Citizens of CDS,
I propose a small increase in the tier on four of our five sims. I feel it is my duty to recommend this as it is necessary to protect CDS and its reserve which continues to provide the estate a sense of security and hope for the future.
I comes as no surprise to many of you that our sims have been running a serious loss in the last three terms. CDS lost L$138,277 or approximately $553.00 during the most recent term. This loss occurred despite a very austere budget where we had few events and some were based on the charity of our citizens.
Without doubt, CDS is not in danger of folding. The reserve remains very strong. At the end of the last term, the treasury holds L$3,188,422, or approximately $12,753.00. I do not want to alarm anyone into thinking that CDS is in danger of not meeting its tier obligation to Linden Labs.
Although our reserve is strong, we cannot continue indefinitely with an operating loss of about $1100 per year. We are not in danger of folding, but as you can see from last term, we will be running a very lackluster sim if the government continues to run with an austere budget. Also, the reserve has long been intended for emergencies, for sim planning and improvement and hopefully future expansion. I should not be used toward continuous operating losses much less future entertainment.
I should point out, that deleting LA would reduce the deficit, but not remove it. At present, only one land owner in CDS would be totally displaced by deleting LA. As all the sims are losing money (except for NFS and until recently, AM) it is uncertain if more land would be acquired in the remaining sims by current citizens. Very likely, those residents would merely drop their LA land. Finally, remember that we consider our parcels owned by its citizens. There is a legal requirement in CDS that the government would have to claim eminent domain of all parcels owned in LA before the region could be deleted. This would amount to quite a cost for the government as well as another hit against the reserve.
Although I do believe the reserve is intended for use in tough times, I do not believe we can constantly use the reserve until it is exhausted or reaches the level where we would be required by law to raise tier in order to keep three months tier in reserve. Obviously a decline for a term or two is one thing that can be covered by the reserve. But after three terms of a significant loss, I see a trend that must be addressed.
Perhaps I am too interested in history but I appreciate the hard work and contribution of prior citizens toward creating the reserve. In that regard I consider myself a steward of a treasure.
Consequently, I am proposing a tier increase of 0.0325 per prim for all regions except Monastery. The Monastery tier is already higher than the rate for other regions.
The proposed tier can be found at
A more interactive spreadsheet is posted here.
Use it to play with numbers. However, only change the tier rate per prim on the Summary tab. The worksheet will recalculate if you change the rate and compare the effects of different tier rates.
I hope the RA can enact a tier increase at its next meeting on August 3d.
Please keep in mind that I have always tried to reduce costs in CDS. Some of you remember my fight to rationalize land purchase prices which in the past were very far from reality. Also, I supported the tier reduction as we were, in my opinion, out of sync with the rest of SL. In addition, I think I was the first Chancellor to propose not adding to the reserve and discontinued funding its expansion. My goal was always to keep CDS affordable. Doing so I think these policies have allowed a good cross section of people in a truly democratic community.
I have not forgotten the budget. I have been spending my CDS time on the tier spreadsheet. Tho I will be proposing a similar budget as last term. Our big expense will be Oktoberfest. That will be rather expensive but as in the past I can have a good fest without spending too much. Still it will cost at least $L75K.
This year I will be asking people to sponsor various aspects of Oktoberfest. Perhaps this will be in the form of money toward an event or purchase of decorations. Acknowledgment of a contribution might include a poster at the event, announcement by the entertainer or posting by myself on the forum, in an event schedule or on Facebook. In addition, contributions may remain anonymous.
I will be formulating an executive proposal with regard to LA. In the sort term however, I will keep parcels along the north coast of LA held in reserve for Cedar group members. I have been told that the Cedar group is planning another meeting for next week. So there appears to be interest among Cedar members in joining CDS. However, I do realize that we cannot hold thee parcels off the market much longer. Granted we have not had much luck in selling LA, but refraining too long in trying to sell parcels is bad business.
In the long term, my proposal will involve updating the covenant to allow for a late 19th century through mid-20th century Mediterranean Greek fishing village/Riviera.
I thank Nolligan for his thoughtful suggestions for LA during yesterdays meeting. I am sure we can begin to come up with a good basis for action in LA.
I apologize for not posting some of this to the forum earlier. But It is my hope we can resolve at least the tier increase this summer.
Thank you all for you attention.
Tor
