This should be called Exortion #1 instead of Prop. #1- as the only reason some are voting for it they say, "It is cheaper to pay this than the lawyers"-paying ranson is not the way to stop extortion. And if you are convinced for this increase, why even ask voters on increasing taxes for law enforcement and to keep our tax rate the same as Wenatchees that is .2% ? Why didn't Wenatchee bail out East Wenatchee for the sprint boat race losses if they were thinking regionally?
I will be voting no on prop. 1- The more I hear about it, the more I am opposed to it. I refuse to spend money fighting this- I would rather give that money to help those who cannot afford it or the ones loosing their jobs due to cutbacks.
One local mayor stated the reason to vote yes is because, “The unknowns scare me to death.”? Do you think just maybe an elected official should do the research before asking taxpayers to approve a tax based on unknowns? Show me one lawsuit filed for the 1.5 million spent on legal fees or show me one lawsuit that has won on a bond sale? I lost money in the state deferred comp. Bonds/stocks-I am still waiting to see a lawsuit to recover my funds from that. Show me the guarantee and no risk clause on those bonds? I am voting no because the unknowns if it passes scare me to death.
Prop 1 does not do anything to end the SEC investigation or the legal bills surrounding it. Why would you vote a 30 year tax in until you know the outcome of the investigation? How does an arena allow a registered letter sit unopened in its safe for over a month? Even our local paper reported the story 4 days after the Arena discovered its mistake and nothing since? I asked why mayor was allowed to cast a vote on a financial issue on the radio, and they simply said their attorney said it was ok?
The supporters say the debt will be paid even if Prop. 1 fails- so why do we need to pass prop 1 and the .1% tax increase? They claim this is the last option available? Get real, do you really believe that? They told us they did not know who held bonds last year, now they seem to know? They told us Dec. lst was the deadline, then March 1st was the deadline,… do you see a pattern?
Why can’t cuts be made-(name one cut the city has actually made) and why does it require laying off 5 firemen or 5 policemen as the only option presented? Why not everyone take a 3 or 4% pay cut – state employees did that- to bail out state- after the state donated .33% of its sales tax to fund the arena starting in 2005. We have a part time mayor making over 74,000, a police chief at 9200 a month, a fire chief at 8200 a month- who knows what Mark Miller makes- instead of layoffs or people losing their jobs, why not a 3% pay cut until we get this mess straightened out. Why not start with council/mayor- instead all I see is pay raises when they claim they may go bankrupt if we don’t’ pass this tax increase.
Why not have Wenatchee sell some of its surplus land, including acreage it owns in Douglas County and along the riverfront? Why not renegotiate the interest rates- every hear how much interest only they have paid since 2006 and the rates they paid? If I was a bondholder, getting part is better than none and cheaper than lawsuits. Why not quit hiring 340 dollar attorneys, Wenatchee has spent 1.5 million on attorneys and not one lawsuit has been filed- that was just to tell you that they have too much debt? I could have told them for a lot less than that.
Some claim this is only 10 cents and tax deductable? Remember, the arena collects. .4% of sales tax already, it could almost double if you pass this- .4% plus .2% and .1%=.7%- that is almost twice what Link collects and .3% less than the city of Wenatchee collects. The tax deduction for sales tax is set to expire; it’s only temporary unless they are successful at extending it. This tax is for 30 years at a min.,even if you believe it will not be extended. And you will pay for it not only on your purchases for 30 years, but pay again on helping the poor, and on government tax projects that will pass that charge on to you.
Ever hear of what is spent on arena expenses, the payroll, and other? Ever hear how much has been donated by supporters? Let’s see we built a Japanese garden in EW and lit the walking bridge with donations- what happened to all this support for arena?
Serve Wenatchee paid out 275,000 to help the poor with assistance since it started and they are supporting a tax increase- why- can they afford more taxes or do we give more to help the poor out now? I thought Wenatchee has a problem with homeless people yet they claim outside people will help pay for this tax? Before you vote yes, better look at all your little taxes on your phone bill, your 1% property tax increase, the price of food and fuel lately, and look at the last time your taxes went down?
According to the web site in support of Proposition 1, “The Town Toyota Center does slightly better than break-even from a profit and loss standpoint, if you take out the legal fees. Further, if you factor in the sales taxes associated with additional economic activity generated by events at the TTC (food, lodging, etc.) it’s more profitable.” They also state on that page, that if Proposition 1 does not pass, that “…we will remain in default on the $41.8 million debt and we can anticipate a flurry of lawsuits. In the end, we will have to pay the debt plus the legal fees associated with the default.” If that is all true, why would they shut down the Town Toyota Center, no matter what, will only make the situation worse?
I am waiting to hear a guarantee this tax increase will cover all future needs of arena, it will not still close down still, as well as the outcome of SEC investigation before I vote yes blindly on this. I don’t vote on emotions, fear or unknowns. They lied to us before, how do I know they are not lying to us now? My vote is not for sale. I want to send a message to city, state and federal elected officials- no more taxes.
SEC Charges Municipal Issuer in Washington’s Wenatchee Valley Region for Misleading Investors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington D.C., Nov. 5, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a municipal issuer in the state of Washington’s Wenatchee Valley region with misleading investors in a bond offering that financed the construction of a regional events center and ice hockey arena. The SEC also charged the underwriter and outside developer of the project and three individuals involved in the offering.
The Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $20,000 penalty and undertaking remedial actions. It is the first time that the SEC has assessed a financial penalty against a municipal issuer.
