Funding, details of S. Shore economic study come to light
By Kathryn Reed
While spending $10,000 to help fund the economic impact analysis of the South Shore Vision is on Tuesday’s City Council agenda, City Attorney Patrick Enright told Lake Tahoe News he wants to delay the vote.
This is because no person or entity is stated on the agenda or the staff report in regards to who would receive the check. That’s assuming the council votes to be part of the study and wants a check written. A vote could be taken to not fund the project.
Douglas County and Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority have each put in $10,000 and the South Tahoe Association of Resorts is contributing $5,000.
South Shore visionaries want to change the economic tide. Photo/Kathryn Reed
The South Shore Vision Plan is an idea between public-private alliances to revamp Highway 50 from Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe to Kahle Drive in Stateline. STAR paid $50,000 for Design Workshop to put together a plan.
The next step is the economic impact analysis that is estimated to cost no more than $35,000.
LTVA’s board voted Nov. 10 to approve allocating its share, with Tom Davis, South Lake Tahoe’s rep to the board, abstaining. His issue was with how the item was agendized and that there was no staff report.
Neither board members nor the public would have known money was to be spent that day. In fact, the website as of Nov. 13 only had the Oct. 13 agenda listed.
LTVA board members in an unprofessional, childish banter said things like: “I don’t even know what the Brown Act is.” “We’ve always done it this way.” “We’ve never had a staff report accompanying a request for funds.” “We need legal advice.”
The public-private, bi-state nature of the board makes things dicey. But it’s not the only board that operates this way. The bankrupt-defunct South Tahoe Area Transit Authority was comprised of similar type representatives. TRPA as a bi-state agency goes by Nevada’s open meeting laws because they are more restrictive. It helps that TRPA’s executive director is a lawyer so she knows the law.
But LTVA hasn’t addressed the issue as to which opening meeting laws it should abide by and is essentially operating in a void. No one on the LTVA board is an attorney and no legal counsel goes to the meetings. The board blatantly violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, at the Oct. 13 meeting.
LTVA was founded in 1986 by a joint powers agreement between South Lake Tahoe and Douglas County and operates as an independent 501(c)6.
After last week’s meeting it was left that LTVA Executive Director Carol Chaplin would call their attorney for advice. Davis said he would talk to Enright. Enright told Lake Tahoe News he would be calling Chaplin this week.
Nancy McDermid, a Douglas County commissioner and LTVA board member, after last week’s tourism board meeting said it was fine for the county to award the money to individuals.
Enright won’t let the city do that based on legal grounds. He said he’d prefer the check go to LTVA.
The City Council’s agenda line items don’t always say a dollar amount, but the staff report will explain what the full action is. It’s like knowing the consequences to ones vote.
That isn’t the case with LTVA agendas.
New Business G on the Nov. 15 council agenda says: (g) Discussion and Possible Direction/Action Regarding Follow-up from the Joint Meeting of the City Council/Douglas County Board of Commissioners held on Friday, November 4, 2011 at Edgewood Tahoe. It is accompanied by the staff report. All of this is easily accessible by the public.
This compares to the LTVA’s website which only lists an old agenda, no staff reports and no minutes from previous meetings.
The economic study
Mike Bradford, with Lakeside Inn and Casino, has been leading the project that started with Douglas County wanting a vision for the casino corridor/Lower Kingsbury Grade area. It has evolved from there.
Bradford said it was through the county’s Economic Vitality Department that a request for proposal was put out to find someone to do the economic study.
A firm out of Las Vegas, one from Denver and SMG from South Lake Tahoe sent in their bids.
Bradford and Mitchell Mize, director of real estate for Edgewood Tahoe, are the two who reviewed the three bids. They alone picked Carl Ribaudo with SMG to do the study.
(Lynda Ribaudo, wife of Carl, is CFO for Edgewood Companies.)
Bradford, after he made his presentation to LTVA, told Lake Tahoe News the reason he and Mize picked SMG is that the “others were static projections with no ability to adjust the model.”
Ribaudo also spoke to the LTVA board. He said he came up with the study idea through years of work with real estate modeling.
He said the time consuming part will be getting the necessary information together to form a baseline model. Within the larger South Shore Vision study will be specifics that would apply directly to LTVA – the Destination Decision Model.
