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For
Immediate Release
December 4, 2002
NEW
STUDY REVEALS GLARING ERRORS IN DOGWOOD'S ECONOMIC CLAIMS
Study
reveals that Dogwood is using accounting gimmicks to hide
the costs and overstate the benefits of its development proposal
(Spotsylvania
County, Va.) - At a news conference today, the Coalition
to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield (CSCB) released a study
on the fiscal impact of the Dogwood Development Group's plans
to build a small city on the Mullins Farm. The study reveals
that Dogwood is using accounting gimmicks to hide the costs
and overstate the benefits of its development proposal.
"Spotsylvania
County taxpayers have long suspected that Dogwood's economic
statements are a sham," remarked Civil War Preservation
Trust (CWPT) President James Lighthizer. "Common sense
indicates that Dogwood's claims of eight-figure revenue figures
are sheer fantasy. Now we have the facts to back up that view."
In late
October, CSCB approached Michael Siegel of Public and Environmental
Finance Associates to review Dogwood's economic claims. These
claims are based on a fiscal impact analysis (FIA) written
for Dogwood by the team of Fuller and Bellas. Siegel's review
found glaring errors in the Fuller/Bellas analysis.
According
to Siegel, Dogwood grossly underestimates the cost of new
schools. The Fuller/Bellas FIA lowballs the number of new
children that will come with Dogwood's project, and miscalculates
capital costs and long-term operational costs to provide new
schools and services. At the same time, Fuller/Bellas overstates
the amount of per pupil state aid the county would receive
for the project.
Dogwood
also underplays costs for other county services. The Fuller/Bellas
analysis underestimates the debt service for county services
such as police and fire protection. Further, the Fuller/Bellas
FIA totally ignores the state's current budget crisis, acting
as if state spending and per capita aid to counties will continue
unabated.
While
Dogwood hides the costs of its Mullins Farm project, it uses
accounting tricks to overplay the benefits. Dogwood is claiming
revenue from commercial space that won't ever be built. In
the most current proffers offered to the county, Dogwood says
it will build only a third of its proposed commercial space.
According to Lighthizer, "Even Dogwood doesn't believe
its own marketing rhetoric."
Siegel's
study found that the Fuller/Bellas FIA violates county guidelines
by using inflated land values for their proffers based on
upzoned property figures rather than current assessed values.
Dogwood President Ray Smith is using these inflated numbers
to demonstrate how generous he is being with his so-called
gifts to the county. "Smith is grossly overstating his
generosity by inflating the value of his proffers," stated
Lighthizer. "He's hoodwinking county officials and doing
a tremendous disservice to county taxpayers."
In the
wake of Siegel's study, the Coalition to Save Chancellorsville
Battlefield is calling on the county to have an independent
analysis done on the impact of Dogwood's proposed development.
"Siegel's report makes it clear that the county needs
to go back to the drawing board and thoroughly scrutinize
Dogwood's dubious economic claims," Lighthizer noted.
"County officials need to make decisions based on the
facts, not cheap accounting gimmicks."
The Coalition
to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield is an informal group
of 12 national and local preservation, conservation and civic
groups representing more than 600,000 members nationwide.
The coalition is dedicated to preserving and protecting Chancellorsville
battlefield. Its website is located at www.chancellorsville.org.
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Contacts:
Jim Campi at 202-367-1861 or Hap Connors at 202-588-6324.
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