The issuer is a municipal corporation formed by nine Washington cities and counties in 2006 to fund the Town Toyota Center, located in the city of Wenatchee. An SEC investigation found inaccuracies in the primary disclosure document accompanying the issuer’s offering of bond anticipation notes in 2008. The document, called the “official statement,” stated there had been no independent reviews of the financial projections for the events center. However, an independent consultant twice examined the projections and raised questions about the center’s economic viability. The official statement failed to disclose that financial projections had been revised upward based in part upon optimistic assurances by civic leaders that the community would support the project. The document also omitted key information about the possibility that the City of Wenatchee’s remaining debt capacity of $19.3 million would limit its ability to support any future long-term bonds.
“Financial penalties against municipal issuers are appropriate for sanctioning and deterring misconduct when, as here, they can be paid from operating funds without directly impacting taxpayers,” said Andrew Ceresney, co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This municipal issuer is paying an appropriate price for withholding negative information from its primary offering document and giving investors a false picture of the future performance of the project.”
The Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District issued $41.77 million in bond anticipation notes in 2008, and defaulted on its principal payments in December 2011.
The SEC’s settled administrative proceedings also name the developer Global Entertainment and its then-president and CEO Richard Kozuback, the underwriter Piper Jaffray & Co. and its lead investment banker Jane Towery, and Allison Williams, a senior staff member for the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District who certified the accuracy of the official statement.
“An underwriter’s due diligence obligation is critical, particularly when financing a startup revenue project. Piper Jaffray & Co. failed to develop a reasonable basis for believing the accuracy of key representations made in the official statement,” said Mark Zehner, deputy chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Unit.
In settling the SEC’s charges, Piper Jaffray & Co. and Towery agreed to be censured and pay penalties of $300,000 and $25,000 respectively. Global Entertainment and Kozuback each agreed to pay penalties of $10,000. Williams consented to a cease-and-desist order and the issuer agreed to remedial actions, including training for personnel involved in the offering and disclosure process. The issuer also agreed to adopt written policies for disclosures in municipal offerings and continuing disclosure obligations, and to designate an individual responsible for ensuring compliance with those obligations. The respondents neither admit nor deny the SEC’s findings.
The SEC’s order requires Piper Jaffray & Co. to retain an independent consultant to conduct a review of the firm’s municipal underwriting due diligence policies and procedures as well as its supervisory policies and procedures relating to municipal underwriting due diligence. Towery agreed to limit her activities as an associated person of a broker-dealer or municipal advisor for one year by refraining from any contact with any existing or prospective municipal issuer client for the purpose of conducting, maintaining, or developing business or for the purpose of making decisions on behalf of a broker-dealer in connection with any due diligence activities.
The Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $20,000 penalty and undertaking remedial actions. It is the first time that the SEC has assessed a financial penalty against a municipal issuer.
The issuer is a municipal corporation formed by nine Washington cities and counties in 2006 to fund the Town Toyota Center, located in the city of Wenatchee. An SEC investigation found inaccuracies in the primary disclosure document accompanying the issuer’s offering of bond anticipation notes in 2008. The document, called the “official statement,” stated there had been no independent reviews of the financial projections for the events center. However, an independent consultant twice examined the projections and raised questions about the center’s economic viability. The official statement failed to disclose that financial projections had been revised upward based in part upon optimistic assurances by civic leaders that the community would support the project. The document also omitted key information about the possibility that the City of Wenatchee’s remaining debt capacity of $19.3 million would limit its ability to support any future long-term bonds.
“Financial penalties against municipal issuers are appropriate for sanctioning and deterring misconduct when, as here, they can be paid from operating funds without directly impacting taxpayers,” said Andrew Ceresney, co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This municipal issuer is paying an appropriate price for withholding negative information from its primary offering document and giving investors a false picture of the future performance of the project.”
The Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District issued $41.77 million in bond anticipation notes in 2008, and defaulted on its principal payments in December 2011.
The SEC’s settled administrative proceedings also name the developer Global Entertainment and its then-president and CEO Richard Kozuback, the underwriter Piper Jaffray & Co. and its lead investment banker Jane Towery, and Allison Williams, a senior staff member for the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District who certified the accuracy of the official statement.
“An underwriter’s due diligence obligation is critical, particularly when financing a startup revenue project. Piper Jaffray & Co. failed to develop a reasonable basis for believing the accuracy of key representations made in the official statement,” said Mark Zehner, deputy chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Unit.
In settling the SEC’s charges, Piper Jaffray & Co. and Towery agreed to be censured and pay penalties of $300,000 and $25,000 respectively. Global Entertainment and Kozuback each agreed to pay penalties of $10,000. Williams consented to a cease-and-desist order and the issuer agreed to remedial actions, including training for personnel involved in the offering and disclosure process. The issuer also agreed to adopt written policies for disclosures in municipal offerings and continuing disclosure obligations, and to designate an individual responsible for ensuring compliance with those obligations. The respondents neither admit nor deny the SEC’s findings.
The SEC’s order requires Piper Jaffray & Co. to retain an independent consultant to conduct a review of the firm’s municipal underwriting due diligence policies and procedures as well as its supervisory policies and procedures relating to municipal underwriting due diligence. Towery agreed to limit her activities as an associated person of a broker-dealer or municipal advisor for one year by refraining from any contact with any existing or prospective municipal issuer client for the purpose of conducting, maintaining, or developing business or for the purpose of making decisions on behalf of a broker-dealer in connection with any due diligence activities.
