Thursday, July 06, 2000
$11.5M for stadium transfered
County move draws fire from auditor
By Dan Klepal
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hamilton County moved $11.5 million from a Cinergy Field fund into a stadium construction fund Wednesday so it can continue developing the riverfront.
The transfer was necessary because it will be another two weeks before the county issues $225 million in bonds for ballpark construction.
In the meantime, the county needs to continue paying bills at Paul Brown Stadium and entering into contracts for the Reds' new home. The county can't enter into new contracts if there is no source of funds available.
County officials said the transfer was a bookkeeping matter, which they said has no long-term significance in building the two stadiums, parking and roadways along the Ohio River banks.
But Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes said the transfer shows the county has a cash-flow problem that may be a harbinger of things to come.
The county will issue short-term bonds July 19, drawing an initial $65 million with the capacity of borrowing up to $225 million. It will then make a long-term bond issuance in October, which will be used to pay off the short-term debt and pay for remaining construction expenses.
“We are not holding back on entering into any necessary contracts,” County Administrator Dave Krings said. “We'll have short-term borrowing ready by the time we need it.”
Mr. Rhodes doesn't agree.
“They're moving money around at break-neck speed in order to pay the bills,” Mr. Rhodes said. “They've been treating this money all along like it's a bottomless pit.
“When you've got the kind of cost overruns they have, the money doesn't just magically appear.”
The county also moved another $10 million into a Paul Brown Stadium construction fund to pay for cost overruns, which are estimated to total at least $45 million.
In February, county commissioners approved $14.5 million as an initial down payment toward the cost overruns before coughing up another $10 million last month.
The latest appropriations make a total of $34.5 million ready to cover the overruns, with commissioners expected to approve more in early
August.
Also Wednesday, commissioners moved more than $725,000 into a fund to pay for stadium management.
The stadium management issue has been a constant source of irritation for county officials during the past three months.
After having a preliminary agreement with the Bengals that would allow the team to manage the stadium, Bengals officials re fused to go through a public bidding process when buying goods and services.
That led to a mountain of unpaid bills and, eventually, a Bengals lawsuit trying to force the county to hire the team as stadium manager.
Stadium managers handle all aspects of the year-round operations of the facility, including things such as painting, security and field maintenance.
A settlement was reached in May that allowed the Bengals to manage the $450 million stadium and ensured that goods and services purchased would go through a public bidding process. The settlement called for 16 employees to be moved from the Bengals' payroll to the county's.
The $725,000 appropriation will handle all expenses associated with managing the stadium through the end of the year. The stadium is scheduled to open in time for an Aug. 19 exhibition game against the Chicago Bears.
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