property tax increase again next year.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
What rent is she referring to? Also, parking revenues? Would this be from the parking garage, civic center, meters, etc. How will parking revenues be divided up and accounted for when we have events going on at the civic center, plaza theater, downtown festivals, etc. so they can be attributed to ball park revenues?
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The contract specifies that the majority of parking revenues go to Woody World (but the city picks up the labor cost of managing the parking). This is another favor done for us by CC and Wilson.
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We give build the assets and give them control of the assets. We cover a lot of their operating costs. They keep all the profits. Corporate welfare for two wealthy, politically connected “conservatives” who are aligned with “free market” politicians who are against government handouts for ordinary folks. I think by free market they mean they want things to be free for themselves.
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Mamboman,
brutus
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Brutus — If the city has to go back to the well, is an increase in sales tax as likely as property tax? Might that be more fair than a property tax increase since sales tax is paid by the population as a whole, including non-property owners people from Mexico who continue to use city streets, etc.?
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Just Asking,
I believe that an increase in the sales tax percentage might not be possible. I think that we are at the maximum. If the portion that the local governments are allowed to set is not at the maximum, I believe it would take voter approval.
Brutus
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She is a sock puppet for Mountain Star and been so from the beginning. Anything she says on this matter is suspect. Remember the business case that was downladed to CC?
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i don’t understand why any of this is a surprise. i have said all along that the “hot” wont even pay the interest on the ballpark. freddie mac & fannie may made better loan contracts and you see how that turned out. this is basically a 10 year lease and the entire principle is still owed in 10 years. schecter was right.
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