"To date, the City has committed to providing $30 million in funding, inclusive of $11.5 million used to acquire property for the project, and the foundation has worked with community leaders to raise corporate and individual pledges for the project, exceeding $35 million in pledges..."
Steven B. Tanger Center for the Performing Arts Fact Sheet, on March 3, 2014 by the City of Greensboro and CFGG
http://yescurrent.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/city-releases-tanger-center-fact-sheet/
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I believe the Fact Sheet cited above was in response to; On GPAC; To whom it may concern, please confirm, criticize, question or deny the following before Monday, March 3, 2014's Yes Weekly's 10am deadline for next Wednesday's Hartzman column.;
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"Mayor and Members of Council (bcc):
Attached is a Tanger Center fact sheet compiled by City and CFGG staff. The document outlines specifics within the proposed agreement and the financing arrangement. Tomorrow, I will provide this to George Hartzman in response to his email to the Council and community below. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Donnie"
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The fact sheet does not deny the following, which I now consider to be truthful;
If the City of Greensboro doesn't cover shortfalls of the private sector pledges with more than the $30 million the City has already committed, the lender or lenders can foreclose on and acquire the performing arts center.
The City of Greensboro is not in possession of legally binding donor commitments on about $35,448,920 of privately pledged assets.
The City of Greensboro doesn't know where the $35,448,920 is actually located.
The City of Greensboro doesn't know what the $35,448,920 is invested in.
The City of Greensboro doesn't have a detailed time line showing how much of the $35,448,920 is supposed to appear when over a 10 year time span.
The City of Greensboro doesn't know what would happen to the $35,448,920 if financial markets fall 20%, or 30% within the five years following the project’s approval.
The City of Greensboro doesn't know what would happen to the $35,448,920 if interest rates rise even more from their historically relatively very low levels within the five years following the project’s approval.
The City of Greensboro is unaware of the statistical likelihood that the $35,448,920 in pledges will or won't appear.
The CFGG and City of Greensboro's financing mechanism attaches what would be a jointly owned GPAC between the City and a non profit without assets other than the property which would be used as collateral to obtain a loan to pay for construction costs before the pledges actually appear.
The CFGG will have no financial commitment to the project, yet stands to acquire the entire project without risk or taxes as detailed in item G4 of the Memorandum of Understanding At the Council work session on Tuesday, February 25th.
The City of Greensboro does not know how the CFGG is going to supply the loan interest payments for the financing.
The City of Greensboro's finance department has not underwritten, reviewed or signed off on the legally binding donor commitments, the potential taxpayer liability above the $30 million City Council authorized for the performing arts center, the private sector lending agreement, a time line of how much of the $35,448,920 is supposed to appear and when, the statistical likelihood of how much of the $35,448,920 in pledges may or may not appear or hypothetical asset return projections concerning the $35,448,920 in private pledges.
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The fact sheet does say "The MOU and its financing provisions have been specifically structured so that the taxpayers will not be liable for any shortfalls of private donor commitments."
After reading the MOU several times, the problem with the above sentence is the MOU attached to the agenda item on pdf page 99 doesn't say anything about the structure not being "liable for any shortfalls of private donor commitments."
It doesn't say anything about what taxpayer are not liable for anywhere in the attachment MOU.
The above sentence in the fact sheet appears to be a factual in-exactitude.
How can the city fund a $65 million dollar PAC, of which $35 million in private pledges the city's finance department has never seen, has no taxpayer responsibility attached, if the pledges fail to reach $35 million, and the collateral for the loan is a facility jointly owned by a non profit funded by nothing other than the pledges, and the City of Greensboro?
I believe City of Greensboro taxpayers are being sold a bridge.
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