Knowing the number of rooms on the South Shore, then dividing visitors into potential categories like Bay Area, Southern California, out of state, international and knowing the percentage of each group that makes up the total; and putting in dollar amounts for what each group spends on a variety of elements from lodging to restaurants to food in stores to gaming to recreation will reveal the economic impact of the guests, along with the number of people employed to service them, the income of the those workers and the taxes that are generated.
With the SMG model, once the baseline is established, it becomes a “what if?” situation. What if guests increased their length of stay? What if they spent more money? What if occupancy increased? What if the visitor mix changed?
It’s that product that Ribaudo and company is bringing to the table. He said no destination this size is doing this type of economic forecasting.
Bradford, after the meeting, said, “I think on a micro level it happens all over the place, it’s not happening on a macro level.”
In other words, individual businesses have their own way to budget and plan; but the region is not doing it collectively.
Through SMG’s plan the LTVA will also be able to track its marketing dollars better and see if there is a return on investment.
The benefits to this plan were outlined in a PowerPoint:
• Understand the economic implications of marketing strategies
• Create community cohesion with a unified economic goal
• Facilitates more creative thinking on how to achieve economic goals
• Ties the reason for tourism promotion to the end results of tourism promotion
• (Ability to) consider alternative strategies
• Manage your segments by revenue stream with different investment strategies.
Thank you Kae for this outstanding report. The residents of this area are very fortunate to have an unbiased but savvy source of information about what is happening here. I believe we are also fortunate to have genuinely civic-minded individuals like Mike Bradford, working in the private sector to make this a better place for all. Also, Edgewood management brings an impressive track record to the table, along with some of the smartest people I’ve met locally.
The LTVA has done very poorly decades.
The Tahoe Area Transit Authority is the same.
The crony little crap town emerges into the light. Crap rose to the surface and you have a crap town as a result. You can apply the same to our State and National government.
The board of LTVA should all resign in disgrace and Tom Davis … ah the heck with it.
I’m outa here anyway.
My negative view of S. Ta-hole town in my tourism business writings is justified once again.
You don’t need a study – you need a better class of leaders.
That’s not news.
let me fix that
– The LTVA has done very poorly for decades. –
Since i had to correct myself – I’ll add to my rant –
These infractions by the LTVA board are a symptom of a far bigger issue, a issue effecting us all. The way I see it is, this crap town approach of LTVA is a reflection of the “crony culture” we have now, it’s like a the third world Marxist nation. It’s here in SLT / El Dorado County and the state and Nation.
For decades I’ve heard good people pointing out far better – more diversified approaches to the economy here and in the county – ignored. If you weren’t part of the crony crew going along with the back room deals you were OUT.
Over time many good people left the area/state while some prostituted their principles and joined up with the cronies. Those people perhaps weren’t good people after all.
It’s the cancer that has invaded our society – from accepting congresses insider trading – to the acceptance of a homosexual rapist at Penn State. It’s all part of our “go along as long as I get mine” immoral culture.
The acceptance, be it wanton ignorance or outright turning the other way and just going along with This cancer – this immoral acceptance of what is wrong “as long as I get mine” is destroying the our nation.
That’s why i rant.
As a broker with Morgan Stanley I studied the situation – I know what is coming from a historical perspective.
We either start paying attention to the morals of our former culture, and soon, or you can kiss you country goodbye.
IT’S THAT SERIOUS!
Gee, Mr. Ribaudo comes up with the idea to do a study, then he has the inside track to get the contract, and then whattya know? He gets the contract!
The rationale for the study is a bunch of babble. And (trying to keep things non-personal here while trying to make a point) why then is Mr. Ribaudo picked to do a marketing study when I don’t of a single business in town that can say, “I hired Mr. Ribaudo and he increased my business!” I guess when you don’t produce results for the private sector you become a consultant and get tax dollars instead?
But the good news is that things like this are finally getting reported (way to go LTN!) and our City seems to finally be questioning such silly expenditures.
tahoe needs small business, dont let the door hit you on the way out…
Parker,
Ditto
Double it for LTN
Ribaudo has shown up for years doing much of the marketing and various studies.
Time to try out something new!
And fire the LTVA too!
