Grand Rapids Pundit

Grand Rapids Community College Admits to Taxpayer Extortion

Posted by: GRPundit on Thursday, 9th Aug, 2007

Today’s Grand Rapids Press reports that Grand Rapids Community College is backing down from its prior threats to raise tuition if the millage that failed on Tuesday didn’t pass. This is typical behavior of bureaucrats and those who love to spend other people’s money. How often do we hear from city government politicans that if they don’t raise taxes or get more revenue sharing that they will have to cut fire and police? It’s the same concept - what we call taxpayer extortion. Remember how the mafia used to require “protection” payments? The concept here isn’t too different. Bureaucrats threaten that crime will skyrocket, everyone’s tuition will go up, trash won’t get picked up, well, you pick your poison. It’s the usual argument that the sky will fall if a tax increase isn’t passed.

Well, GRCC did it and the taxpayers called the bluff. And guess what. They were bluffing. The frustrating part was the sheer amount of coverage this and related GRCC issues received in the GR Press in the run-up to the election. The bias was clear.

What do the bureaucrats have to say now? “Nevermind! Just kidding!”

It’s time to pass a state law to require that all tax issues be kept on only the November ballot.

Grand Rapids Community College Fails (Again)

Posted by: GRPundit on Wednesday, 8th Aug, 2007

The perfidy of the GRCC board of trustees was called out by the taxpayers of Kent County last night. Out of over 63,000 votes cast, the second millage request in three months failed by 361 votes. Perhaps it was the fact that everyone just paid their summer property taxes and that was fresh on their minds. Or perhaps it was the fact that GRCC attempted to jerry-rig the election by holding it at a time when the majority of voters would be from the city of Grand Rapids (and outlying townships had nothing else to vote on).

Or perhaps it was a small group of taxpayers called Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility. The group opposed the millage request earlier this year for the disastrous waste of money called The Rapid. This time they opposed the GRCC millage request because of the clear contempt of the taxpayer showed by the GRCC board of trustees. According to the WOOD Radio news web site, KCFFR targeted the townships that GRCC expected to have a low turnout:

Dr. Eric Larson, head of the opposition against the vote via Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsbility says they targeted areas in outlying areas like Chester Township and Georgetown Twp. and were able to add to their “no” results with flyers, media print ads and the like.

It’s probably safe to say that KCFFR’s effort, no matter how small, invalidated the $100,000 that the GRCC supporters spent this time (again). What a great example of how local citizens can stand up and make a difference to stop the tax and spend steamrollers that run our local government entities.

GRCC Election Engineering

Posted by: GRPundit on Thursday, 24th May, 2007

Brief summary of the election two weeks ago:

• The Rapid’s tax increase passed (but at 58% Yes, compared to 66% Yes last time). Of the six cities in The Rapid’s tax authority (Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, and Grandville), three of them voted NO on the Rapid - Grandville, Walker, and Wyoming. Fully half of the municipalities in The Rapid’s service area voted no. However, alas, it doesn’t matter how each city voted - the tax passes on a majority of the ccombined citizens of all six cities. So, in other words, residents of Grandville, Walker, and Wyoming, who never have had a choice about whether or not to be part of The Rapid, are subsidizing the majority of the riders in Grand Rapids. It’s like that giant sucking sound Ross Perot talked about - though the money is flying out of Grandville, Walker, and Wyoming into Grand Rapids. Hopefully the group that opposed The Rapid will continue to expose the gushing wanton waste in The Rapid’s budget.
• GRCC’s millage request failed. This was a surprise. The No votes won by a very slim margin. More on this later.
• Grand Rapids Public Schools’ request for a millage renewal on non-homesead property passed handily. It always does.

Now, for the fun part. Grand Rapids Community College’s millage request failed. The result? They say they’ll have to raise tuition 8%. If you are a resident of Kent County, you’ll pay $79.50 per credit hour instead of the prior $73.50 per credit hour.

Well, that’s unacceptable to the bureaucrats at GRCC. They have decided to call another election in August to have everyone vote on the tax increase again! Why? Because fewer people vote outside of the city in August elections, meaning that voters in the communities that voted no on the millage just two weeks ago are less likely to head to the polls in August. This outrage of blatant contempt and disregard for the citizens of Kent County is a disgrace. The trustees at GRCC need to be called to task for their behavior.

What’s this? Their contact information?

