The City of Kissimmee's public information office has launched the sales effort for its "Limited Edition Commemorative Hard-Cover" book in hopes of turning it into a best seller long before it hits the stands in March. The books arrival date is to coincide with the City's 125th Birthday Celebration. The hope is that if the books do not sell before the birthday, that the excitement and sense of community brought on by the birthday celebration will create a rush of sales during the days surrounding the actual celebration. With the cost of the book, and the looming budget crisis, this might become more important than ever.
The commemorative book will be selling for $29.95 plus tax, or $32.05. That is a really good deal when you figure that the average minimum wage earner in the City of Kissimmee will only have to work 5 hours to pay for their copy of the book. Of course you might have to give up a tank of gas for the week and use public transportation to get you no where near where you work, but the book is worth it. The best part is, that you are paying for a book that you have already paid for.
Huh?, you say... Ask yourself one simple question: Where did the money come from to get the books published? Many people would think that a best seller like "Kissimmee - 125 Years of Its People and Progress" would receive some type of cash advance from a publisher because its mass appeal rivals other best sellers such as "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," but this is not the case. For a book like this to get produced, money would have to be spent for the creation and then the production. As we have asked around, we have learned that this amount was somewhere around $100,000 to get the first copies of the book. Who paid that amount?
Our sources tell us that KUA has paid for some, if not all, of the upfront costs of the Birthday Book. As we went back through notes from commission meetings of the past we did find that KUA had agreed to this so the public information office could get the project moving. Our information indicates that $80,000 was the number discussed but some sources tell us the number was higher. Basically, KUA made the initial investment in the book production, and as the book sells KUA will receive the proceeds to cover the loan. This means the city needs to sell 2,671 books to repay KUA. Other sources have told us that KUA has advertising in the book which may mean some of the rate payer money they loaned the City to buy the books might not need to be paid back. Is KUA a governmental AMSCOT giving pay day loans to agencies in need?
Happy Birthday Kissimmee!
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I wanted to correct some misinformation that was contained in today's blog post.
Yes, the Kissimmee Utility Authority board of directors in 2006 approved the sponsorship of the City of Kissimmee's historical book. The City's 125th birthday is a major milestone for our community, and KUA is proud to support the formal documentation of our City's colorful past.
The total cost of the sponsorship is $55,400. As the sponsor, KUA will be reimbursed 100 percent of its cost through the sales of the book. A total of 1,528 books will need to be sold for KUA to receive full reimbursement.
As the sponsor, KUA receives a full page acknowledgement in the opening of the book.
The terms for sponsorship payment are 25 percent of the total payment upon execution of the contract. The remainder will be paid in full no later than 30 days after delivery of the books (on or around March 1, 2008).
The City of Kissimmee is handling all marketing and sales of the book as part of its 125th birthday celebration.
As books are sold, a monthly check will be sent from the City to KUA. Based on similar historical books produced by other communities around the country, the repayment time frame is expected to be anywhere from 3 months to 18 months after delivery.
I've had a chance to review the manuscript and I can tell you the depth of information contained in the book is quite impressive.
I think all Kissimmee residents will be pleased to own a copy.
Hmm... Maybe some of that money could have been used as incentives to higher in new firemen?
I believe that their are other books on Kissimmee that are already on the market. Although I do not think that a book like this is a bad idea, I have to wonder what the cost to the taxpayers was when we have had to have an emergency vehicle sit idle.
But the civic pride of reading about 125 years of Kissimmee history will swell in the readers' hearts and overcome the fact that all of the city's retail businesses are moving out to "The Loop at Hunter's Creek".
I think we have to give KUA credit, though. It isn't their fault. KUA has been sponsoring virtually every community-wide event for as long as I can remember, and daresay may do more economic development work than the economic development department. It's just that all of the elected officials and well-known groups in the county now expect that there will be KUA money available to sponsor whatever their shiny object project of the month is.
This is a primary reason why people get upset with government. They try to get involved in the private market. Who else was offered any advertising space in the book? Who might have worked on the book on City of KUA time, when they should have been doing there job. This is just another reason my electric bills are high.
I am thankful KUA does sponsor local events. I'm a single parent and find it difficult to make ends meet some months. It's always nice to know I can go to the Kissimmee park by the lakefront during an event and my kids can play on the bounce houses and have snow cones for free from KUA. I believe KUA cares about our community and the people that live here.
To the person above thanking KUA for sponsoring local events, no offense, but I think that you are missing Wayne's point. I too am grateful for the events KUA sponsors in our city. Having two children myself, it is nice that we have those family friendly events available to us. However, when KUA fronts money to the city for something that you and I are going to have to spend our hard earned money on to purchase anyway, at what point should that money be better spent? What surveys or forecasts were done to arrive at the decision of this being a good investment? Did the city have to spend an additional $50K - $100K on a consultant, as they so often do, to tell them that this was a good idea, or is this just simply another ploy to add another "revenue neutral" item to their arsenal?
I'm not quite sure I understand the big deal here.
The City decided to produce a historical book. They hired a freelance writer so as not to use City staff resources. They hired a publishing company to design and print the books so as not to use City staff resources.
Then the City went out looking for a sponsor for the project. KUA agreed to it.
If the book sales are what they are forecasting, KUA gets reimbursed 100 percent for the sale of the book. The City pays nothing.
So, let's see... the book cost the Kissimmee taxpayers NOTHING and the book cost the KUA ratepayers NOTHING. The only people who "pay" are those who choose to purchase the book.
Wayne, I'm normally on your side, but this sounds like a win-win to me.
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