Rhino Times coverage coverage of Monday’s Greensboro City Council meeting discussion and debating the controversy surrounding city’s $1.5 million forgivable loan to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
Reading the article and editor John Hammer’s sidebar detailing the loan’s (shall we say) troubled history, something was bothering me and I didn’t get til Hammer’s last graph:
It is worth noting that even including the income on interest as a donation, the museum is not claiming that it raised the $1.5 million in donations that would be required to offset the loan.
Far as I can tell the museum is not claiming it’s raised $100.00 in donations. I’m a little slow, so I’m just catching on that they’re not even trying. As council member Justin Outling pointed out the obvious during Monday’s meeting— the city “was extremely lenient in interpreting the terms of the contract in the museum’s favor.” No kidding— and claiming the tax credits as donations was a nice try, and it might have worked—if the museum had come to the city with something—anything—in real donations—anything to show they’re at least trying to raise money.
Hammer speculates the council will give the museum until 2018 to raise the money—plenty of time to get its act together. I’m not sure that’s a safe bet.