• Gary P. Schenk (Chairman of the board of trustees)
  Home 676-2490
  Work: 647-8277
  gschenk@grcc.edu
• Ellen M. James (Vice-chair)
  Home: 363-4286
  Home Fax: 363-4286
  ejames@grcc.edu
• Olivia Margo Anderson (Treasurer)
  Home: 243-7521
  Fax: 243-3064
  maanders@grcc.edu
• Richard W. Verburg (Secretary)
  Home: 534-8068
  Fax: 534-8068
  rverburg@grcc.edu
• Terri A. Handlin (trustee)
  Home: 235-1121
  Home Fax: 235-1121
  thandlin@grcc.edu
• Janice L. Maggini (trustee)
  Home: 538-8796
  Fax: 538-8796
  jmaggini@grcc.edu
• Dr. Michael A. Stearns (trustee)
  Home 363-2911
  Work: 365-6151
  Work Fax:363-9609
  mstearns@grcc.edu

Grand Rapids Area Tax Hikes - Vote on Tuesday, May 8th!

Posted by: GRPundit on Monday, 7th May, 2007

Don’t forget to vote tomorrow (Tuesday, May 8th). There are three tax issues on the ballot in Grand Rapids, and everyone in Kent County gets to vote on the Grand Rapids Community College tax hike.

If you live in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, or Grandville, you get the pleasure of voting on the bloated and wasteful Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid) tax hike of 18%. Some interesting fact on The Rapid:

• Rapid buses carry an average of only six people at any given time
• Even as the numbers of passengers has increased, the cost of The Rapid on a per-passenger basis is also going up, meaning the Rapid is getting less efficient with time
• The Rapid’s web site misleads the public by under-reporting revenue by $18 million this year alone. Why do they hide the real cost of The Rapid?
• The average transit bus gets only 3.65 miles to the gallon and spews 50 times more pollution than a car. Rapid buses add pollution to the environment, they don’t reduce it!

You can read more information on the waste at The Rapid by checking out the Rapid No web site at www.RapidNo.org.

All Kent County residents get to vote on the GRCC millage increase of 31%. The interesting part is that this property tax increase is permanent! It never expires.

Grand Rapids Residents Also get to vote on the Grand Rapids Public Schools operating millage. This tax is on non-homestead property only, but effects renters.

So, don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, no matter where you live in Kent County.

Producers vs. Plunderers

Posted by: GRPundit on Wednesday, 25th Apr, 2007

This past weekend there was an article in the Grand Rapids Press about the benefits that Grand Rapids City Commissioners receive. We weren’t even aware that Commissioners got both health care and pension benefits for their one day a week job.

It seems as though five Commissioners participate in the City’s health care plan, though four of them make a voluntary contribution (James Jendrasiak pays nothing). The health care plan costs the city (consequently, us) $11,000 a year.

In addition, Commissioners receive pension benefits. Again, for a one day a week job.

One is reminded of the work of the great 19th century French economist, Frederic Bastiat. In his short treatise, entitled The Law, he separates people into two classes, those who produce something valuable and those who use the law to plunder the producers:

Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. This process is the origin of property.

But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder.

Now since man is naturally inclined to avoid pain — and since labor is pain in itself — it follows that men will resort to plunder whenever plunder is easier than work. History shows this quite clearly.

Remember this the next time the City Commission complains more about how they need to raise taxes.

Tax Attack 2007 - May 8th!

Posted by: GRPundit on Wednesday, 4th Apr, 2007

Grand Rapids residents need to be aware of tax attack 2007! There are three tax increase proposals on the ballot May 8th - did you know that? This is the problem with May elections - who pays attention?

Tax issues include the following:

• Grand Rapids Public Schools - GRPS is asking for a renewal of their 18 mill non-homestead operating millage. Basically what this means is that GRPS depends on an 18 mill tax on properties that are not claimed as primary residences. The 18 mill amount has actually decreased to 17.8258 mills due to Headlee amendment reductions. This is generally a non-controversial issue since homeowners do not pay it, only businesses and rental property owners (thus renters).
• Grand Rapids Community College - This one is a true tax increase. GRCC is asking for a an additional .56 mills, in addition to the current 1.7856 mills they already tax us for. That’s a whopping 31% increase. The increase will bring an additional $11 million to the college each year in revenues. It will cost the average homeowner an additional $28 a year, or about $140 over the next five years.
• Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid) - We’re no friends of the Rapid, as our readers should know. They are asking for a .17 mill increase to the .95 mills they already get in tax revenue. That’s an 18% increase. The new tax will raise about $2 million a year for the Rapid. This will cost the average GR homeowner about $8 a year or $40 over five years.

All told, the two homestead tax increases will cost the average homeowner about $37 a year extra, for a total annual cost of $173 a year for both GRCC and The Rapid.

Oh, and Grand Rapids Public Schools board elections are on the ballot too - but does anyone even care any more?

