Sunday, May 27, 2012  Q: When is an Expenditure not an
Expenditure?  Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.    We had
a long committee meeting today that ran roughly from 10 am to 2
pm and by the slimmest of possible majorities the Council
Committee approved the new local special stadium financing law
by a vote of 7 to 6. Early on in the discussion it was made
crystal clear for everyone in the room that the "Charter
Limitation, Requirements Do Not Apply" section went well beyond
the Viking Stadium alone. It essentially will change the City
Charter to allow any and all sales taxes to be used for sports
facilities, or any capital improvements, without needing to go
to the voters for approval even the project costs or borrows
more than $10, $15 or even $100 million. This is significant
because normally our charter can only be amended by a majority
vote of the people or by a 13-0 affirmative vote of the City
Council. Tomorrow, thanks to the power provided by the state
legislature, it will be done by a 7 - 6 vot