Most of the ideas are eventually dismissed, but some have made ripples along the way. In one case, the city was going to sell its central library to Phillip Morris and then lease it back, but anti-tobacco advocates intervened. Then there was a proposal to sell naming rights to parks and libraries. Other ideas have included selling advertising space in city parks.
Now, the list includes outsourcing the Zoo, privatizing the Convention Center, and levying a new tax on sporting events and concerts. They hope that the list of ideas could generate as much as $100 million over the next five years.
From the Los Angles Daily News:
It’s the multimillion-dollar question that has vexed the city of Los Angeles for years.
Facing continual, massive budget deficits year after year, how can the city come up with new sources of revenue, without resorting to soaking every taxpayer?
Ideas the city has looked at range from putting new fees on emergency services to posting more “no-parking” signs for street sweeping to privatizing facilities like the Los Angeles Zoo and the Convention Center, to a new tax on sports and entertainment events.
Read the full article here.