The idea of re-routing Highway 50 around the Stateline area makes so much sense that when I moved here more than a decade ago I wondered why that hadn’t been considered or already done. What I’ve since come to learn is that this concept was thought of long before I came to live in South Lake Tahoe and that the associated obstacles of multi-jurisdictions, Caltrans, NDOT, the TRPA, and the League to Sue Lake Tahoe make getting this accomplished nearly impossible. This is a massive undertaking that I believe would inevitably be good for the South Shore but requires the collaboration of numerous entities. How nice it would be if everyone would work together to do something that would be good for the entire South Shore community rather than remaining doggedly ridged in their respective positions.
How the city council can give money away, on the advise of 2 nevada special interest people would be so improper it’ s laughable. The south side of hy 50 from Ski Run to stateline was part of redevelopment and is finished. The south side of hy 50 from ski run to stateline has, tahoe meadows, which is historic and can’t be touched. Carl strikes again from special interese to the HOLE and back.
Instead of rerouting Highway 50 why not relocate the casinos to a more pedestrian friendly location off the highway. At least one Stateline casino structure is past its useful life and in need of demolition. Fewer people would be inconvenienced and taxpayers wouldn’t be stuck picking up the tab for the benefit of a few private businesses.
Just starting to peel back the skin from the onion called the LTVA is a good start. How does the board get appointed, what are their term limits, what are their measurements for success, how come they have had the same board leadership for over 5 years, why does the the lodging BID give them over a million dollars a year and we never hear anything as to why they do. A good start would be a impartial primer on what is really going on with the whole LTVA structure. Can’t really determine if the LTVA is valuable unless you understand how and why they function as they do.
Bats last,
Don’t worry I won’t even let it close because, I’ll be back.
And while I am gone I will continue to hound the dogs that drove this town and county down.
I’ll be louder and louder so as you and they get real old you will all still hear me.
Then when things are fixed maybe I’ll start talkin nice about ta-Hole town, maybe even take on some clients here.
BUT NOT TILL THE JOB OF RUNNIN THE BUMS UP A TREE IS DONE!
By the way,
Where i the John Upton, someone I think is in the middle of everything gone wrong.
oh yeah, a fellow named Ashwell told me to watch myself – I might get hurt. I even got some funny phone calls tellin me about secret meetings discussin me, they even suggested I never stay to many nights in the same place – way back when the phone didn’t have caller Id…
I ain’t never stopped boys and girls, just waited till the time for change to come.
It’s come.
PG & E – do you remember me? Jimmy might be gone but your the problem not him.
– the plot thickens.
I’m prepared for Ashwell or anyone else that comes a callin.
Re-routing an interstate highway isn’t something that states can just decide to do. It’s Federal. That’s always been an issue, and it will continue to be an issue.
Excellent article, Kae. Thank you.
I would encourage everyone to attend LTVA Board meeetings. These meetings are open and provide great insight into the regional marketing of the South Shore. This is the key marketing organization for our community. The TDVA (Tahoe Douglas Visitor Authority) relies on LTVA to make marketing judgements as to how best spend transient occupancy funds collected in Douglas County for regional marketing. TDVA’s trust of LTVA is based on the broad LTVA Board representation of the tourism community and the benefit flowing from the combined funding resulting in leveraging of our limited marketing dollars.
As to the funding for the economic analysis the receiving entity is the LTVA. This has been dicussed before and was relied upon by the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners.
Someone suggested moving the casinos? Interesting alternative – it would certainly lead to a better chance of those getting the most benefit footing the bill. (maybe?) But maybe we even need to back off a step further? Everyone seems to be starting to acknowledge – at least verbally – that South Lake Tahoe needs to diversify and not rely so much on an infrastructure built around the casino industy. So one has to ask, why a 40 million dollar+ project that is likely to benefit that industry more than any other?
Mike, how is the LTVA board selected? What are their terms (if any)? What and who decides who gets to be on the board? How often is the boards leadership voted on? These items are not discussed at LTVA meetings are they? Transparency might lead to trust. After the League, city council, Lahontan and the TRPA, the LTVA makes the top 5 on the lack of trust and confidence scale amongst local businesses. Never heard of the the LTVA leadership reaching out to local businesses and soliciting input.
Most of the historical and current data on rooms in Tahoe could be found in the court documents regarding the hole in the ground.
