What’s in a name? Money

Eighty-five companies including 3Com, Wrigley, Busch, Chesapeake Energy, American Airlines, Minute Maid, Coors, are spending $millions per year, while Citi and Barclay are paying $20 million per year for 20 years and MetLife is paying $17 million per year. SunTrust is paying $14-19 milion for 27 years and Levi Strauss $220 million per year over 11 years.

These huge sums are for “naming rights,” which started with Fenway Park in 1912. These prices are the current costs for stadium names which will be torn down in a few years and the “naming” costs higher. The “naming” concept can be applied to any building, public structure, park, Aquatic Center, golf course, etc. the City of Columbus owns.

Why do companies pay so much to put their names on structures? Tax-free advertising, good will, national and international recognition and to make their names synonymous with thriving, progressive cities -- like Columbus. They do not maintain or insure these structures. It’s just good business.

Chattahoochee River Walk and the Columbus Civic Center names have no pizazz and they need a “sponsor.” River Walk is not only beautiful, historic, but also permanent . That contract could be for 20 years to eternity. The Civic Center’s contract could be for 20-25 years.

It’s time for Columbus to make money to augment its income.

Let the bidding begin….

Don’t be duped

We clearly have some knowledgeable incumbents and a few knowledgeable challengers this political season. You also have the usual "put-up" candidates running on the vendetta ticket. They'll typically avoid addressing real issues, relying more on big promises they wouldn't begin to know how to keep if you gave them the chance. Repeated rhetoric and rehearsed talking points are about the best you'll get.

One of the most desperate and determined to dupe voters claims the reason he was compelled to run is that deputies are so fearful of the marshal they came begging for help. That story is as convenient as it is farfetched and ridiculous.

There is the story you are told or read about in the newspaper, then there is the story never told, never investigated, and never published. Don't kid yourselves. That happens right here in Columbus, and it happens quite often.

The power of the people is the power of the vote. Be a smart voter. Smart voters are thoroughly informed voters. They ask intelligent questions, press, probe, and fact-check every assertion and every answer. If you are not registered to vote, get registered. If you are a registered voter, vote early and volunteer to help get out the vote. Your vote is your voice.

Voters’ choice

I’m pleased to see that the citizens of Columbus will be able to consider the property tax question at the ballot box. We’ve seen considerable interest in this proposal, which should lead to a vibrant and healthy civic discussion of the best way to fund our city services.

With this proposal, those who currently have the freeze will keep the freeze as long as they own their homes. Nothing changes for current homeowners. Upon purchasing a new home, property taxes will be based on fair market value, the same method used successfully by nearly all other municipalities.

Thawing the freeze will align property taxes with the value of the home. Over time, as homes are bought and sold, we will not have similarly situated households paying drastically different amounts for the same city services. Removing the incentive for new homeowners to buy just beyond our city limits will be a welcomed tailwind to growth in our community.

I believe thawing the freeze is in the best interests of Columbus’ future and I look forward to supporting the effort.

Time for thaw

The Ledger-Enquirer Editorial on 10/6/15, “Citizens should make decision on freeze proposal,”, was a logical opinion for all of us living in Columbus but especially for the thousands of citizens like my wife and I who have never had the opportunity to vote on the issue. To learn that the Georgia Senate agreed almost unanimously was wonderful validation that democracy prevails and this referendum will be on the November 2016 ballot.

I strongly support “thawing” the property tax assessment freeze so that our community returns to a fair and equitable taxation system where economic development and growth are fostered. Where the majority of our citizens are no longer subsidizing a minority of homeowners who enjoy all the benefits of living in this great city without paying their share for the services others are taxed to provide them.

Having said that, I favor those living in their current home being able to retain their existing property assessment for tax purposes for as long as they own that home. But the “thaw” needs to begin.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 12:21 PM with the headline "What’s in a name? Money."