By JOSH RESNEK
The mayor remains exquisitely quiet and without a public answer to one of the most important financial difficulties the city faces.
Has Encore paid up its yearly $30M in lieu of tax payment to the treasury or has it not?
This is the question.
The city needs everything it is owed to fulfill its budgetary requirements and spending initiatives.
Without full payment from Encore – which should be paid like a tax bill on time when due – the city likely faces a shortfall that must somehow be made up.
Last year, the Leader Herald reported that Encore had not paid on time or in full, the $30M owe.
Encore unilaterally said it had begun sending the state the Everett payments and that the state was expected to pass the money on to the city.
Efforts to reach out to the mayor regarding this issue have not been answered.
Also, hotel revenues plummeted as the hotel was closed for a long period of time.
Room rental figures from the hotel – room rental taxes imposed by the city – were expected to be close to $5M or more before the virus came along.
It is believed those expectations went out the window with the virus and the shutdown. Any way the mayor wishes to deal with this, it represents a dramatic downturn in revenue for the city.
The city council is asking for Encore to answer public saefty questions.
Perhaps the city council and or the mayor should ask about Encore’s financial responsibilities and whether or not they have been met.
At the very least, the city council should know and or where Encore’s payments to the city stand presently.