http://davidsonnews.net/2009/09/01/a-loss-for-2009-but-signs-of-growth-at-mi-connection/
Of particular interest to me, at least, were the last few paragraphs of the article. I'll reprint them here for your convenience:
AUDIT AND HURDLES AHEAD
The figures released Monday are still preliminary; an audit won’t begin
until Sept. 14.
Meanwhile, hurdles remain. System officials say they likely will need more
money in the future to continue growing.
“Based on what we know today and based on the obligations of MI-Connection
and our indebtedness, and based on a model that we think we can achieve … it is
a potential that the towns might need to invest more in the future,” Ms. Bright
said.
“It might be 19 (million dollars), it could be 7 (million) it could be 10
million,” she said. If growth picks up, the number would be higher.
The system expects to cover a shortfall this year (2009-10) with reserves,
but it’s unclear what happens a year from now in the 2010-11 fiscal year. That’s
when the towns will have to begin making principal payments on their initial $80
million bond issue, which paid for the system and initial work on the
upgrade.
“That’s really when there comes issues of the maybe the towns’ needing to
step up and help with capital, and that capital might be only the capital needed
to extend infrastructure to an enterprise customers or hook up more residential
customers,” Ms. Bright said.
TAXPAYER CONCERNS
Some critics of the system worry future capital infusions could come out of
taxpayers’ pockets. But officials from both Davidson and Mooresville said Monday
they don’t envision paying for growth or making up shortfalls with property
taxes.
“It’s not in our plan,” said Maia Setzer, Mooresville’s director of
administration and finance.
Added Davidson Town Manager Leamon Brice: “I don’t see it in our plan. That
really is speculation. … Now that we have the best system available, we
anticipate being able make (our) numbers. We now have a very good system that we
need to market and people need to support.”
Davidson Mayor John Woods also said a cable-related tax increase is
unlikely, and he said citizens can help make sure that doesn’t happen.
“It has never been our intent to support this system with taxpayer funds.
The 2010 budget has been approved and there is no need for taxpayer assistance.
The future depends on our citizens and businesses embracing the system, taking
advantage of its offerings,” Mayor Woods said.
“I hope we can celebrate a locally-owned effort that contributes to this
community. To those negative voices in the world, I say the future is in your
hands. Use the system and it will be successful,” the mayor said.
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4 comments:
I like this logic. MI says they can't sell you their products based on value so now they are asking us to buy from them based on sympathy. And then if that doesn't work, they'll threaten to raise our taxes if we don't support MI. I'm not a big fan of Wal Mart but I dare say their success has not been because they have asked people to shop there out of sympathy. They are successful because they deliver value.
As an employee of a competitor to MI-Connection I don't quite understand this logic.
The rest of us live in a competitive world where you have to build a better product and sell it at a better price, providing a value to the consumer in order to be competitive in the market place.
Asking the residents to rally behind a product merely because the town built it, against the wishes of the vast majority of people who attended the hearings, is an insult to the rest of us who live in a capitalist society.
So to be clear Mr. Mayor. Whether or not you raise our taxes depends on if we "embrace" the system. So our "embracing" of the system is not unlike paying the mob protection money. Pay up, and no one gets hurt.
Man these officials have a lot of nerve. First of all everyone I talked with warned them not to venture in the cable business. But they knew better. Frank Rader looked down his nose at us and let us know we were too ignorant to understand these 'big numbers'. So they jumped into the pool and are finding out the water IS over their heads. Now to top it all off, they are asking us to jump in with them. Can you believe it?
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