BY JOAN CARTER
In light of parsimonious annual grant funding to multiple popular well-established arts organizations, it is astonishing to learn that the County Council is considering ownership, construction, operation and management of a $10 million motocross track.
The role of government includes fairly supporting citizens’ diverse interests. It is possible that council members do not visit museums or participate in diverse cultural activities, although many ordinary people find them rewarding.
Last year, the County Council made a big fuss about granting operating funds in small amounts to support a number of diverse nonprofit groups. Smaller groups welcome every reliable contribution because raising money is a thankless task for limited staff.
The beef seems to have been with contributing county money to museums, exhibits and other activities that serve a range of county residents and visitors. It appears the 2023-24 budget amount for this is $600,000, which is spread around to multiple established organizations such as the Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Barberville Pioneer Settlement, based on applications presented to a county-appointed board.
Some (younger) people love motocross, even as they take predictable risks doing so (who will carry the insurance on such a facility?). Motocross aficionados are citizens, too. Serving their needs in a proportional way is part of government responsibility.
No editorial is needed to contrast these relative distributions of support ($10 million vs. $600,000; one motocross vs. 15-20 museums and arts projects). A cost-benefit analysis would be helpful in assessing the relative proportional merit of public support for these activities.
— Carter lives in DeLand.
Editor’s note: Estimates for the cost of the motocross track range from about $6 million up to $10 million.
How is it ok for someone to go before a governing body to ask that governing body to take money from others BY FORCE and to give what is taken to the so-called non-profits of their choosing? Why don’t those advocating for the various cultural groups give on their own to the groups they choose to give to and allow the rest of us to do the same as we wish to and as we can afford to do so. Charitable giving should be a personal choice and it should not be forced upon us by others in any case. Furthermore, if the services a non-profit is offering is appreciated by the public the public will support it and if not the non-profit should not be held up with money that is FORCED from our pockets.
Additionally, a very large percent of the people who go before our governing bodies begging for more to be taken from the rest of us BY FORCE so what is taken can be given to the so-called non-profits of their choosing are minimally, and at times not at all, impacted by what they are asking for because most older and more established people pay deeply discounted property taxes and in some cases they are paying NOTHING at all. Our younger working class who are struggling to make it are the ones being impacted the most by what the beggars are FORCING the rest of us to pay. As an older and more established home owner, I only pay $996.77 a year in property taxes and a younger hardworking struggling family just starting out would be forced to pay between $4,500 to over $5,000 for an equivalent home for property taxes. And I should add, many of us older folks have very undervalued property tax assessments and are being allowed to cheat the system. Our younger working class are already shouldering enough of our burdens, how in the heck can we FORCE them to do even more? How can anyone with a conscience ask a governing body to FORCE even more from them?
And how about also putting all of the information out there, most of those so-called non-profit cultural groups receiving the County Cultural funding have already received other funding through the County’s tax funded ECHO program and through other taxpayer funded sources. Additionally, much of the funding for the proposed motocross track would probably come from the ECHO program, the same program that funded many of the County’s non-profit Cultural and Arts projects and the same program that was also designed for OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL PROJECTS. If I am correct, there is an effort to have the operations of the motocross facility funded through other funding sources. And why is it ok to use tax dollars to fund so many other recreational and sports programs, (Pickleball, Tennis,Baseball, Soccer, Football, Basketball, Trails, Etc.), and not motocross? Are we not a bit self-centered?
I am as excited about the prospect of having a motocross track as I was about having the pickleball facility in Holly Hill, thus I could care less about it personally. However, let us be fair when we are addressing these issues. And the fact is, against my wishes, the County Council did NOT cut the Cultural Funding.
And let’s face it, there is a difference between the ECHO funding that would be used in part for the motocross track and the Cultural funding that is given away to so-called non-profits. The citizens, being deceived through a campaign of lies, voted for the ECHO funding to be taken from them and their fellow citizens and the Cultural funding was just forced from them by the County after the County Council at the time was hounded by the Cultural and Arts groups. The Cultural and Arts cabal needs to get their act together and start managing their various programs well and stop begging for more to be taken from others by FORCE.
Keith Chester