The AP Picks Up on the Alerus’s Double Secret Subsidy
Your read it here on Say Anything First:
The city of Grand Forks will be keeping a close eye on the operational side of its events center budget.
The city closed out 2008 by erasing $872,000 in sales tax dollars doled out to the Alerus Center over the years dating back to 2001. The move was to the help the center manage cash-flow needs.
City officials say the goal was to seek repayment through the building’s debt service fund, but the city’s home rule charter prevents that.
A Dec. 31 letter from former finance director John Schmisek recommended that the debt be written off the city’s books.
This is still shocking to me. The city and the Alerus commission are engaging in Enron type accounting covering up the operating losses on the center. Now the city is writing off this debt but don’t look for the official financial statements to acknowledge it.
In fact the event Center manager just said that the center’s financials looked good, but they never release them in January. Except for the fact that they always have released them in January.
I think I have a picture of the guy here:
Oh yeah, he commented on the fact that the Alerus isn’t going to return the money they borrowed from the city.
Alerus Executive Director Steve Hyman says the money was to be used on the events center and the building has more than returned the investment.
Yeah right, the Alerus is sucking nearly 7 million dollars out of the local economy every year for the 3/4 cent sales tax. It’s also taking the $300,000 or so from the entertainment tax and calling it operating income to cover for their losses.
I’m told that the center burned through the $250,000 concert fund that was also set up to hide losses from the public
But yeah, it’s returning the investment.
“Alerus Bob” Hyman’s company that actually employs him isn’t supposed to get paid if the center lost money. What are they going to call all of these off the book losses? I’m sure that the people in charge of the city won’t hold the property management company to their deal.
The public is going to get screwed again.
