Be armed with facts...

• Their arguments...and our rebuttals
• Read Proposition 1
• Read Proposition 2
• General information on Propositions 1 and 2
• Negative impacts of Propositions 1 and 2
• The convention center hotel's positive impact
• Other reasons to Vote No! and build the hotel

Proposition 1 and Proposition 2
General Information

• Proposition 1 prohibits the City of Dallas from ever buying, leasing or offering important financial incentives to a hotel or lodging facility.

• Proposition 2 states that, with just 500 signatures on a petition, the City of Dallas would be forced to hold an election to obtain voter approval every time it wants to offer financial incentives totaling $1 million or more to private developers for hotels, condominiums and retail facilities.

•These are proposed amendments to the Dallas City Charter, both of which will create permanent, devastating changes to our city's constitution if approved.

• Proposition 1 is only on the ballot because the billionaire who owns the Anatole Hotel has solely funded the ballot initiative himself, to the tune of more than $2 million so far. Proposition 2 is only on the ballot because an out-of-state union wanted to retaliate against Dallas for not allowing them to write union-friendly language into the convention center hotel contract.

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Proposition 1 and Proposition 2
Negative Impacts

• DALLAS WILL GET A REPUTATION FOR BEING SHUT DOWN FOR BUSINESS. These proposed city charter amendments deliver a LOUD message across the city and the nation that the City of Dallas is anything but business-friendly.

PROP 1: Without a convention center hotel, we simply cannot compete against the other major convention destinations. We currently rank just ninth in that field and are the only convention destination among the top 10 that does not have a convention center hotel.

• DALLAS' ECONOMY WILL BE DEVASTATED. These two propositions are extremely restrictive ... and will essentially SLAM THE DOOR to economic growth, new investment and job creation in Dallas.

PROP 2: The city uses economic incentive tools to promote and encourage economic development in neighborhoods where development would not otherwise happen. The unfortunate truth about this proposition is that economic development would be crippled in these parts of town and the city would be rendered completely uncompetitive.

• DALLAS WILL LOSE PRECIOUS JOBS. These propositions will create an anti-business environment resulting in fewer jobs. They will make it extremely difficult to attract new businesses and to allow existing businesses to expand.

PROP 1: If the Convention Center hotel is not built, some 3,800 jobs will be lost.

PROP 2: Developers will be less likely to invest in Dallas if they must wait for an election to determine whether they can receive tax incentives from the city. They are likely to take their projects, and the jobs that come with them, to one of the many nearby cities that do not have such restrictions in place.

• DALLAS' PROPERTY OWNERS WILL SEE AN INCREASED TAX BURDEN/REDUCED CITY SERVICES. When economic growth comes to a halt and jobs decline, taxpayers will have to pick up the slack! When home values drop and property tax revenues decrease, city services may be reduced.

PROPS 1 & 2: What happens if we don't see growth and revitalization among the most needed areas of our city? There are fewer commercial properties to bear the tax burden. That means the Dallas homeowner gets left holding the bag.

• DALLAS WILL BE SADDLED WITH BAD ECONOMIC POLICIES. Both propositions are poorly written and could lead to far-reaching effects beyond the stated intent.

PROP 1: This amendment is written in such a way that is prohibits the city from EVER offering any incentive to any hotel or lodging facility. Had it been in place five years ago, the W Hotel and The Joule might never have opened and the renovation of the Stoneleigh might never have gotten underway.

PROP 2: This amendment will result in wasted time, energy and financial resources because it will force the city to spend about $1 million to hold an election on whether to approve $1 million in tax incentives.

• DALLAS WILL FEEL THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ACROSS THE CITY. Projects that could be scuttled include retail developments (grocery stores, home improvement chain stores, Southwest Center Mall); historic preservation (revitalizing aging downtown structures that have found new life as hotels); new developments (similar to West Village, State-Thomas, Mockingbird Station); transit-oriented developments; and residential/retail developments located in Downtown, Oak Cliff, West Dallas, North Dallas and along the Trinity River.

