Branson Chamber of Commerce Tax In Effect - John Logan Cries "Shameful"

Mindy Honey of the Branson Daily News committed a break from usual format by reporting John Logan's concerns regarding the no-bid contract handed to the Branson Chamber of Commerce last month.

Press politics greatly dictates how stories are reported in and about Branson. Generally, In Branson tourism is subsidized through several sales taxes, funneled to a private business organization, the Branson Chamber of Commerce, and sub-contracted to out-of-state vendors. In turn, most of our media outlets are subsidized by the geo-political entity. (More on this later)

A pyramid of entities dictates how the funds are allocated and supervised. The Convention Visitors Bureau is one such entity managed by the Branson Chamber of Commerce with a five year budget estimated at $35 million in scheduled revenue from the TCED tax and additional $12 million from the city itself. The TCED district tax expands from Eastern Stone to Western Taney County.

In addition, the Branson Board of Alderman granted a 5 year contract to the Branson Chamber of Commerce to manage the City of Branson's tourism tax with an estimated value of $12 million.

*The Branson Board of Alderman have depleted 5 million in savings since Branson's Mayor Raeanne Presley was elected mayor. The deficit spending occurred during three years of record income for the city of Branson. 2009 was the second highest sales tax revenue producing year in the city's history.

Silver Dollar City Expansion Involves- 5 million dollar TIF

Silver Dollar City formally submitted a proposal to ease traffic congestion to Indian Point and Silver Dollar City. This will be Stone County's first TIF (Tax Increment Financing) project and I'm currently working on copy to inform citizens of Stone County about TIF's and what the implications of the project are. I'll be posting more on this issue shortly; but, if a picture is worth a 1000 words than click on the image above to view the engineering diagram of the project.
According to the Stone County Commission, Silver Dollar City sales tax revenues account for 20% of the overall Stone County collected sales taxes. The plan will provide unfettered access from HWY 76 to the park and enable Indian Point residents to bypass Silver Dollar City traffic on Indian Point Drive. Hershchend Family Entertainment Corporation is hoping to increase access to Silver Dollar City and believes approval and completion of the project may help the Missouri Department of Transportation continue to develop arteries through Branson via HWy 76 and southbound on HWY 13. Traffic congestion is a major problem according to Silver Dollar City manager Brad Thomas and easing access is good for Branson, Stone County and tourism to the region in general. More to come...

Senator Jack Goodman Senate Bill 64 Update - Branson - Missouri Senate

In an interview conducted by the Branson Edge Senator Goodman discussed Senate Bill 64 which is his second attempt to enact legislation aimed at discouraging early school start dates. According to Senator Goodman, administration backed by powerful education lobbyists and multitude of special interests overshadow who should have the ultimate say over how our children are educated. He states the priority should be the needs of students first, parents second, teachers third and administrators fourth - a reverse pyramid of the educational power as it stands.
Goodman anticipates the bill will graduate from the educational committee sometime over the next couple of weeks. He also anticipates a 17 day maximum clause will be removed. Under the current constructs of the bill Missouri school's wishing to start more than 10 days before the Labor Day holiday will have to hold a board meeting where parents can submit opinions to their elected school board representatives.
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Opinion/Backround/Perspective
Randy Turner, teacher, author, award winning blogger and education advocate failed to answer questions about the downside of the bill when engaged with questions several months ago. In fact, Randy, who does an excellent job of educating us about lobbying efforts consistently avoids the special interests which are so close to his heart. Though we understand not wanting to bite the lobbying hand that ensures his trough remains full, we find his "flaming" of anyone who dares challenge the dictatorial authority of highly paid bureaucrats by asking for a reasonable explanation....downright offensive.
As a result of my inability to obtain wisdom from my fellow blogger, several administrators were questioned in regards to the issue. To date, the most valid response came from an area superintendent who admitted the real issue is that “school's don't like to be told what to do.”
Branson has significant interest in the bill's passage as does the entire state of Missouri. As Senator Goodman pointed out Missouri experiences 1.5 million dollars a day in tax losses everyday school's choose to start before Labor Day. Many who live in Branson experience extreme poverty in the off-season. Though I'm inclined to support increased education funding - highly paid bureaucrat’s egotistical interests come second to ensuring my family and neighbors live without experiencing extended poverty.
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