03/04/2017
Citizens for a New PCB
I would like to share some information to help dispel some of the negative comments that continue to be on any threads about the Spring Break changes. I want to start by putting out some facts:
Spring Break did generate large revenues.
Many businesses were hurt by the change to Spring Break.
Many citizens no longer felt safe in their own city.
I think we can all agree on the statements above. I can tell you I fought for two years prior to the ban to bring some kind of sensible enforcement to something that had gotten way out of control. It fell on deaf ears and nothing was being done by the City or the businesses to get it under control. The citizens rose up and said enough was enough and changes happened. Here is a small snapshot at some statistics from the last wild Spring Break:
360 Drug Arrest
100 Illegal Guns
17 Armed and Dangerous (these are convicted felons in possession of fi****ms)
37 Rapes, not 1
7 shot and hundreds of other arrest
Hundreds of other minor arrest
This is why, above everything else, most of the citizens believed the Spring Party that brought millions was no longer worth it. Everybody has to make their own decision on what is your tipping point, when the value of money outweighs a City's morals and values.
Now, let's get to the constant scare tactics that are used regarding the City and the County going under due to the loss of Spring Break as we knew it. First, the City lost 17% last March off of its 1%, which provides 45% of our budget to run the City. This includes police, fire, City employees, parks and recreation - a pretty substantial operation. Once again, any loss is bad and is real to those businesses who suffered. Dollars-wise to the City, that represented a loss of $170,000 in tax dollars. Now let's look at the previous year. The City had to supplement police and emergency to a tune of over $500,000 above the taxes generated from Spring Break. That is an actual loss to the City. It was the only month of the year that did not pay for itself. So financially, the City was better off and actually saved money. Additionally, the City ended up 5.3% in revenue for the year. However, we know some businesses did lose.
Next, the County 5% bed tax. Unfortunately, that does not actually go to the County for their operations. So, this does not affect their budget. What does affect their budget is property taxes, which were being stifled by the bad reputation of Spring Break. The beach supplies 50%-60% of the property tax to the County. As soon as the ordinances went in place, property values went up 10-15% and investors were willing to buy again.
Regarding the bed tax, it is true they were down 40% for March and down less than 1% for the year. The TDC does not pay for City or County operations. It handles the advertising for the beach, beach re-nourishment, and assists with special projects. Once again, any loss is not a good loss, however, it does not put City and County budgets at risk. It also has not affected your property taxes.
What we should be happy about is the fact that we have the lowest property tax in the state. We have the lowest water/sewer rates on the beach, including within our county and adjoining counties.
So far, we are running over 12% for the last three months above revenue from last year. I can only hope that the increased revenue year-round will help those with the loss of business in March.
We do not know what March holds for us this year. I do believe those who catered to Spring Break will see a continued loss. However, I do believe that we will see more families in March. Because this will trigger the "there are no families on Spring Break in March" responses, here are a few who are on Spring Break:
March 11-18 - the whole state of Texas; Springfield, MO; Rankin County, MS; Jackson, MS; Memphis, TN; Dayton, OH. March 18-25 - St.Louis Mo; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN. March 25-April 1 - Cincinnati, OH; Illinois; Cleveland, OH; Murfreesboro, TN; Jefferson County, AL; Evansville, IN. These are to name a few.
I don't recall anyone saying this would be an easy transition and that there would not be losses. What I can say, is that financially it has not been the doom and gloom to the City and County that some continue to spread and constantly tell people their taxes are going up. There were many businesses that did suffer. I hope and pray that the increased business year-round will ease some of that pain.
Please feel free to share this information if you like. Anybody can have their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts!
Hector Solis
