Thursday, April 16, 2009
Patricia Street
On May 9th Dallas voters are headed to the polls to cast their ballot regarding the, now well-publicized, Propositions 1 and 2, and members of the local Hospitality Industry are no exception. Whether voting YES or voting NO, there are passionate supporters on both sides. In short, Proposition 1 seeks to prevent the city of Dallas from being able to build and own a convention center hotel. Proposition 2 seeks to limit the city of Dallas from being able to subsidize $1 million dollars or more to private developers.
According to the Vote Yes campaign’s website, they are against the building of the city-owned convention center hotel because they believe that the cost of developing it is “endangering the future prosperity and health of our great city”. Also, according to several of their television advertisements, the building of the convention center hotel would mean a tax hike for Dallas tax-payers.
The Vote No campaign’s website states that by not having a convention center hotel, Dallas is losing more money in revenue than building the hotel would cost and that a new hotel would create several hundred jobs. With regards to the Proposition 2, the website states that no other major city in North America has this legislation in place because it would “choke off economic development”.
The potential impact of both propositions on the hospitality industry is certainly vast, as it would affect an entire network of hospitality professionals, from transportation companies to restaurants and venues throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. As industry professionals are aware, groups that come to Dallas tend to explore beyond the city limits – traveling west to the ballparks to see the legends, to Flower Mound to visit our friends at the ranch, and to Fort Worth to experience the city of cowboys and culture, as well as the speedway to fulfill their ‘need for speed’. Since all of these endeavors require transportation, staffing, décor, entertainment, food and beverage etc. the industry at large is sure to feel the impact of this monumental Dallas decision.
Regardless of the final vote decision, let’s all hope that it will mean an increase of business for the city of Dallas and our great event professionals.
PROPOSITION NO. 1
Shall Chapter XI of the Charter of the City of Dallas be amended by adding Section 15 to:
(1) prohibit the city from, directly or indirectly, using, lending, or transferring city money or property, or lending the city's credit, for the purpose of siting, financing, constructing, acquiring, leasing, or operating a hotel or other lodging facility;
(2) prohibit the city from creating, authorizing, or sponsoring any special-purpose governmental entity or any non-profit corporation (including a local government corporation or a public facility corporation), or authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes, or other debt instruments by such special-purpose governmental entity or non-profit corporation, for the purpose of siting, financing, constructing, acquiring, leasing, or operating a hotel or other lodging facility;
(3) require the city to assume the powers and duties of any existing local government corporation previously created or authorized by the city for the purpose of siting, financing, constructing, acquiring, leasing, or operating a hotel or other lodging facility;
(4) require the city to alter the structure, organization, programs, and activities of any existing public facility corporation sponsored by the city and to prohibit such corporation from siting, financing, constructing, acquiring, leasing, or operating a hotel or other lodging facility; and (5) provide certain exceptions?
PROPOSITION NO. 2
Shall Chapter XI of the Charter of the City of Dallas be amended by adding Section 16 to:
(1) prohibit the city of Dallas (including any special-purpose governmental entity, nonprofit corporation, and any other entity created or controlled by the city) from providing more than a total of $1,000,000 in financial assistance (including any grant of tax concessions or relief; any authorization of debt or debt instruments; any expenditure of public funds; and any exchange, grant, or below-market sale or lease of city-owned land) to any private development project (the primary purpose of which is to construct or aid in the construction, renovation, repair, alteration, or remodeling of any hotel, convention center, luxury residential condominium, or retail facility, or the infrastructure of any such facility), unless the city gives at least 65 days' public notice (including posting the notice on the city's website for the entire 65-day notice period) before approving the financial assistance and obtains voter approval for the financial assistance at a regular or special election when voter approval is required by a petition that is signed by at least 500 residents of the city and filed with the city secretary within 60 days after the public notice is posted;
(2) exempt from the financial assistance restrictions any retail development of less than 50,000 square feet that serves a subsidized residential development; and (3) provide a severability clause?
Resources:
http://www.notaxpayerhotel.com/http://www.votenodallas.com/http://www.ripdallas.com/http://www.dallasrighttovote.com/ 
