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ypsidixit - 2007-09-13 20:31:56 Representatives from both sides of the proposal have been invited to speak as panelists, as have representatives from EMU student, staff, and faculty groups, city officials, and community organizations. The event is open to the public, and audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. The panel forum is the cornerstone to the Eastern Votes Coalition�s �Eastern Votes Week,� a week-long set of activities which involve voter registration drives and voter education events.
The Eastern Votes Coalition is a nonpartisan organization of students, organizations, and supporters who work to increase the number of EMU students who are registered to vote, educate students to be able to make informed voting decisions, and to advocate for easier access to the ballot box for students.
I note with interest that the third meeting is at Adams School. This is not only 1. the third, climactic meeting before the emotion-fraught vote, but is also 2. mere footsteps from ground zero HQ of the Stop City Income Tax movement.
I think this third one in particular will be (cough) an interesting meeting.
My concern is for lower-wage jobs at EMU and students. When I was an EMU student, I tell you, I didn't have a dime to my name. I lived in a single room over a day-care center while getting my degree--despite having 1 and 1/2 jobs. To have shaved away even a fraction of my tiny savings--argh! It would have made things harder, when you're already that close to the line. Hi Laura, I'm sorry that I didn't send you the September 2007 mayor's update. I have added you to my mayor update email distribution list and you'll receive future updates.
Best regards,
Paul Schreiber Page 1 City of Ypsilanti Office of the Mayor September 10, 2007 Ypsilanti Neighbors and Friends: City council has been cutting the budget for years to keep expenses in line with stagnant revenues. Even though property taxes on homes have continued to rise, heavy industry and their tax revenues have left the city. To keep the city budget balanced in the near future and continue current service levels, a revenue increase is needed. In November, Ypsilanti voters will be asked to consider an income tax that will diversify revenue and provide sufficient funds to continue current service levels until 2012. Below are some questions and answers about the income tax proposal. You can also view further information at the income tax page on the city of Ypsilanti website. The city will host three informative income tax town hall meetings open to the public in each ward. EMU professor Joe Ohren will moderate the sessions. The meetings will be held on: � Wednesday October 3, at Perry School, � Monday October 22, at Estabrook School, and � Wednesday October 24, at Adams School. All meetings will run from 7 to 9 p.m. I hope that you can attend one of the income tax town hall meetings. Best regards, Paul Schreiber Mayor, City of Ypsilanti [email protected] 734-277-5446 Page 2 of 5 Income Tax Questions and Answers 1) What is the income tax ballot proposal? The November 6, 2007 city of Ypsilanti income tax proposal: 1 � Imposes an income tax of 1% annually on corporations and residents, and 0.5% annually on nonresidents who are employed within the city. � Allows a $1,000 exemption for each individual and dependent, and additional exemptions for those over age 65 and for those with qualifying disabilities. � Exempts income from pensions, Social Security, disability payments, and other qualifying sources of income. � Becomes effective July 1, 2008. � Expires July 1, 2014. � Lowers the property tax rate by 2 mills if voters approve the income tax. 2) What other Michigan cities have an income tax? The Plante-Moran Income Tax Study lists Albion, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Grayling, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Hudson, Ionia, Jackson, Lansing, Lapeer, Muskegon, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac, Port Huron, Portland, Saginaw, Springfield, and Walker. 3) Why does the city need more tax revenue when property taxes continue to rise? The general fund tax rate that provides police, fire, street and park maintenance, and administration funds has remained constant. Even though property taxes on homes have continued to rise, heavy industry and their tax revenues have left the city. Total city revenues are flat and expenses are going up. To keep current levels of police, fire, public maintenance, and administration services, more revenue must be generated with an income tax. 4) Will an income tax increase the number of people who pay tax to the city? According to the Plante-Moran Income Tax Feasibility Study commissioned by the city in 2005, the income tax would generate approximately $4 million in new annual revenue from 10,600 nonresidents who work in the city of Ypsilanti and 11,400 working city residents. 1 Ypsilanti November 6, 2007 Income Tax Ballot Language 2 Property Tax Rollback Ordinance 2007-1067 3 Income Tax Feasibility Study by Plante-Moran, 2005, page 12 in print or page 15 in pdf 4 Updated Solvency Plan, July 25, 2007, page 2 5 City Revenue and Expenditure Trends, June 2007 6 Updated Solvency Plan, July 25, 2007, page 5 7 Income Tax Feasibility Study by Plante-Moran, 2005, pages 33-34 in pdf Page 3 of 5 5) Are there other revenue generating methods besides the income tax? State law allows cities four methods to generate significant revenue: � Levy property taxes o Ypsilanti city property taxes are about 1 mill below the state constitutional limit of 20 mills. A 1-mill tax increase will not maintain city services. � Charge fees for services o State law prohibits the city from making money on fees for services. � Accept state revenue sharing funds o State revenue funds are provided by the state in place of sales tax or other taxing methods and have been cut from $4 million in 2002 to $3.2 million in 2008. � Levy an income tax o An income tax will generate new revenue from 10,400 people who work but don�t live in the city. An income tax can provide significant additional revenue. 