My latest piece runs today in The American and criticizes state and local lawmakers in Maryland for using tax dollars to subsidize the "private" construction of a new ballpark in Southern Maryland.
Not only are local taxpayers in Charles County being fleeced to the tune of $8.5 million in order to pay for one-third of the construction, but the county is also financing Maryland Baseball LLC's one-third share of the cost with public bonds.
When I spoke yesterday with David Eicholtz, acting director of fiscal services for Charles County, he explained that the "deal" Maryland Baseball struck with the county is that it will pay on this loan from the county at an interest rate commensurate with that of a private lender, meaning that the county will be able to pay off the bond at a lower (taxpayer-subsidized) rate and accumulate a "contingency account" with the difference. This will ostensibly be used by the county to pay down its portion of the bond.
It might sound as if this is an attempt to save taxpayers money, but the plain truth is that the only way for the county to truly save money is NOT to engage in these "public-private" partnerships to begin with. If Maryland Baseball wants to build a ballpark to attract a minor league franchise to the area, it should be expected to finance the costs privately, the same way you or I would if we wanted to build a house or buy a new car.
Amazingly, Charles County taxpayers are already on the hook for one-third of the construction cost, the state of Maryland has already allocated $4.7 million (and this amount is almost sure to rise), and Maryland Baseball doesn't even have to procure private funding for its share! So who takes the hit if this little venture folds? If you said "the taxpayers," go to the head of the class! It's virtually a guarantee that the Charles County commissioners would expect the state (i.e. all Maryland taxpayers) to bail them out if their plans flop.
I'm starting to think I should get into the business of building baseball stadiums. After all, it appears there's little risk involved these days from a private sector perspective.
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