Where to start ? How about with Mr. Bradford’s comment that the LTVA is the “marketing organization for our community”
Between the “gaming industry” continually belittling itself out of existence (“it’s never coming back” – “it’s never going to be the same” – “it’s not the answer anymore”) and a South Lake Tahoe City Council that has and still wants to use the TOT funds as it’s own piggybank to offset continually serious mismanagement issues, past & present, we continue to breathe life into “that’ll never happen here”. . . viable options are being automatically eroded, even as we continue to cede any future we may have to dysfunctional agencies (headed by folks mostly from elsewhere)- why are we doing that ?
From an entrepreneurial standpoint, both prominent locations (Harrah’s & Harvey’s both started here – primarily Harvey’s, as Harrahs’ was in Reno first) did quite well creating a ‘company town’ economy that built upon their efforts (think motels, laundry services, restaurants, tradesman with expansions, etc.), while current subsequent ownership (including the original Harvey’s Inn [now Lakeside])is still relatively clueless as to what market they actually inhabit.
Any marketing effort that cannot make a case for Lake Tahoe on its’ own natural merits is, and never has been, much of a marketing campaign. . .that’s probably why we bow find ourselves rearranging the “deck chairs on the Titanic” so often.
It is not by accident that we are where we are, in much the same way that it is also no accident that those names (Harvey & Bill) are on the front of the building
In those casinos alone, the real succession talent headed in droves to IGT a number of years ago, and no one noticed the loss, being immediately occupied with a “what do we do now ?” attitude. . .
The very fact that they could ask of themselves such a question is ‘prima facie’ evidence that they didn’t know what or how to do for themselves. . .
And still don’t – TOT funds should not be used to finance a municipal 25 million dollar bond to fix infrastructural issues that were mismanaged; it should rightfully be used to correct the misguided marketing direction, so a reasonable visitor tax base can be recreated – in the direction of investment vs. becoming simply more “expenditures”, which does not generate anything after being ‘spent’ & done. . .
Mike and Carl in bed together to represent the residents of this Area a Big Joke!
LTVA IS ANOTHER WORN OUT JOKE.
Why would you hire a paid failure of the area,who say anything for a buck$?
AND MIKE, WHY DO YOU KEEP SHAVING POINTS IN THE SPORTS BOOK,IT’S A POINT HIGHER AT YOUR JOINT, THAN ANY OTHER PLACES IN TOWN ,PEOPLE NOTICE THINGS LIKE THAT.
MAKES PEOPLE WONDER HOW HONEST YOU REALLY ARE?
I agree. Dump the LTVA or Carol. When she went to Council a few years ago looking for a $10,000 donation from the city – she lost me. Especially when Council asked her where else she had attempted to raise funds. Her answer, “duhhh”. Go back to the bar, babe.
Instead of just focusing on the personalities, or so and so did this, or they’re crooked cronies that, how about one of the complainers here coming up with a better program or plan? I have yet to see anything.
It’s a tough challenge, and I think the latest effort is on the right track, difficult as it may be. If you think South Lake is going to be saved by a revival of gambling or some brilliant group of other citizens forming a different commission focusing on diversifying the economy, go ahead. Just how well is that going to work out?
The raw material for an incredible destination is at your doorstep, and just needs the vision, support, leadership and funding to stay competitive – though it may not be easy to bring to fruition. It will also probably mean tradeoffs to reach the goals in the end, some of which people posting here don’t seem to accept.
Without reaching the right vision, the supporting and other small businesses will have little base to grow and prosper. Just what is lip service to wanting a diversified small business economy going to do to enable it, without a regular influx of visitors, whose needs have changed, to support it? This is a tourist town and recreational paradise, not Silicon Valley.
There’s so many millions in California who are just a short drive of a day or less away who could be coming up to South Lake but aren’t. It can be an ideal short vacation for Californians, and has the potential for many more out of state visitors too.
Ask yourself why that isn’t happening to the extent it could be. Tahoe is still not as widely known as a Hawaii or a Colorado as a great place to visit, but could be. But those who are parochial and want to keep it as it is or to themselves, good luck on maintaining your means of support.
Wake up and smell the coffee. Adapt and invest, even if outside help is needed, or Northstar, Squaw, and Martis Valley are going to eat your lunch. South Lake has a lot of natural advantages over all of these, but not if it fails to move off its smoke filled casinos and run down motels.
