Play Meter
Issue: 1976 September - Vol 2 Num 9 - Page 39
An Association Defense
by C. W. Fisher
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~
~
42
The problems facing individual
operators in trying to change license
fees in the hundreds of cities across
California and the nation are stag-
gering . First of all, the cities are
looking for more revenue to run
their cities, not less revenue. Whe-
ther the operator's case has merit or
not doesn't matter to a city council
whose budget is short of finances .
They must constantly find new
ways and methods of increasing
revenue. Taxpayer revolts are in-
creasing so it isn't popular for them
to increase taxes . To them an
unorganized business is easy pick-
ings for added revenue . And they
can cope with protests from a
handful of operators about their
increased licenses.
The city fathers see these foolish
operators take (what seems to
them) great amounts of coins from
the games and jukeboxes and stand
at the bar to count their receipts .
Any pile of coins looks like a lot of
money to them . They feel that the
operator with all this money is
making a fortune and should be able
to pay more licenses. The routeman
for the cigarette vending dumps his
coins into a sack and makes no
show of how much he takes in. Only
the game and jukebox man makes a
display of collections. I don't know
of any other business that is run this
way .
To change license fees is a hard
and frustrating time consuming job.
First, the operator must get some-
one to listen to his problem . A city
councilman suddenly turns deaf
when he mentions lowering the
license fees. The city and county
employees want more money and
with inflation everything is going up .
Then, a single stumbling operator
has the gall to ask them to lower
taxes when he is making so much
profit . The operator's arguments
make sense to them but he is only
one and one voice doesn't count for
much . He asks them why they don't
raise the licenses for doctors, law-
yers or merchants. But they know
the strong opposition they receive
from those associations.
Mer-
chants, for example, would co//ect-
ive/y oppose any increase with the
best offense they could muster.
Organization is the answer to the
problem. It is foolish to think that
one or two operators can change
the minds of these tax hungry city
officials .
California has a fine organization
that is fighting unfair legislation and
unfair licenses all the time . It is
unrelenting in its work and not fully
appreciated by the majority of the
operators . Some operators feel the
few dollars monthly dues they
would pay is a waste of thier money.
But my own experience indicates
that without the work and support
of our state organization we would
be paying thousands of dollars more
in local licenses plus a state license.
I heard one operator of a large
route say that he culdn't afford to
join the association because he
didn't have his equipment paid for.
But the rest of us in the industry are
in the same position. Without the
aid of the California Music Mer-
chants Association (C MMA), he
probably wouldn't be in business
today . These leeches take all the
benefits but none of the responsi-
bilities of helping to overcome our
problems.
The officers and board of direct-
ors of CMMA are made up from
working operators in different sec-
tions of the state . They have the
expertise and the know-how to
present facts and sound arguments
on our behalf to lower licenses .
These representatives have the abil -
ity to sound convincing and they
have the stature that brings results
most of the time .
It is a hard and frustrating job to
stand in front of a city council to try
your case . They use and old political
trick "Talk and waste time but never
come up with a sol utio n" . Every
change in the state of California to
lower licenses has come through the
efforts of CMMA . These represen-
tatives of our industry are gentle-
men and can talk to the governing
bodies in a sane and businesslike
manner, presenting the facts that
makes them listen.
Operators
should stand up and stop rip-offs of
our business. They can best do this
by joining their state organization
(Ed note : The following article was
inspired by Gene Beley's article ,
" Fighting City Hall," which appeared
in the July issue of Play Meter. Carl
W . Fisher, a state director in The
California Music Merchants Associa -
tion and an operator for 39 years,
doesn ' t think the operator can go it
alone and urges operators across the
country to join their state associa-
tions. Headquarters for CMMA are at
128 E. 14th St. , Oakland, Cal. 94606 .
Dues are assessed on a sliding scale
based on 50 cents per machine per
month and range from a minimum of
$20.00 per month to a maximum of
$200.00 per month .)
now (and paying their share of
expenses). I dislike operators riding
on my coattail, getting all the
benefits with none of the cost of
doing business . Where would these
"ostrich" operators be if everyone
quit the association .
I have personally urged many
operators to join our organization
but the stock answer I get is ' 'I'm
just a small operator with 50
machines and I can't afford to join .
Let the big operators pay the
dues-they can afford it." But
CMMA is made up of a lot of small
operators that know they wouldn't
be in the business without the help
from the association. These " os-
triches" don' t know that every year
there are many bills presented to the
state legislature trying to tax our
business in all sorts of odd ways.
CMMA is right there fighting for us
all the time. Legislatures seem to
have a motto "Tax the game and
jukebox operator; he won't put up
much static ." But for the efforts of
state associations that is what
would happen if they weren ' t stop-
ped . The cities have the same motto
and they can handle dissent from
one lone operator - they ignore him .
What really gets to me is the small
cities which license our equipment
for $40 .00 to $70 .00 and then ask a
25 cent charge for a sticker for each
machine . The "ostrich" sits back
and pays the charge because alone
he cannot fight city hall. He pays his
exorbitant and discriminatory licen-
ses and still he ignores the CMMA
that would work to change this
unfair situation . The association
doesn't expect favored treatment on
taxes; we only want to pay our fair
share, the Am erican way.
