Kent county is number 170 in the nation, in the top 21%.

More data is available here.

]]> http://www.grpundit.com/2010/06/24/michigan-among-the-highest-property-tax-states-in-the-nation/feed/ 0 http://www.grpundit.com/2010/03/11/michigan-tax-revenue-shows-sharp-decline-in-february/ http://www.grpundit.com/2010/03/11/michigan-tax-revenue-shows-sharp-decline-in-february/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:34:13 +0000 GRPundit http://www.grpundit.com/?p=465 The state’s monthly revenue report for February was released today and my reaction was, “Recovery? What recovery?”

This statement from the report sums it up well: “Revenue from Michigan’s General Fund and School Aid Fund earmarked taxes totaled $474.3 million in February, down 28.8% from last year’s level . . . February tax collections were approximately $132.3 million below the level expected. . .”

Year over year revenues are down 28%. This is stunning. A couple of points stand out as potentially contradictory. First, state income tax and business tax revenues are down 8.6% and 67.4%, respectively, on a year over year basis. That’s a pretty dramatic drop, particularly for the business taxes. Frankly, that could be considered a collapse in revenues.

But, at the same time, strangely, sales tax revenues are up on a year over year basis. February saw a 5.2% increase over last year. How can these figures be reconciled? On the one hand, personal incomes are down and business incomes are way down, and on the other, sales are up?

There is some chatter lately that these sales tax increases over the last two months have more to do with income tax return money flowing back to taxpayers. For instance, in the state’s revenue report, it is shown that the state issued $731 million in tax refunds last month, a 20% increase over February 2009. Federal statistics are showing a similar patter where taxpayers are filing taxes earlier than usual to collect refunds.

So, it might make sense after all that people are collecting large refunds and then spending much of that money, thus resulting in a boost in sales tax revenues. But this is hardly a true economic recovery, it’s just another temporary residual blip based on factors that actually point to further economic decline.

Another case in point from today’s news: Kent county home foreclosures up 42% in February from January. Hardly a sign of recovery.

GR Pundit has come in to possession of a letter being sent to teachers and substitute teachers, preparing them for an impending illegal strike against Grand Rapids Public Schools. View the GREA Strike Letter. The letter, signed by Grand Rapids Education Association president Paul Helder on August 5th, laments the fact that Grand Rapids Public Schools teachers have worked without a contract for a year, and that no other teachers in Kent County are facing this “difficulty.” They claim that their contract demands are “minimal” and that there is “no end in sight” for the end to the negotiations. They further warn that the school district “…may impose its will on us, taking away rights and benefits…”

What is the difference between what GRPS is proposing and that the GREA is demanding, with the threat of strike?

According to the Grand Rapids Press, the union is demanding that teachers receive a raise of between 6.85% and 9.05%, with a retroactive increase of an additional 2% for the prior school year. In addition, the union is fighting a health insurance contribution increase of $40 a month. In contrast, the the school district is proposing raises of between 5.1% and 7.31%. The district wants teachers to pay $90 per month for health insurance, up from $50 a month now.

The union’s proposals would add $8.5 million to the school district’s budget, despite the fact that the district is losing around 850 students a year.

As we can see, the school district’s offer is imposing “difficulty” on teachers. When’s the last time you received a minimum 5.1% annual increase, no matter how well (or poorly) you did your job?

The letter is directed at those who would potentially cross the picket lines, mostly substitute teachers. It asks the letter’s recipient to “honor our picket lines,” and to “reject a call to substitute, if a strike occurs.” In other words, the union is clearly planning an illegal teacher strike, and asking substitute teachers to participate in their illegal activity.

Finally, the letter states that the recipient will “receive a telephone call from a GREA member…” No doubt, this phone call will consist of a “friendly” reminder of the consequences of breaking a picket line.

The state’s attorney general should investigate this matter immediately. The union is obviously spending money, received from taxpayers, to prepare to break state laws.

The union is doing everything it can to drive even more students and parents out of Grand Rapids. When will the popular media and the politicians stand up and end this fiasco? The lack of a decent education available from GRPS, along with an increasingly militant union, only makes our economic situation worse.

This is outstanding news. In case you’re not aware, a taxpayer advocacy organization called the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance has been threatening to mount recall campaigns against legislators who vote in favor of any tax increase. Leon Drolet, the former State Representative who is leading the campaign, has been much-maligned over his efforts, but we applaud him and his organization. In fact, he is teaming up with the local taxpayer advocacy group Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility, who helped to defeat the GRCC millage last month. KCFFR filed the preliminary campaign reporting statements yesterday to begin the effort to recall Senators Bill Hardiman and Mark Jansen, as well as Representatives Robert Dean, Kevin Green, and Dave Hildenbrand, if those individuals decide to for in favor of a tax increase, according to the KCFFR web site.

People are talking about a possible government shutdown in October if the budget battle isn’t resolved by that time. We can only hope for such a pleasant October surprise. The more gridlock in Lansing, the better off our state is. There are plenty more cuts that can be made, and it is our hope that those cuts see the light of day before job-killing tax increases are considered. Stay tuned for more Lansing fireworks.

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.

• 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

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.

According to Sunday’s Grand Rapids Press, Secchia has resigned his position at 23 and is now campaigning for a new casino in downtown Grand Rapids. One wonders why the change of heart.

The idea is that the GR casino would be basically a funding mechanism for the government, paying for the local pools, museums, parks, etc. While the idea seems to be in the right place, we’re very skeptical of any government unit owning an running an enterprise that the private sector should. Each time one of these publically-owned enterprises comes into existence, it generally entails the creation of new bureaucracies and un-elected governance boards (such as the DDA, the money-losing Kent County Convention and Arena Authority, etc).

One is left to wonder, though, when Secchia makes a statement like this, “I’m talking about a casino like Detroit has, (but) owned by the city, county and local people who would share the profits…” Does Secchia plan to be one of the “local people” who shares the profits? Who would own the casino? Who would operate it? Will it be just another government boondoggle, like the current city-owned golf course?

He says that by 2010 the city will be in a $80 million hole. In addition, if the state reduces its revenue sharing, the hole will be $130 million.

Surprisingly, the focus is on cutting spending, not raising taxes (so far). Kimball’s quote in the Grand Rapids Press is: “The question is when, not if, service levels will need to be reduced.”

Perhaps there’s some light at the end of the tunnel?

As we’ve pointed out in the past, residents of Grand Rapids already pay the second highest taxes in Kent county. And what do we get for it?

Maybe the city fathers will finally get the drift and look at the spending side of the income statement instead of the revenue side. Higher taxes only continue to push residents and business out of Grand Rapids.

Well, no surprises here in Michigan. Kerry won the state, garnering 51% of the vote to Bush’s 48%. In 2000, Gore got 51% of Michigan to Bush’s 46%. Nader got 2% that year, which interestingly points to the idea that Nader voters don’t necessarily take votes away from the Democrat.

In Kent county, things were quite different. The vote was strongly in favor of Bush, 58% to 40%. The City of Grand Rapids went a different way, however, and voted 55% Kerry and 43% Bush. In fact, in our analysis, Kerry won all three wards of the city.

Ballot Proposals

The two ballot proposals passed handily. Statewide, Proposal 1 (gambling-related), passed 58% to 42%. Proposal 2 (defining marriage) passed 59% to 41%. We here at GR Pundit were disappointed that both passed. Both were bad legislation, in our opinion.

Look out for higher property taxes now that less lottery money will likely be raised, which transfers to the school aid fund.

Those were the main issues at hand in Michigan and locally. There wasn’t much else of interest in local races. We don’t think there were any heated competitions or seats seriously up for grabs.