Not born in the backseat,crawl back in the womb come out tell South Lake has a lot of natural advantages over all of these we haven’t heard? You think people haven’t heard the same old BS for years?
The Town AND RESIDENTS tired of the same old monopoly, the people who get the pass goal collect a pay check from Good old boys ERA, grown sour on the vine.
The council and it’s pass dealing with local advice, paid studies, nothing short of a grease me job.(hire someone with a better icon of trust ,not connected to the retreads a good starter!)
Same people pulling the strings for the propaganda machine in this town make a living off nothing more than suggestions.
Tell us Born, what’s fact ,what’s fiction, in the hire help studies that makes certain individuals more valid than someone new?
I do believe in the last 15 years many people(locals) have stood in the meeting voiced good ,honest ideas, only to be ignored because of some failed damn convention center, that was pipe dream of city getting something for Nothing.We didn’t get anything for nothing, and it still cost everyone living here to some certain degree reality ,”lost confidence in the 5 ring Circus”.
It’s a Brown Act all-right ,can’t you smell it like the rest of us have for years?
MILLIONS OF BOOMERS LOST THEIR PIGGY BANKS WHEN THE HOUSING MARKET ,RIPPED US OFF.THE REGULARS STOP COMING NOT BECAUSE THE AREAS NATURAL BEAUTY, BUT BECAUSE THIS TOWN CORE IDEAS IS TO RIP ANYONE WHO COMES HERE OFF WITH GOUGING PRICES ,BIG LACK IN CONSUMER RELATION OF GOOD HOSPTILITY.
Nevada taught the Indians nations casinos everything they know,and the rest History.
Timeshares,Urban vacation Rentals, for a second home payment parlaying IS Worn out.High retail,prices, can’t compete with what’s hour down the road in all direction.
MAJORITY OF NEW BUILDING ARE NOTHING SHORT HUGE EYE SORES, INCLUDING THE URBAN HOUSING.
THE NEW BOAT HOUSE GOT AS MUCH DESIRED DESIGN AS A NORMANDY BUNKER!
LTVA is the marketing organization for our community, so how’s that working out for us? LTVA gets millions of our tourist taxes from our local governments directed to them to spend on marketing. What other organization would be allowed to spend millions without directly and more publicly reporting to the community?
Maybe its not marketing we need to spend TOT on and particularly without accountability?
Just why are we doing the same thing that’s been done year after year? These are new times that need new ideas. There’s no credible evidence asked of LTVA nor any delivered by LTVA that supports continuing to spent hotel taxes on marketing for those hotels.
We need to rethink the LTVA and rather than giving multi-millions to an organization run without much accountability, with a board of directors mostly run by hotel properties who directly benefit from the marketing, and the same board who appointed one of their own board members as Executive director a few years ago. Ok folks, seriously, we can do better than all this inbreeding. If we want better we need to demand better than this incestuous organization spending our taxes marketing their business. Although, we must not forget the visitor’s center is the best thing LTVA does, they greet thousands of people every year open just about every day.
But for spending our TOT, time for new ideas. Let’s keep our TOT for our local governments, stop auto-funding LTVA for marketing who keep some for themselves and give it to their friend Weidinger, who keeps some for himself and buys ads, gee if we just kept it for locally elected governments and reinvested in rebuilding we could fix up the town which would do a lot more to help promote the community.
We’re all cutting back and rethinking how we do business, its time to do the same for the organization that still spending our taxes on marketing. Any organization spending millions like this needs far more accountability and far greater demand to be professional managed.
Not Born on the Bayou,
Explain your opening point to me – just how is it that you solve a problem without identifying it?
If the people are the ones making the wrong choices how do you justify not dealing with that?
Frankly that is the lame brain approach I have heard from plutocrates for decades.
It is an illogical and destructive mindset – the very mindset that has allowed the wrong people to continue doing the wrong things –
If you continue to do as you have always done you will continue to get what you always have got – I’d fire your can.
The City of SLT very wrongly and being very short-sighted, eliminated its funding of the marketing our community! However, part of the rationale for eliminating it, that the City didn’t like how the LTVA spent the money, was not entirely off base.
(To use that rationale as a means to take the TOT designated for marketing, and use it to pay for an already bloated govt., was even more off base! But that’s a different story.)