• DALLAS' SUBURBS AND OTHER TEXAS CITIES WILL BENEFIT. This will be a huge shot in the arm to Irving, Plano, Frisco, Austin and Houston. If developers are looking for places to invest, it WON'T be Dallas.

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A Convention Center Hotel will:

• PROTECT OUR ECONOMIC ENGINE. The Dallas Convention Center is a $1-billion asset for the city. It's an economic engine that generates millions of dollars in revenues used to help fund roads, police, public safety and other city services. Without a convention center hotel, our convention center becomes less attractive to meeting planners.

• ENHANCE A CONVENTION BUSINESS THAT'S CRUCIAL TO OUR ECONOMY. Each year, tourism has a $2.8 billion impact on Dallas's economy. It also provides 50,000+ hospitality jobs. Taxes from the hospitality business generate nearly 10% of our total sales tax receipts. That saves every Dallas homeowner an average of $1,000 in taxes per year.

• MAKE DALLAS MORE COMPETITIVE. "Do you have a convention center hotel?" is the first question meeting planners ask. Because we must answer "no," Dallas is not even allowed to bid on those conventions that attract 20,000 to 50,000 guests. Dallas is the ONLY city among the top 22 U.S. convention markets without a convention center hotel. Every major Texas city has a convention center hotel and so do many Dallas suburbs. They are all taking convention business away from Dallas.

• CREATE AT LEAST 3,800 JOBS. In addition to the existing 50,000 hospitality jobs, the hotel will create 3,800 NEW jobs - 3,000 full-time construction jobs and 800 full-time permanent hotel jobs. Also, the city has developed one of the nation's most innovative Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise programs for a public project. This program will provide unprecedented levels of participation and support services to minority contractors.

• PREVENT US FROM LOSING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Because Dallas lacks a convention center hotel, it is losing out on approximately $800 million in direct spending and $3 billion in annual economic impact. The Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau reports more than 80 groups have said they WILL NOT bring future meetings to Dallas until a hotel is built.

• BOOST OUR CONVENTION BOOKINGS. In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the Dallas Convention Bureau booked a record-breaking 1.2 million definite room nights representing more than $1 billion in economic impact. Growth is credited to the City Council's approval of the convention center hotel ... and all those bookings are contingent on the hotel being built.

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Other Reasons to Vote No!
and Build the Convention Center Hotel

• IT WILL RESEMBLE OTHER WORTHWHILE INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE SHAPED OUR CITY. Dallas is a CAN-DO city that has historically achieved success by taking advantage of fiscally responsible public-private partnerships that have shaped our city. Examples include DFW Airport, DART and American Airlines Center, which will be paid off 16 years early!

• ITS TAX-EXEMPT REVENUE BONDS ARE THE BEST OPTION FOR FINANCING SUCH A PROJECT BECAUSE TOURISTS WILL PAY FOR THE HOTEL. This is NOT a hotel paid for by taxpayers but a hotel paid for by conventioneers! The City has used revenue bonds regularly and has, in fact, issued over $2 billion in the last several years. These revenue bonds -- which are completely different than general obligation bonds used for city bond programs - will be repaid by people who use the facility (such as Love Field airport), not all the taxpayers. Tax revenue bonds have been used successfully by many other cities to build hotels ... it's a well proven model. In fact, the City of Dallas already owns a hotel - the DFW Hyatt-which is a tremendous asset and economic driver for the Dallas!

• IT WON'T AFFECT POLICE AND STREET SERVICES. Building the hotel will NOT affect basic city services such as police protection and street repairs. The general budget, which covers the operations of the city (including public safety and streets), cannot be spent on capital projects like the hotel. And, although the city has made very conservative projections on the hotel, it has built a $50 million reserve fund (of bondholder money) to cover any losses.

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