Game and music operators - do
not be " ostriches ." Wake up before
it's too late .
by C. W. Fisher
~
~
~
42
The problems facing individual
operators in trying to change license
fees in the hundreds of cities across
California and the nation are stag-
gering . First of all, the cities are
looking for more revenue to run
their cities, not less revenue. Whe-
ther the operator's case has merit or
not doesn't matter to a city council
whose budget is short of finances .
They must constantly find new
ways and methods of increasing
revenue. Taxpayer revolts are in-
creasing so it isn't popular for them
to increase taxes . To them an
unorganized business is easy pick-
ings for added revenue . And they
can cope with protests from a
handful of operators about their
increased licenses.
The city fathers see these foolish
operators take (what seems to
them) great amounts of coins from
the games and jukeboxes and stand
at the bar to count their receipts .
Any pile of coins looks like a lot of
money to them . They feel that the
operator with all this money is
making a fortune and should be able
to pay more licenses. The routeman
for the cigarette vending dumps his
coins into a sack and makes no
show of how much he takes in. Only
the game and jukebox man makes a
display of collections. I don't know
of any other business that is run this
way .
To change license fees is a hard
and frustrating time consuming job.
First, the operator must get some-
one to listen to his problem . A city
councilman suddenly turns deaf
when he mentions lowering the
license fees. The city and county
employees want more money and
with inflation everything is going up .
Then, a single stumbling operator
has the gall to ask them to lower
taxes when he is making so much
profit . The operator's arguments
make sense to them but he is only
one and one voice doesn't count for
much . He asks them why they don't
raise the licenses for doctors, law-
yers or merchants. But they know
the strong opposition they receive
from those associations.
Mer-
chants, for example, would co//ect-
ive/y oppose any increase with the
best offense they could muster.
Organization is the answer to the
problem. It is foolish to think that
one or two operators can change
the minds of these tax hungry city
officials .
California has a fine organization
that is fighting unfair legislation and
unfair licenses all the time . It is
unrelenting in its work and not fully
appreciated by the majority of the
operators . Some operators feel the
few dollars monthly dues they
would pay is a waste of thier money.
But my own experience indicates
that without the work and support
of our state organization we would
be paying thousands of dollars more
in local licenses plus a state license.
I heard one operator of a large
route say that he culdn't afford to
join the association because he
didn't have his equipment paid for.
But the rest of us in the industry are
in the same position. Without the
aid of the California Music Mer-
chants Association (C MMA), he
probably wouldn't be in business
today . These leeches take all the
benefits but none of the responsi-
bilities of helping to overcome our
problems.
The officers and board of direct-
ors of CMMA are made up from
working operators in different sec-
tions of the state . They have the
expertise and the know-how to
present facts and sound arguments
on our behalf to lower licenses .
These representatives have the abil -
ity to sound convincing and they
have the stature that brings results
most of the time .
It is a hard and frustrating job to
stand in front of a city council to try
your case . They use and old political
trick "Talk and waste time but never
come up with a sol utio n" . Every
change in the state of California to
lower licenses has come through the
efforts of CMMA . These represen-
tatives of our industry are gentle-
men and can talk to the governing
bodies in a sane and businesslike
manner, presenting the facts that
makes them listen.
Operators
should stand up and stop rip-offs of
our business. They can best do this
by joining their state organization
(Ed note : The following article was
inspired by Gene Beley's article ,
" Fighting City Hall," which appeared
in the July issue of Play Meter. Carl
W . Fisher, a state director in The
California Music Merchants Associa -
tion and an operator for 39 years,
doesn ' t think the operator can go it
alone and urges operators across the
country to join their state associa-
tions. Headquarters for CMMA are at
128 E. 14th St. , Oakland, Cal. 94606 .
Dues are assessed on a sliding scale
based on 50 cents per machine per
month and range from a minimum of
$20.00 per month to a maximum of
$200.00 per month .)
now (and paying their share of
expenses). I dislike operators riding
on my coattail, getting all the
benefits with none of the cost of
doing business . Where would these
"ostrich" operators be if everyone
quit the association .
I have personally urged many
operators to join our organization
but the stock answer I get is ' 'I'm
just a small operator with 50
machines and I can't afford to join .
Let the big operators pay the
dues-they can afford it." But
CMMA is made up of a lot of small
operators that know they wouldn't
be in the business without the help
from the association. These " os-
triches" don' t know that every year
there are many bills presented to the
state legislature trying to tax our
business in all sorts of odd ways.
CMMA is right there fighting for us
all the time. Legislatures seem to
have a motto "Tax the game and
jukebox operator; he won't put up
much static ." But for the efforts of
state associations that is what
would happen if they weren ' t stop-
ped . The cities have the same motto
and they can handle dissent from
one lone operator - they ignore him .
What really gets to me is the small
cities which license our equipment
for $40 .00 to $70 .00 and then ask a
25 cent charge for a sticker for each
machine . The "ostrich" sits back
and pays the charge because alone
he cannot fight city hall. He pays his
exorbitant and discriminatory licen-
ses and still he ignores the CMMA
that would work to change this
unfair situation . The association
doesn't expect favored treatment on
taxes; we only want to pay our fair
share, the Am erican way.
Game and music operators - do
not be " ostriches ." Wake up before
it's too late .
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