As its becomes clearer every year what a joke the LTVA is, (read this story as just one for instance) the City, in order to GENERATE more revenue, should do its own promotion/s! Contrary to how others make it out to be, it’s not rocket science! Think about getting one of those highly visible billboards on the 50 corridor, with a picture of the Lake, and an add that read, “Check out our new Lakefront Recreation area!” (Lakeview Commons) Or for the Fall Season, “Check out all the Great Deals and Beautiful Fall Colors up at the Lake!”
You’re not hyping gaming, it wouldn’t require consultants or other bloated aspects of the LTVA bureaucracy, and Yes, we would see a definite increase in visitors and dollars!
It’s not just the south shore – The north Tahoe Resort association gets millions from tax payer too and it to is a tool for the BIG Corporations and the little guys have gotten the shaft –
The various governments and the non profit agencies and chambers of commerce are all corrupted by it. Many of the people working for them are to blame.
You want to know where your futures went? – THEY TOOK IT!
Private enterprise is being wiped out and with that your freedoms.
The big corporations that have taken over this region conspiring with the government backed agencies behind closed doors for years and have destroyed its soul.
Boycott Tahoe !
Parker+1
Add in the spring waterfalls and all the parks and rec facilities.
A young family can have an affordable vacation here. Tahoe isn’t just for the rich.
Might even get them to spend some time here mid week.
Yes Sunriser2, I left out a lot of things, was just giving a sampling, of the many things the City of SLT could and should promote!
Why should government be involved taking money from the private sector to promote the private sector?
The acceptance of this concept is where the free enterprise system begins its breaks down.
It’s an age old story not taught in schools today.
Good point Tahoe needs small business. However, worth noting, the City had an election where it voted many years ago to increase the TOT 2% for the purpose of marketing the town. The City Council then took that money for other purposes such as 30%! pay raises!!
So A. Money is coming in that is supposed to be used for marketing. And B. How else are you going to promote the community as a whole and such amenities as our great outdoors and new amenities like the Lakeview Commons? Get businesses to voluntarily kick in?
Some might actually be willing. But if they discover that they’re competitor isn’t stepping up to the plate, and yet might benefit from what others are doing, they’ll pull out. And then the whole effort falls apart! That’s why it requires the community as a whole to participate through such things as the 2% TOT. And that’s in fact how most tourist-based cities go about promoting their bread & butter business!
Parker, you are right but currently the bulk of this town does not trust or understand how the LTVA operates. Until things like how the board is appointed, terms, goals, etc are put forward, it will be hard to get buy in from anyone but the businesses who sit on or are buds with the LTVA board. Remember not too long ago there was all this animosity about how the LTVA only marketed for purposes of driving the casino corridor and Heavenly. Well Ribuado is still a player, as is Bradford, as is Heavenly, as is Edgewood, Ronin is still the LTVA exec director…nothing has changed. It does not seem that the LTVA really cares what the bulk of south shore wants. I have never seen any outreach by the LTVA to the community other than showing up at a city council meeting and making a presentation. I’m very active in the business community and they have never spoken to anyone I know. So…give them more funds with no accountability other than their buds on their board….. I think not.
Oh dryclean, you didn’t read my earlier post/s! I have very little faith in the LTVA! I believe the City of SLT should do something on its own, separate from the LTVA!
Parker, I understand there was a vote to increase TOT taxes.
The thing is it adds to the problem of crony capitalism. It’s happening all over the state and country. Crony types of people get in the cash flow and then undermine the free markets and produce lousy results.
Imagine how many competitive businesses would be in the Tahoe area if you didn’t have all the power focused in the two groups LTVA and the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.
I have personally watched as these two groups have helped destroy the marketing and chased off businesses that have tried to compete.
Regardless of how it has come about the results are terrible. That’s because the people in these groups are the wrong people to do the job.
I think we’re of similar minds Tahoe needs small business! The LTVA has become a bureaucracy where results don’t matter. Just know the right people, and get paid regardless. Again, I personally think the City of SLT should do its own thing, separate from the LTVA, in regards to marketing. Heck there might actually be a little competition in regards to whom can generate more bus. for the community?!
But if the City isn’t going to use the money for promotion, which is what it was intended for, then, (now here’s a concept that’s just totally beyond the bureaucrats grasp) they should eliminate that 2% TOT! At least then, more money would circulating in the economy!