The City budget is divided into different “funds” with different purposes. The biggest single fund—and the one where most property tax revenue goes—is called the General Fund. The General Fund pays for such things as police and fire protection, parks, economic development, and other “general government” services. The biggest source of General Fund revenue is property taxes. Politicians and reporters often talk about the General Fund as if it were the entire budget.  But this is not the reality. In fact, it only accounts for about 40% of the City’s net assets.

In 2005, Sweetbay opened Midtown’s first and only real grocery store. In January 2013, the company announced its closure. For many years leading up to Sweetbay’s opening, community leaders and city officials worked hard to bring a grocery store to Midtown. They were trying to attract a major chain retailer, and they did everything they could to make the area appealing to such a company. In fact, the city spent over $7 million to buy land, build infrastructure, even “build out the inside of the store” before a major chain (Sweetbay) finally agreed to operate a store in the community—with the help of a few other subsidies, too.