6) Is Water Street causing the city�s fiscal crisis? Water Street is part of the budget problem, but not until 2010 when substantial payments are due. Without additional revenue, current service levels can�t be sustained for fiscal year 2008-2009. Without factoring in Water Street payments, the 2005 Blue Ribbon Finance Committee strongly recommended that city council consider an income tax. 7) Why can�t Ypsilanti solve the budget problem with regional cooperation? Regional cooperation efforts are ongoing with the Regional Police Authority, solid waste contract negotiations with neighboring townships, and discussions with Eastern Michigan University. For example, solid waste bids were mutually solicited by the city of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, and Superior Township. Due to differences in service delivery and contract timing, no joint contract was feasible. However, all three contracts expire in 2014 for another try at a joint effort. Regional cooperation efforts take time and may or may not work out. Cost savings from regional cooperation will not maintain current city service levels. 8 Income Tax Proposals 2007, page 7 revenue chart 9 Updated Solvency Plan, July 25, 2007, page 7 10 Blue Ribbon Finance Committee Final Report, July 2005, final recommendation on page 2 11 Page 4 of 5 8) Will an income tax temporarily solve Ypsilanti�s fiscal crisis? Yes. An income tax would maintain current service levels, funding for recreation utilities, a part-time recreation coordinator, and the AATA bus service until 2012. 9) Will an income tax permanently solve Ypsilanti�s fiscal crisis? No. Service levels are projected to be reduced starting in 2012. In the meantime, the city will continue to work on long-term solutions like expanding regional cooperation and advocating for change in the state funding formulas. 10) What city services can the income tax preserve? The city manager has prepared a solvency plan for the next two years that explains how further staffing cuts affect residents. Until at least 2012, a city income tax can preserve current levels of: � Police and fire response times � Drug enforcement � AATA bus service � Community planning � Building inspection � Park maintenance 11) What additional services can the city provide if an income tax is approved? � Paying full utilities for Rutherford Pool, the Senior Citizens� Center, and Parkridge Community Center so that their friends groups can concentrate on programming and long-term needs. � Hiring a part-time recreation coordinator to help the friends groups and the Depot Town Community Development Corporation work together to create a strong alliance with the city for development and renovation projects. 12) Will the AATA bus service be discontinued without an income tax? This year the AATA board of directors is generously paying approximately half of the contract to keep buses running in Ypsilanti. Without an income tax, city council must cut something to pay the $230,000 AATA contract next year. To keep the buses running without new revenue, additional cuts to police, fire, or administration would be considered by city council. 12 Updated Solvency Plan, July 25, 2007, page 7 13 Undesignated Fund Balance Memo, July 3, 2007, page 2 14 Page 5 of 5 13) To save money, why can�t city administration be cut and employees� raises frozen? City administration has taken the brunt of the staffing cuts. From 2001 to 2007 city administration staff has been reduced from 30 to 21. Police department staff has been reduced from 58 to 51. The total number of city employees, including administration, police, fire, and public works departments has been cut from 137 in 2001 to 120 in 2007. The city must pay competitive salaries to attract and keep talented employees who are being increasingly asked to take on more tasks with fewer resources. The city froze salaries a few years ago and lost valued employees. 14) What are some examples of the income tax cost to taxpayers? The city has provided a graph with rough estimates for monthly payments. The graph does not factor in state and federal tax deductions and assumes a family of three. A few examples are provided below: Taxable Income Taxable Property Value Estimated Monthly Tax Increase $10,000 0 $6 $40,000 $60,000 $21 $100,000 $120,000 $61 [table a bit messed up, sorry --Ed.] 15) How do I pay the city income tax? Just like federal and state income taxes, the city income tax is declared on the W-2 tax form and an amount of money is deducted from each paycheck. City income tax forms must be submitted to city hall at tax time. The Ypsilanti income tax form would be similar to the forms used by other cities. 15 City Full Time Employment History 16 City Manager�s 2004 Budget Message, page 9 17 Income Tax Proposals 2007, page 1 18 City of Grand Rapids Income Tax Form
Quite an interesting point you make, there: I would like to point out that the voter registration deadline is Oct 6, and that our forum intentionally was scheduled to allow enough time for people to register to vote after hearing the different perspectives on the issue. We will have voter registration at the forum (thanks to the help of the city clerk's office!) for those who have yet to register to vote on the Nov. 6 election. I worry that while the city town halls are important, they occur past or too close to the deadline to involve potential voters who have not yet registered. Sounds as though EMU has put some good thought and planning into this. I tip my hat!
And he's right, too. Anyone who goes to the Oct. 22 or Oct. 24 forums and gets all riled up is OUT OF LUCK--it's too late to register to vote! Man, oh man. I just don't know what to make of that.
