Posted on 08/21/2002 6:16:05 PM PDT by victim soul
Group's bonds to bear county name
Reading aloud from Planned Parenthood's "Teen Time" safe-sex manual, Don Kazimir urged county commissioners to scuttle financing that would help the family planning group buy a new office.
Then he used a vulgar term to describe a sex act -- turning off County Commission Chairman Warren Newell, who cut Kazimir off.
"We just don't need it," Newell said Tuesday.
Led by Kazimir, a chorus of Planned Parenthood opponents in the commission chambers shouted back that the elected officials "need to know who these people are." Newell threatened to clear the room if the crowd didn't quiet down. He then joined the commissioners in unanimously approving the financing deal for Planned Parenthood. Commissioners Mary McCarty and Tony Masilotti were absent.
In casting the vote, the county commission only lent its name to the $3 million in tax-free bonds that Planned Parenthood needs to finance the purchase of a 12,500 square-foot executive office at Florida Mango Road near Belvedere Road. No abortions will be performed at the facility, a spokeswoman said.
Because they were approved by Palm Beach County, the bonds will be issued at a tax-free, government rate that will save the nonprofit group hundreds of thousands of dollars on interest payments. Commissioners frequently approve this type of financing for nonprofit groups. Usually it's no trouble because the groups are not so controversial.
Should Planned Parenthood default on the bonds, taxpayers wouldn't be left in debt. Northern Trust Bank -- not Palm Beach County -- is covering the bonds. Newell and Commissioner Karen Marcus tried to get the point across by publicly stating county tax money and the county's bond ratings weren't on the line. Marcus also mentioned the county has approved the bonds for other groups numerous times.
But it didn't pacify Planned Parenthood's opponents. Many spoke against the financing deal, saying tax money shouldn't support the group. One woman, invoking the name of Janet Reno in forbidding tones, said the Republican-dominated commission should oppose the bonds.
Another, noting that contraception and abortion are offensive to Catholics like her, worried that Planned Parenthood will provide "raspberry-flavored condoms" to children.
All the while, Newell tried to steer the speakers back to whether the county should lend its name to the bonds. A representative from Planned Parenthood sat quietly, and no one spoke in favor of the proposed center.
Susan Nefzger, a spokeswoman for the local Planned Parenthood chapter, said after the meeting that the building, which formerly housed the Department of Children and Families, will be used for administrative and educational purposes. She said the group applied for the government-rate bonds to save money.
"We didn't ask for special treatment. We applied for this just like any other national nonprofit group," Nefzger said.
Planned Parenthood, like many other not-for-profits, has received municipal approval for tax-exempt bonds, said Adina Wingate Quijada, a spokeswoman for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Earlier this year, she said, the organization received such approval from New York City. The $15 million in tax-exempt bonds paid for improvements to Planned Parenthood's new national administrative headquarters.
Nefzger said Planned Parenthood performs no abortions in any of its offices locally. Instead it provides referrals to people seeking the procedure, Nefzger said. Also, the group offers screening for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases.
Richard Giesman, president of Palm Beach County Right to Life, sees a more sinister side to Planned Parenthood. Like Kazimir, he spoke against helping the group because of its emphasis on abortions and sex tips in its publication, "Teen Time."
"I don't even want us as a county to be aligned with this organization," Giesman said, listing the different sex acts. Newell cut him off.
"They are corrupting our children," Giesman responded, "and you need to know it." Staff writer J. Christopher Hain contributed to this story. marc_caputo@pbpost.com
Earlier this year, she said, the organization received such approval from New York City. The $15 million in tax-exempt bonds paid for improvements to Planned Parenthood's new national administrative headquarters.
The bonds are not tax-free, as if the issuer,
Planned Parenthood was getting money without
having to pay tax on it. It's a good thing. Imagine
if you went to the bank and borrowed a hundred
thousand dollars, and had to pay income tax on
it!!! Then had to pay back $100,000 plus interest
to pay off the loan! Wow, would you be pissed.
No, PP didn't get $3,000,000 tax-free. They
borrowed $3,000,000 and issued bonds to
the lender. The lender will deduct the interest
he gets on his bond from his gross income before
calculating his personal income tax.
Get it now? Maybe if you left headlines alone
rather than using the liberal tactic of trying to
bias the news with phony headlines, this
wouldn't happen.
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