Anaheim ends tax breaks for Disneyland Resort? Is it right decision? Anaheim City Council has voted to end the agreements which provide Disneyland Resort the tax breaks to invest in the theme parks and the adjacent shopping district. This move is requested by the theme park owner, Walt Disney Co.
After a heated debate, the council has unanimously voted to finish the incentive deals that were made to encourage the Disney in order to build 700-room luxury motel at its resort and make an investment in the multimillion-dollar expansion at the Disneyland & Disney California Park.
Mayor Tom Tait told that he’s “quite surprised” by the request of Disney. He said that he is quite optimistic about the move that it would be a “unique opportunity for pushing its reset button” along with the biggest employer of the city.
But the Councilwoman Lucille Kring has told that end of its subsidies would mean that hundreds of construction jobs for building the luxury hotel which is on hold now would be lost.
“It is not good for the city,” she told.
The meeting actually drew almost 60 Disneyland employees that include so many housekeepers as well as bakers, who did call on its resort to pay the workers the living wage, despite whether the organization gets the city tax break.
“How much would be enough for these to make before sharing this with those people who actually make the magic?” Julieta Briceno has worked at the resort as a housekeeper for about a decade, asked the council.
Maria Ortiz worked as a housekeeper at the resort for about thirteen years; she said that she’s worried that working over there has not actually pulled out of the poverty.
“One day son asked me ‘despite you are working at the most happiest place on earth then why do you come home so frustrated?’ ” she told.
Josh D’Amaro is the president of Disneyland Resort. He has requested that this city end its agreements in the letter to the Anaheim officials. He also said that deals have already created the much adversarial situation where there must be goodwill and cooperation.”
D’Amaro might have been basically referring to the elections in the previous 2 years of the City Council members who increasingly have questioned the protections, subsidies, rebates, and incentives from the future taxes that are awarded by the Anaheim over last 20 years.
The Disney critics say that they think this resort has several ulterior motives: By finishing some of the tax agreements, the Disney might be making sure that this is not actually affected by the Nov. 6 ballot measures that, in case passed, will need the resort to give all of its workers their living wage.
A measure, that was included to the ballot when unions representing the resort employees collected their signatures, will need huge hospitality businesses which accept the city tax subsidy in order to pay the workers at least 15 dollars per hour, with a 1 dollar hourly increase every 1st January until 2022. As the wage touches 18 dollars per hour, the annual raises will tie to the living cost.
A measure was drafted for targeting the Disneyland Resort as well as 30,000 employees.
The representatives of Disneyland pointed out that this resort has already secured its contract with 4 of the largest unions — that represent 9,700 workers — for raising hourly wages by 20 percent immediately and the additional 13 percent in Jan.
The Disney officials noted that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge expansion has scheduled for opening the next year at the cost of 1 billion dollars that meets obligation of the resort under the 2015 deal. The Disney California Adventure Park also announced its plans for further expansion that feature the heroes of movies and Marvel comics.
The tax benefit that was adopted in the year 2016 will offer the resort a 267-million dollars rebate on hotel tax of the city in case Disney builds its luxury hotel. Disneyland Resort also drew up its plans to construct the hotel that was set for opening in the year 2021. The Anaheim city attorney has told that the hotel does not qualify for a break as the Disney has moved its project location after its deal was reached.
