How Would You Spend $300 Million?
By Tom Lemmon, Business Manager of the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council
If you’re driving south on the I-5 or along Broadway near E Street in the coming weeks, you might notice a billboard asking “How would you spend $300 million in public money?” Right now City Hall seems committed to giving this money to Gaylord Entertainment even though they refuse to commit to using local workers for the bayfront development. If you think public money should directly benefit the local economy instead of an out-of-state mega-developer, I hope you can take the time to cast your vote at www.LocalJobsFirst.org.
I know that Mayor Cox is under tremendous financial pressure to find a solution to Chula Vista’s $8 million budget deficit. Apparently she thinks that Gaylord’s hotel and convention center will eventually generate enough revenue to lift us out of this hole. This plan has two major flaws:
· Our economy can’t wait the several years it will take for Gaylord’s hotel and convention center to open. But we can get a boost immediately if Gaylord commits to hiring local workers first. These workers will begin earning regular paychecks, spending money at local businesses and paying taxes in Chula Vista. If most jobs go to out-of-town workers, the public dollar investment in the bayfront project won’t provide the economic stimulus Chula Vista needs now. The out-of-town workers Gaylord hires will be spending their paychecks (and paying their taxes) elsewhere.
· Gaylord’s CEO admitted to The Washington Post last month that they build their facilities with on-site amenities to keep guests from spending money outside of the hotel. So with all the tax breaks, Chula Vista can’t expect much of a long-term benefit from Gaylord’s development and Gaylord may actually steal customers away from local businesses.
I’m not a professional economist, but it seems obvious to consider the immediate boost to the economy a legal agreement to hire local workers first would bring. If Chula Vistans are guaranteed these jobs, their incomes will go up, they’ll be able to make house payments and they’ll start spending money at local businesses right away — increasing tax revenues immediately. It’s a win-win for the short and it’s a step in the right direction for a long-term fix for the city’s economy.
Unfortunately, Mayor Cox hasn’t responded to the poll results from December finding that when Chula Vista residents were asked to rank how city funding should be prioritized, they ranked providing subsidies to out-of-state developers dead last. We’re hoping that these billboards will remind our elected officials of their responsibility to their constituents.
If you think it’s time for City Hall to stand up for Chula Vista instead of caving into Gaylord’s demands. Go to the LocalJobsFirst.org home page to vote.
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