Wednesday, August 22, 2012

SV city playing hostile game of ‘Gotcha’

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The majority of the Sun Valley City Council is playing a pernicious, destructive and hostile game of “Gotcha” with the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance.

“Gotcha” has no rules. Players make up their own rules as they go along and they keep them a secret. Some players, like the partners and directors of the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance, find out what the rules are only after they’ve broken them and are punished.

Sun Valley City Councilman Bob Youngman led Councilmen Nils Ribi and Franz Suhadolnik in punishing the SVMA—and the entire business community—by blasting a second $100,000 hole in the hull of the SVMA late last week.

Not only could the blast sink the SVMA, the city itself could begin taking on water if the budget reduction, as voted, is used to repair city streets instead of keeping the area’s name alive in the  world.

With the vote, the council members failed to strengthen the health of the local tourist economy, which props up the city’s residential property values that are taxed to fill the city’s coffers. They failed to supply oxygen for a tourist economy that also generates taxes for the city. It broke faith with the city of Ketchum and Sun Valley Co., its marketing partners, as well as with other businesses, employees and property owners.

In its short three-year tenure, the SVMA has given people plenty to complain about. But instead of acting like leaders and addressing SVMA’s very real issues, the council members acted like bullies and launched a sneak attack.

They gave no notice to the SVMA that they would cut its budget because they are unhappy with its performance and what it’s spending on wages. Weeks before when the SVMA outlined a new budget, they offered no guidance. They kept the rules a secret. And they remain a secret.

The council members have unstated, unarticulated and unwritten goals for the SVMA. They mutter about “performance metrics,” but never define them. Last week, they complained that the SVMA spends “too much” on wages, but they’ve never set any limits. They’ve never provided nor asked for comparisons with what other resort marketing groups spend. Instead, these so-called community “leaders” have just slashed and burned.

“Gotcha” is a stupid game, a waste of time and energy. It’s alienating good people and burning up human resources. The blind abuse that is the game’s hallmark will reduce business and tax revenues to a trickle and leave the area in tatters.

Playing “Gotcha” won’t keep the lights on—or the streets paved—for anyone.

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