But what in the world is the Depot Town Community Development Corporation? Hmm (Googles): here's an interesting Aug. 26 AA News story: "The Depot Town Community Development Corp. and several community leaders braved last week's rain to celebrate the completed renovations to the Depot Town caboose. "It is the first project completed by the development group, which was started by the Depot Town Association. "It signifies the first of many projects to come,'' said Brian Vosburg, director of the Depot Town Development Authority - a separate entity - "and it's probably the simplest and easiest project we'll be undertaking for the next couple of years.'' "The group also has announced a three-year, $2.8 million plan to improve and provide more activities in Riverside and Frog Island Parks. The Depot Town Community Development Corp. has put up $75,000 of its own funds, which mainly come from Elvisfest proceeds, and will seek money from private foundations and government grants." Man, they're awash in money, no? I saw the guys working on the caboose. They were working for Radford Roofers, that I think specializes in historical work. It is owned by (Ypsi resident?) Radford Greaves. RR also revamped the roof of the Firehouse Museum recently, as well. Here is a Aug 12 AA News story on RR's work on the caboose: "When the caboose rolled to its current resting place on the east side of Rice Street on a snowy Valentine's Day 27 years ago, Depot Town was a very different place. "Mirroring the transformation of Depot Town itself, the Depot Town Association is one step away from restoring the caboose to its former glory. "It's really pretty and we wanted it to look good for the Heritage Festival this year,'' says Depot Town Association President Gary McKeever. "We had painted it red and it was getting to be pink. Red turns pink in the sun.'' "Gary and Carolyn McKeever also are being honored as grand marshals of the Heritage Festival Parade, which will makes its way through downtown Ypsilanti starting at 10 a.m. Aug. 19." "McKeever enlisted the help of local railroad enthusiast Dave Wheeler, who tracked down the caboose's history and chose the red-brown paint to match its history as part of the New York Central Railroad." "That's a 1922 caboose and all those were built in the St. Thomas shops in Ontario,'' Wheeler explains. "They originally belonged to the Michigan Central Railroad, but the Michigan Central was bought out by the New York Central. That was a typical color for their cars.'' "The restoration also included repainting the caboose handrails yellow and its wheels black. Radford Roof Repair of Ypsilanti did all of the painting and also installed a new roof. "It just came from my love of doing historical restoration, especially when it's in the neighborhood where I grew up,'' owner Radford Greaves says. "It's a pretty special thing.'' "The last step of the renovation will be to paint the lettering and logo of the New York Central Railroad on the caboose, which Wheeler said will be done sometime in the next two weeks by Cal Sign Co. of Wayne. "The Depot Town Association bought the caboose from an executive at Ford Motor Co., who kept it indoors and on tracks at a Ford property in Melvindale. "For all those years, it was out in the weather,'' said association member Tom Dodd, who also pens the group's newsletter, The Depot Town Rag. "We could tell from the carpeting on the floor, that the only piece of furniture in there was a king-size bed, just from where there were indentations on the carpet.'' "Having formed in 1975 and incorporated two years later, the Depot Town Association didn't have the funds to purchase the caboose outright in 1980, but signed a contract to buy it over time." "We think it was a great investment because it's our image,'' McKeever says. "In fact, on the side of the building right next to the caboose is a sign that says "Welcome to Depot Town,'' and there's a faded caboose in the center up there. We're trying to get someone back up there to repaint the caboose in the sign, because like the caboose itself, it turned pink and faded.''
Both stories copyright 2007, Ann Arbor News. "Herbert Greaves and Kurt Greaves own Greaves, Inc. (the �company�), which operates roofing and other businesses. They admitted that, from 1999 through 2001, they used offshore entities run by tax scam promoters to hide much of their income. They admitted filing fraudulent individual income tax returns that falsely reported no interest in a financial account in a foreign country. In fact, they each had interests in numerous foreign bank accounts.
"In one scheme, the Greaves admitted they caused their company to make payments to Nevada shell corporations, and fraudulently deducted them as �professional fees� and/or �outside fees.� In fact, the payments were deposited in bank accounts controlled by the scheme�s promoters, who then wire-transferred the funds offshore to bank accounts maintained in Nevis, West Indies. The Greaves admitted they controlled those accounts. The promoters arranged for issuance of a credit card by Bahamas-based Leadenhall Trust Company Ltd., and for untaxed income held in the foreign accounts to be used to pay the credit card bills. The Greaves used the credit card to pay their personal expenses." You can't ask the elementry schools to drop what there doing and hold a town hall whenever the city wants one. They use their facilities for other things. I doubt they use every room in every school every night of the week. In fact, I'm sure most rooms are empty in the evenings. So, yeah, you could schedule a town hall pretty much whenever you wanted. Could they have arranged for voter-registration volunteers to be there as well (at 1st meeting on Oct. 3)? I don't know the answer to that one--just asking.
My, anon, what a thin skin you have. But you say you aren't coming back, so I won't bother replying to your post.
Maryd, no, I certainly don't have the time to take a place at City Hall, or the talent (read: diplomacy). I'd rather see people like the thoughtful and independent-thinking Brian Robb serve in that capacity. You are right, there are many places (Riverside Arts Center, City Hall itself, etc. etc.) for meetings. add your comment: |