May 8th Transit Tax - Opposition Organizes

Posted by: GRPundit on Saturday, 31st Mar, 2007

Did you know that you should be voting on May 8th? Probably not. And that’s what the folks at the local bus service agency, the Interurban Transit Partnership (also known as The Rapid), are betting on. They are asking for a renewal of their .95 mill property tax, along with an increase of .17 mills.

As you may know, The Rapid’s web site is at www.ridetherapid.org.

It has come to our attention that opposition to the tax increase is organized this year. Check out www.stoptherapid.org (also apparently at www.rapidno.org). Some of the facts surrounding The Rapid mirror what we’ve been saying for years. In short, it’s a horrible deal. From the website:

• “The average transit bus only gets 3.65 miles per gallon
• Transit buses spew 50 times more pollution and 279 times more soot than a passenger car.
• Each RAPID bus costs $9.40 per mile to operate. A typical car costs about $0.22 per mile to operate.
• For each passenger that rides a RAPID bus, the RAPID loses $5.82. Taxpayers (that’s us!) make up that amount to the tune of $30.7 million a year!”

Wow! 3.65 miles to the gallon? We knew it was a bad deal, but just how bad wasn’t this clear to us.

The best part of the site is the “This Pig Stinks!” campaign. We like it so much, we’ve added it to our menu at the right. This pig really does stink! We just hope the word gets out about this web site before the election. The taxpayers of Grand Rapids and the surrounding area need to understand the facts on The Rapid.

Proposal 2: Mayor Heartwell and the U of M

Posted by: GRPundit on Wednesday, 22nd Nov, 2006

The fallout from Proposal 2 continues. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell has apparently decided that he wants the taxpayers of the city to pay for a federal lawsuit to stop the implementation of Proposal 2. Heartwell uses the same logical contortions of groups like BAMN to try and make an argument that banning racism and sexism somehow is discriminatory. The article linked above actually says that Prop 2 is a “civil rights violation.” It’s not clear if that’s a Heartwell quote or summary of his position, but it’s typical of the utter hypocrisy of the pro-racism lobby that Heartwell apparently belongs to.

But an even more interesting issue arises here. Mayor Heartwell, along with all the public officials in the state of Michigan, are required to take an oath of office. That oath reads as follows:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the
United States, and the Constitution of this State, and that I will faithfully perform the duties of the office of __________________ in and for the City of _________________, County of ____________ and the State of Michigan, according to the best of my ability, so help me God.

Mayor Heartwell has taken a similar oath to “support… the Constitution of this State…” Proposal 2 is an amendment to the state’s constitution. The mayor is therefore looking at violating his oath and defying the state’s constitution. Filing a lawsuit to try and stop a state constitutional amendment certainly cannot be defined as supporting the constitution.

Perhaps the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman, has seen the legal light on this issue. She has decided to back off her earlier statements that she would fight Proposal 2 in court. When she addressed the university’s Board of Regents this week, she didn’t mention any lawsuit. In fact, she committed to working within the law:

“With last week’s passage of Proposal 2, I want to again assure the campus community that we remain fully dedicated to a diverse university and that we will obey the laws of our state,” said Coleman. “What will be essential is that all of us - students, faculty and staff and administrators - pursue all possible creative solutions to achieve diversity at the university within the boundaries of the law.”

We tried to find some statistics relating to minority enrollment at the U of M to compare with minority graduation, but we were unable to find that information. However, we did find some information on how California’s Proposition 209, similar to Michigan’s Proposal 2, affected universities in California.

The interesting outcome in California appears to be an increase in the number of minorities graduating from universities. That’s right, an increase. Why? Because enrolling students who would not otherwise qualify for admission to a top-tier university actually does the student a disservice. Think about it this way: if you were a B-average student and a top university admitted you based on something other than your grades, chances are you wouldn’t do so well, surrounded by A-average students in a very rigorous academic environment. Students not qualified to attend a top-tier university tend to drop out in higher rates. Therefore, it does them a disservice.

By admitting students to universities largely based on academic ability, students tend to apply for and attend the university that is closer to the academic rigor level they will succeed in. Therefore, the effect of Proposition 209 is that minority students tend to apply for admission at universities at the level of rigor they are more comfortable in. Therefore, instead of dropping out due to an inability to keep up, they tend to graduate at higher levels.

The reality of minority graduation rates bear this out. Rates stayed the same both before and after the passage of Proposition 209. That is, regardless of admissions levels of minority students, graduations rates were flat.

