Today, Miami-Dade Commissioners will again consider giving money away to the Miami Dolphins’ billionaire owner 
Stephen Ross for events that he would already have because they already make him tons of money.
I swear I am not making this up.
Instead of paying him to bring a Super Bowl, our esteemed electeds should be talking about levying an impact fee that Ross could pay the county for the $5 million or so in police protection and fire-rescue and other county services that we provide during such major events.
But that would takes guts. Something the commission dais sorely lacks.
This is the third time that Ross comes to the pubic trough to try to get us to pay for renovations to his third-rate facility.
The first time it was through an “unprecedented deal” struck with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez in which they would have tapped into more than $300 million in tourist tax dollars to put a retractable roof and spiff up other parts of SunLife Stadium. That died in the legislature when the House refused to hear the bill.
Try two was a “best possible deal” that would turn the crumbling stadium over to the county so that Ross would not have to pay $4 million a year in property taxes. That was nixed over concerns that half of that, or roughly $2 million, would have come out of schools and Miami Gardens, where the stadium is the No. 1 taxpayer.
Now, this new “best possible agreement” is a Hail Mary pass to try to save the effort because both Ross and Gimenez know that the clock is ticking and the are fourth down, ten yards to go. A poll done by the Miami Herald and Bendixen & Amandi earlier this month showed that voters are split evenly on the latest Miami Dolphins scam, er, deal, with 46 percent each in favor and opposed.
But Ladra has a feeling that the commission will be split a little less evenly. Inside sources and political observers much smarter than Ladra have told me that it’s a “done deal.” The smart money is on 7 yes votes, which is all Ross and Gimenez need to celebrate in their skybox.
This “performance-based marquee event grant agreement,” as it is called, is being sold as a play-for-pay deal, in which Ross will not get a dime unless he brings the events first. Events, again, that are already being sought because they are already making him money. A Super Bowl get $4 million. College football championships are worth $3 million. A college play-off game — which the stadium gets anyway every three years under the current system (so incentive for what? They get it anyway) gets $2 million. Smaller events, such as soccer matches, will get $750,000.
Really. I am not making this up.
Supporters have mentioned to Ladra that the total they can get any year is $5 mil. So if they get two events that total $7 million in bonus “performance pay” they only get $5 million anyway. And that this doesn’t even start to kick in for 10 years. How convenient that must be for the mayor and commissioners since they won’t be in office anymore and can just leave it for the next bunch to deal with.
The problem isn’t just that we are rewarding Ross for “performing” the way he would anyway if he were a smart businessman, which he must be; he didn’t increase his net worth by $1 billion more in the last year if he weren’t.
The problem here isn’t just that it’s like paying kids to go to class. Psychologists and educators agree that rewarding children for behavior that should be expected anyway is not a good idea because they won’t be motivated to do what’s right without the reward.
The problem here isn’t just that we could set a precedent where other venues can then say they are eligible for these limited tourist tax dollars that we now know can go to some of our parks.
The problem here isn’t just that commissioners who will vote on this today get thousands of dollars from the Dolphins and their lobbyist for their re-election campaigns.
The problem here is that our mayor and our commissioners have their priorities all wrong and that Gimenez has been spending all this time talking to Ross and figuring out this crazy pay scale while our libraries are under threat of closing and the water plant in Hialeah that cost $110 million — including $50 to $60 mil of county funds — isn’t operating correctly.
Oh, wait, I know. Why don’t we start rewarding contractors who don’t mess up on the job for their “performance.” You know… if you build the Arsht Center right the first time, with no roof leaks, you get a $1 million bonus. If you build a water plant that actually works, you get $2 million.
Sounds ludicrous, don’t it? Well, it makes more sense and serves the public better than the Dolphins giveaway.
Miami Dolphins ‘done deal’ should be for impact fees added by Ladra on
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