Today, many cities large and small are facing enormous budget challenges. With the economy down, sales tax revenue is also down, and with the housing market down, the percentage of money that is shared in property taxes with local county government is also reduced. Because of this, cities have to find ways to reduce costs, it is very difficult to reduce costs when they have fixed expenses, such as pension costs inherited from people who have already retired.
Did you know that a large number of cities in the United States are paying 60% of all the tax revenue they collect in legacy costs for people who have already retired? That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? This means they have to cut future wages and city services. It also means that they cannot hire the best lawyers, or even the best law firms, exposing them to potentially high litigation costs. While this may sound like a perfect storm, it gets much worse when we take individual examples and scenarios.
Take the city of Los Angeles, for example, they are levying a tax on electronic billboards. These are those big bright billboards with flashy lights and they run 24/7. The city needs the revenue, and the billboard companies pull in half a million dollars in ad sales each month. It’s a big deal. If billboards cost $1 million each, then your ROI is only two months, that’s a lot of money, and very few companies can post those kinds of results.
Now, there was a rather concerning article in the Desert Sun on 10/27/12 “Billboard Firm Wrote LA Motion – Lobbyists Drafted Plan Approved by City Council That Could Preserve Many Signs,” by David Zahniser.
Well, I’m not surprised because Washington DC lobbyists do this all the time the night before Congress votes on bills. It’s not congressional staffers who are writing those laws, it’s a lobbyist sitting in a room with their lawyers and congressional staff, and they’re able to because they donated huge sums of money to the politicians who are writing those bills . to be voted on. That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? Yes, and we all know that the system is broken in Washington.
Actually I guess my question is; Why does it also have to be broken at home at the city level? Can’t the citizens take a break? Not that I’m against advertising in this particular example I think all companies should be allowed to market their products but I also think city governments should do the right thing for people often these lights Bright lights up people’s bedrooms, or in apartment complexes so people can’t sleep.
Also, when motorists pass by, they are no longer on the lookout for bicyclists or pedestrians. The amount of accidents due to distracted drivers is totally unacceptable, not only because of text messages, now also because of these electronic billboards.
The government’s job is to protect people, but it seems like they’re protecting themselves, the legacy cost of those pensions, and now, because they’re broke, they’re making really bad decisions with a lot of unintended consequences. In fact, I hope you will please consider all of this and think about it.
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