But of course, special interests to hate to see special favors melt away will do anything they can to preserve the status quo, as our mayor is demonstrating. Never mind the fact that the city is constantly complaining about a lack of funding and funds for critical services - apparently it’s more important to use our taxpayer dollars to try and overturn the vote of a majority of Michiganders.

State Budget Gnashing

Posted by: GRPundit on Thursday, 16th Nov, 2006

The stage is already being set for a possible state (and probably local) tax increase. Today’s Detroit News reports that state revenues for the just-completed fiscal year 2005-2006 are down by $170 million. That’s about 0.85% less than they anticipated, yet we are already hearing that the world is going to end for schools and no more police will be on the streets.

But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a quick look at the budget. We compiled the graph at left from data published by the Senate Fiscal Agency. It is a summary of the total state revenue and expenditures since the 1990-1991 fiscal year. The only year when the expenditures actually went down was 2002-2003, when they declined by 0.28%, or about $118 million. However, every single year, revenue has increased.

A couple of quotes will show you how bureaucrats and politicians are so good at making situations sound much worse than they are in order to scare us into being more accepting of tax increases. From the article above:

The governor and lawmakers have erased more than $3 billion in cumulative deficits over the past four years by making budget cuts, increasing cigarette taxes and fees, and shifting money from other accounts.

You’ll see, that even though one reduction in the budget from 2002 to 2003 occurred, a grand total of $118 million, bureaucrats seem to be able to conjure up at least $3 billion in “cuts” over the last several years. How do they do this? Here’s how:

If a government budget is $100 million this year and it is budgeted to increase to $110 million next year, but the actual increase is to $102 million, it is called an $8 million cut, even though more real money is being spent. Our Grand Rapids city politicians are very good at making this sort of obfuscationary budget argument. You see, the “cut” isn’t a real reduction in spending, it’s a reduction in the anticipated increase in spending.

Now, of course, the bureaucrats’ special interest groups are crying foul. Justin King, executive director of the Michigan Association of Schools Boards, the lobbyist organization for school districts, claims that any cut in school funding this year would be “devastating.” He says that 50 school districts are approaching bankruptcy, even though schools have received a 35% increase in funding, after adjusting for inflation, over the last ten years. One presumes that he is including our own Grand Rapids Public Schools when he says that districts are on the verge of bankruptcy, even though GRPS spends $10,770 per student. You see, a reduction in the state budget of 0.85% is billed as devastating to schools.

But the sky doesn’t stop falling there. Dan Gilmartin, executive director of the Michigan Municipal League (the lobbyist organization for Michigan cities), says, “Any additional cuts would be suicidal for communities,” and, We’re laying off cops, not paving roads and not attracting new jobs.”

This is all attributed to a state payment to cities called revenue sharing. Basically it’s a redistribution of state-collected taxes to city governments. Our city bureaucrats and politicians are fond of stating that the city government has “lost” $30 million in revenue sharing. However, we again look at the real numbers. Annual city revenue from revenue sharing has declined from a high of about $27 million a year to about $23 million this year. Yes, that’s a real reduction of $4 million, but instead of saying that they have had to cut $4 million out of the budget (that doesn’t sound too sexy), they add up what they would have gotten each year if the state continued to boost revenue sharing. Presto - they’ve “cut” $30 million out of the city budget!

The cry from cities is now that they will have to cut police and fire to make up the difference of any additional “cuts.”

Never underestimate a bureaucrat whose job is on the line. They will obfuscate the budget numbers as much as possible to scare us. Instead of cities and schools engaging in simple and small (0.85%) wage cuts to preserve jobs, they will lay off teachers, policemen, and firemen, all the while still maintaining extremely generous benefits packages for those who remain.

While the rest of us have had to tighten our belts and deal with the still-stagnant and even declining economy in Michigan, government will continue to expand. Government never will have “enough” - don’t forget that.

Oh boy

Posted by: GRPundit on Friday, 3rd Mar, 2006

We just got a preview of the Grand Rapids City Commission’s upcoming agenda. The resignation of Robert Dean from the commission created an opening which the commission needs to fill. Candidates were interviewed yesterday for the appointment.

The interesting thing is that Mayor Heartwell says that the second round of interviews for the three finalists will include more hard-hitting topics, such as:

He believes they will be asked about their stand on whether to ask voters for an increase in city property or income taxes.

He also expects they will be quizzed on whether they support a living wage ordinance that could raise minimum wages in the city.

Oh boy. In other words, the litmus test will likely be something along the lines of, “do you think city government should be bigger and more invasive?” The response of “yes” will work in the candidate’s favor.

If both those issues pass in the city, get ready for making a bad economic situation even worse.