In The Tennessean, reporter Nate Rau points out that the Mayor's financing plan for the Music City Center would take about $14 million in hotel/motel tax money away from a bunch of different departments and programs to help pay for his proposed Convention Center.  Those programs (including police overtime and subsidies for public transportation) will either have to be cut entirely or money will have to be taken from somewhere else to pay for them.  Can you guess where that will come from?  If you guessed the General Fund, which is where Metro workers pay and benefits come from, give yourself a prize! 

Oh, and let's not forget that the Music City Center requires a General Fund Pledge to get the project started, meaning that if the MCC fails, money from the city's General Fund will be used to pay off bonds, loans, and debts.  The best part of that?  It's structured to take precedence over all the city's other needs.  Meaning that the bankers will get their money before anyone else in the city does.

Are we loving the Convention Center yet?  Not!

Read the whole story from the Tennessean HERE.