Why "apparently"?
Gov. Nixon made the "outrageous" statement today that the Kansas City Chiefs need to live up to the many promises they made to keep their training camp in St. Joseph for a "minimum of ten years" in exchange for $25 million in tax credits. Here is the summary from The Star:
The Missouri Development Finance Board approved the tax-credit package last December, apparently with the understanding that the football team would hold its annual camp in Missouri for at least a decade.
Documents finalizing the deal, however, hold the Chiefs to just a five-year commitment, followed by five one-year renewals at the team's option. [emphasis mine]
Why "apparently"? It inserts ambiguity into the story that really isn't there
That the Chiefs made the ten year commitment to the MDFB before the vote is well-documented. The only question is whether the the Chiefs will be required to fulfill their commitment, and if the revised agreement for half the time (and all the cost) will be allowed to stand.
The Chiefs commitment and understanding of the Board is so well documented, in fact, that the MDFB's own lawyer admits that there are at least three "inconsistencies" between what was presented to the Board and what was actually negotiated by Peter Kinder's office.
We have concluded that the agreement may contain provisions that … were not specifically set forth in the Board’s approval....
[T]he best course of action is to contact the Chiefs and insist on revisions to the agreement to bring it back in line within the letter of your approval.
And to be clear, this isn't some rogue lawyer -- it's the lawyer who was enlisted to explain why the reworked agreement was "within the authority" given to Peter Kinder as Chair of the MDFB.
This is admittedly a minor point in the grand scheme of things -- Jason Noble and The Star have done a good job of reporting on the whole story. But it would be entirely accurate -- and more helpful to readers trying to understand the dispute -- to state clearly that the MDFB approved the credits with the understanding that the Chiefs would be in MIssouri for a minimum of ten years.
