Posted on 09/26/2002 1:37:34 AM PDT by chance33_98
$18.34 million comes to county
Monday, September 23, 2002
By Phil Hayworth
It's probably one the fattest deposits made in the history of Madera County: $18.34 million right into a Wells Fargo Bank account, courtesy of America's tobacco industry.
The money, which now sits in a county Endowment Capital Projects Account, represents Madera County's share of the $4.3 billion class-action tobacco settlement of Nov. 1998.
"I'd say it's the biggest lump deposit in my 30 years with the county," said Stell Manfredi, county administrator.
Originally, Madera was to have received $1.15 million annually over 25 years.
But the county Board of Supervisors voted two months ago to give up the smaller payments and "securitize" the lump sum – a move that insured that the county got its money right away, said county officials.
"It was possible that five years from now, that money wouldn't have been there," said Board Chairman Frank Bigelow, who explained that the America's tobacco industry might avoid the payments down the road.
The securitization process happened through the collective efforts of California State Association of Counties, a 12-county entity that got bonding through the likes of Smith Barney who later sold the contracts to investors on the open market.
"We probably sacrificed about $11 million to do the bonding and get the money now," Manfredi said.
Almost all the money has been earmarked for the design and construction of a 120,000-square-foot, four-level government center to be built in the City of Madera over the next three years, according to County Administrator Stell Manfredi.
The board also agreed that some of the money would go to build two government satellite centers in Chowchilla and Oakhurst at a cost of $4 million and $1 million, respectively.
Critics say the money should have gone to people suffering from tobacco-related illness or prevention, not new government buildings.
But Manfredi believes the county did the right thing by channeling the money toward capital improvement projects.
"We think it's prudent to put it in infrastruture to serve the people of the county in the decades to come," Manfredi said.
Manfredi explained that there already exists a program to educate people of the dangers of tobacco use.
Specifically, Madera's program is called First 5 Madera County and gets $2 million annually based on its 2,000 children under age five. The program is administered by the county Child and Families Commission and is funded from Proposition 10 monies, which come from the 50-cent tax on every tobacco product sold in California.
While the biggest deposit in Madera's history, it's still not enough to pay for the three government centers plus a 700-stall parking garage in downtown Madera called for by the county's master development plan.
According to documentation provided by the county's Treasurer-Tax Collector Tracy Kennedy Desmond, the county needs another $11 million to make the project happen – nearly the exact amount sacrificed in the market transaction.
The government centers and garage will be the first of three government facilities to be built over the next five years, including a 115,000 square-foot hall of justice.
"I'd like to think we could generate some sort of a partnership with the City of Madera and the county to generate half the cost of the parking structure," Manfredi said.
The remainder of the project, which Manfredi said could cost a total of $34 million, could be funded by a combination of projected revenues and a loan.
"The bottom line is that we're trying to use the money as prudently as possible," Manfredi said.
Well now isn't that interesting....
And I hope the building project quadrupples in actual expenses, and all those greedy people get taxed into bankruptcy to build it.
More likely, Frank won't be there 5 years from now. Why leave the power to spend future revenues to those in power then, when you can usurp it today, eh Frank?
In that case they will sue the beer companies, then the gun companies, and so on to keep paying for their pork. Sadly, I am probably right.
Their next multi-million dollar deposit will come from McDonalds, Burger King, etc !!!! Grrrrrrrr....
It may be the fattest deposit for Madera County - but not a PENNY of it came from the tobacco industry. Under the sweet deal the Tbacco companies made with the AG's every penny of the settlement monies was pased along to those purchasing the cigarettes - to the tune of 45 cents per pack.
Madera County should be thanking the smokers - NOT the tobacco industry.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.