Calter’s CFO appearance
Calter: pro-casino but also pro-listening
MA State Representative Tom Calter addressed the CFO meeting of 1/17/2008. This post is written from my notes of the meeting. As such the content is bound to be brief, incomplete, and not perfectly accurate. Corrections welcome. I also apologize for the clumsy wording in this post – it is mostly notes that were taken live along with some of my own observations and opinions. It’s a rather clumsy read that still manages to convey the substance of Mr. Calters appearance.
If I was to summarize the main points I would say.
- Everyone get along and stop hammering each other
- The deal stinks – it provides a fixed revenue stream for costs that are unknown and variable
- Casino support will die when the numbers come in
- Commercial casino good, Indian casino bad.
Don’t blame the BOS
Mr. Calter made the point that the BOS had very little choice and that they did the best job they could. The IGRA and the process is flawed and the BOS felt trapped and cut the best deal they could. Mr. Calter said that even with his business experience of having acquired a dozen companies, he couldn’t have done better.
He made the point that the Casino Resort Advisory Committee is a good group of people doing very in depth work and running spreadsheets on the effect of the casino on various town departments.
The deal stinks
He said that the deal is upside down – it has a fixed revenue stream and variable cost structure. In short – we don’t know what the costs are, but are stuck with a fixed compensation rate. He said that what happened in Middleboro last summer was a disgrace that was the fault of the federal government and the developers – not the fault of the BOS. The BOS aren’t driving the bus – the developers are driving the bus. Those developers gave you 60 days to evaluate the plan and they should be ashamed of themselves.
He said that his opposition is based on a monetary analysis based on:
- Long term economic value
- What sort of jobs, pay benefits
- What is the impact on the host town
- What is the impact on the host region
He went on to enumerate some of the problems with the agreement.
- Region is not included
- Doesn’t take care of the town of Middleboro
- Pro people can’t point to any real $$ benefit
He pointed out the $2M prepayment winds up as cost for cops/EMS
School effect is unknown and potentially severe
He then ran some theoretical numbers that up to 1000 school aged children could enter area school systems. This would cost $8.5M or so. The pro-casino people are unable to give a number for this or any other impact.
Any increase in schools will push our near-capacity schools over the edge. There is no enough lead time to get new schools built. This is a very good point that I hadn’t thought of. Tom was saying that when you have predictable growth, you can plan for new schools and get some state aid – which takes years. With the casino, growth will be sudden and unpredictable and may wind up with us footing the bill for new schools
This is it – no more money will come
He pointed out that this agreement represents the sum total of our compensation – which will be used against us when the state compact is signed. Essentially we’ve said that this agreement is giving us all the money we need.
Jobs
Despite all the promises to use/hire union labor, there is absolutely nothing codified in the agreement to make sure that happens. Job preference goes to indians and Middleboro residents only.
Property taxes
The deal should have included a variable for increase in school children. This goes back to the concept that the deal is providing a fixed payment when the costs are unknown and variable.
Can’t we all just get along
Tom made the point the CFO, CRAC, the Regional Task Force, and the Middleboro BOS need to stop bashing one another and get on the same page. The enemy is not each other, it’s the developers. That as long as we are bickering together – everyone for the state and elsewhere will stay away and do harm to the effort.
I have given some thought to this and I for one am going to take this advice to heart – and be a kinder, gentler, hammer wielder.
Bad, bad deal
Tom then made the point that – $7M if you do a bottom up analysis is not going to put a dent in the costs to Middleboro – it’s a bad deal. Financially, it’s a bad deal.
Questions
Tom was asked how anybody could work with the BOS – they are so single minded and unreasonable about this. His answer was basically to forget the BOS if they won’t play nicely – that instead we should engage CRAC and the Regional Task Force.
Mr. Calter was asked how property taxes would be effected. He said he didn’t know – that some studies showed both positive and negative effect depending on the facility.
He said that as far as strategy went, the low hanging fruit was education, property taxes, infrastructure.
He reiterated that the agreement promises nothing to the unions.
No union promises
Hal Brown asked if he could you accept a commercial casino at that location. Calter replied “Absolutely not”. He went on to reiterate his support for casinos in general – just not for this one in particular.
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