The Virginian-Pilot
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It didn’t take long for Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed budget to come under fire from the Virginia angling community.
McDonnell wants to do away with the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament – a state-run program that largely is funded by purchases of state fishing licenses and awards certificates or plaques to anglers who catch a variety of saltwater species meeting length or weight minimums.
The program – which has averaged about 5,000 awards a year over the past decade – starts its 55th year Sunday. The two-employee program runs on an annual budget of approximately $200,000.
On Thursday, Senator Ralph S. Northam announced that when the General Assembly convenes in January he will introduce an amendment to McDonnell’s budget that would restore enough funds to keep the awards program active.
“The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament is a huge part of why recreational angling contributes so much to Virginia’s economy,” Northam said in a release. “The well-run citation, Expert and Master Angler, and annual species swards programs greatly enhance the draw of fishing in Virginia for natives and visitors alike. That means tourism revenue and jobs, two things that we should be looking to create, not destroy.
“Eliminating this funding is pennywise and pound foolish now and in the long run.”
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For more details, return to PilotOnline.com later and read Sunday's Virginian-Pilot.
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Actually, the tournament,
Actually, the tournament, like many attractions that bring in visitors, suffers from the lack of accounting. That is, many such events, like youth soccer tournaments, or the Junior Olympics, or the AAU Senior Olympics, or the National Cheerleading competition, bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to our region, who then pay room, meals, sales, and admission taxes, but no line item ever shows the impact of the event itself. Regretfully, cutting an event because it does not make money ignores the fiscal impact. Same can be said of convention centers that attract conventioneers; the facility itself does not collect the tax revenue from visitors, but those visitors would not have paid the tax revenue if the facility did not host them.
I wonder
What cuts the governor can make that won't draw the fire of those who stand to lose from it?
McDonald is a great steward
McDonald is a great steward of the taxpayer dollar. There is nothing in the statues that says license fees must pay for this entertainment. License fees also pay for conservation and law enforcement projects. You folks make this sound like a typical entitlement project.
it should be supported by ...
...sponsors and those who participate in boating and fishing support for these tournaments. Such entertainment is not the responsibility of the local taxpayer.
let's continue the cuts!!!
Maybe let's start cutting some of the entitlement programs and then some of the wasteful road projects. Can we start with the very expensive "VDOT Traffic Cams"? Millions of our road funds can be saved and used for needed projects instead of providing cameras and video for the local media.
Another shell game
The money comes from those who buy fishing licenses. Is the govn'r going to reimburse fisherman license fees when the program ends? I have not partaken of the awards or tourny, but if the funds come from licenses to support the tourny, then the govn'r is stealing.
Your thoughts on this topic
Your thoughts on this topic perplex most rational people.
2 employees
I'm wondering why 2 employees need a $200,000 budget.
everyone hurts
It amazes me that we all agree the budget needs to be cut, but every program has its defenders. That's why we should cut a certain percentage across the board (10% maybe), then for any increase in funding or new funding have to cut something else, or raise taxes by that amount. That way everyone suffers.
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
Actually the money paid into this program is from fishing liscense fees and is supposed to be solely for purposes related to maintaining a fishery and tourism generated from that. It is not tax money. The govenor is stealing money from that fund and applying it to the General fund" making it appear that our budget is in a better condition than it is. That money is paid only by fisherman and is to be used only for certain purposes. It has nothing to do with budget cuts but more to do with making it appear the budget is balanced by taking money from a fee that was allotted to a certain purpose and just stealing it. Hopefully, Virginia Pilot will run this article a little earlier in the day so that more will see it. Also see Tidalfish.com