PUBLISHED LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Income tax will drive down property values
I have been in the real estate business for 43 years in Ypsilanti and have serious concerns with what has been promoted by former Mayor Cheryl Farmer and the move ahead plan to support a City income tax.
In a letter to residents, Farmer recommended we vote for Paul Schreiber and Bill Nickels. That in itself was highly unusual.
I don't ever remember any other time in my 63 years in Ypsilanti where a mayor wanted to select her replacement and campaigned so vigorously.
In this letter, the former mayor said Ypsilanti's "real estate values are up." This was not true then and it is not true now.
Values are down and very little is selling in the city, and I believe that is the main reason why our taxes are so high. They are the highest in Washtenaw County.
More recently we were encouraged to support the proposed income tax "to safeguard your property values" and "to protect the value of the biggest investing--your home."
These statements are not true. Higher taxes in the city will not be good for homeowners.
There are buyers who will not even look at Ypsilanti because of the high taxes and the threat of an income tax. There are houses for sale on almost every street and the city income tax, if passed, will kill the housing market for at least six more years. Please don't believe tha the problem is only sub-prime mortgages, auto industry difficulties, or the general economy of Michigan. It is the taxes and the threat of more taxes in the face of a possible City income tax that has stopped the housing market.
Some seniors have been told "it won't cost you" as retirement, Social Security, and pension funds aren't taxable, but wait until you want to sell your home: It will cost you then.
When was the last time you can remember anything temporary that didn't become permanent? There is no guarantee this tax won't go on beyond 2014.
I urge all to vote "no" on Nov. 6.
Maxe A. Obermeyer, Jr., Ypsilanti
Schreiber doesn't have his facts correct
Mayor Paul Schreiber, in a recent letter to the editor, accuses the Stop City Income Tax campaign of not having our facts correct. It is Mayor Schreiber that doesn't have his facts correct. Schreiber is saying he can't find where he said the Ypsilanti City Income Tax was a 35% increase in taxes.
It is on page 10 of his 12 page report he wrote and presented to the Ypsilanti City Council dated November 14, 2005. The report detailed his analysis of the effects of a City Income Tax on the citizens of Ypsilanti.
To see the actual graph from page 10 from the Schreiber Report, go to www.StopCityIncomeTax.com/factcheck.
The hand written notes are ours showing how the calculation was made.
The Mayor clearly shows in his report and graphs that a City Income Tax as well as City Property Tax ( i.e. city taxes) would increase from $1,028 per household to $1,396 per household.
That is a 35.8% increase in taxes. As you can see, we were generous by rounding down when we said the Farmer/Schreiber City Income Tax plan is a 35% increase for taxpayers in Ypsilanti.
Mayor Schreiber goes on to say in the very same report, "Ypsilanti residents would pay a relatively high percentage of their income for taxes compared to other cities."
We couldn't agree with the mayor more.
At a time of skyrocketing water bills and gas prices and now an almost 1/2% increase in state income taxes (which is itself is an 11.5 percent increase in state taxes), Schreiber's 1% City Income Tax plan amounts to a 35% jump in the taxes citizens pay to Ypsilanti.
Schreiber simply doesn't have his facts correct. Mayor Schreiber's own analysis of the City Income Tax confirms what we have said all along.
The City Income Tax is a huge jump in taxes for Ypsilanti. The City Income Tax is bad news for the residents and businesses of Ypsilanti already struggling to pay the highest property taxes and special assessments in the County.
Pete Murdock, Stop City Income Tax Campaign, Ypsilanti
Some won't be able to afford living in the city
I have lived in the city of Ypsilanti for one year now, after much convincing from some of my friends.
I grew up in Ann Arbor and have lived there for the past 35 years but was finding it more and more difficult to afford to live in the city of Ann Arbor. I really enjoy the people, the social life and the less expensive rental rates in Ypsilanti compared to Ann Arbor.
I rent an apartment because I cannot afford to purchase a home and work as a cab driver. I cannot tell you how extremely upset I am over the proposed city income tax.
Are the city officials of Ypsilanti trying to drive people away because this city income tax, if passed, will surely drive many renters away including myself?
I urge all of you to cast a "no" vote on Nov. 6.
Carl Douglas Grim, Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti income tax 'temporary'? Not likely
A city income tax in Ypsilanti is supposed to be both "temporary" and yet a solution to a long-term "fiscal crisis," but it is very likely to be neither. Before moving to Ypsilanti in 2004, I paid a "temporary" income tax (and was required to file copies of my state and federal tax returns) in Battle Creek for 14 years. They are still charging it, with no end in sight.
What are the chances that Ypsilanti's income tax will not be extended past 2014? Is Michigan's economy destined to make such a significant turnaround in the next six years that our city will have such a surplus they could actually shut down a revenue stream? If not, then what is the city's plan to meet its obligations after the income tax expires, or fails to cover costs?
I am not convinced that the city of Ypsilanti has made enough of an effort to reduce expenditures and restructure/reorganize before moving to what should be a last resort, raising taxes. The city has a poor track record of fiscal responsibility and appears to be in denial about the lasting impact of decisions such as the disastrous Water Street development project.
A city income tax is a bad idea because it will not only throw good money after bad, but it will also hit hardest those who earn the least, and will compromise citizens' privacy as city bureaucrats learn what every taxpayer in town makes. Responsible citizens should vote no on Nov. 6!
Anne M. Hooghart, Ypsilanti
Income tax would decrease home values
As we head to the polls this November, Ypsilanti citizens should remember that a vote for an income tax is a vote to decrease the equity in your home. More or less, potential homebuyers have a fixed amount they can afford as total housing payment. This includes the mortgage payment, insurance and all city taxes. When one expense goes up, another must go down. This means that the eventual buyer of your Ypsilanti home must offset higher taxes with a lower purchase price. In short, an income tax means you can count on a smaller check at closing. (That is, if you ever get to closing, because the income tax will give buyers one really good reason to locate outside the city walls.) Do you really want to pay more now, to get less later?
Andrew B. Gillman, Ypsilanti
City of Ypsilanti should nix talk of income tax
I am a college student and long-time resident of Ypsilanti. I like Ypsilanti, and planned to stay after I graduate, to be near my family.
However, I recently learned that the city is considering an income tax, and that they would take money out of my paycheck because I live here. I can't afford to pay an income tax. All of the money from my part-time job goes to pay tuition, and I have to take out loans on top of that. So every dollar of income tax is a dollar that I will have to borrow at high interest rates.
If the city decides to have an income tax, I might have to move away from my family. I don't understand how that could be good for the city of Ypsilanti since I spend all of my money here and I'm a good resident.
There really should not be an income tax or a lot of the responsible students like me who are trying to save money will have to move.
Daniel A. Bates, Ypsilanti
Income tax would harm Ypsilanti's economic growth
Following the Ypsilanti mayor and council election, there should have been a mood that we needed to get together and start working to reach a consensus on solving the problems we faced. The opponents all admitted to the same problems but offered very different ways to deal with them. We needed to examine the budget shortfalls realistically and current and future projects must be completed or scrapped because of their worthiness and future benefit to the community.
Past mistakes in planning or worthiness of projects continued to be rehashed. The Water Street project became a boondoggle that is to us on the scale of the Boston "Big Dig.'' Someday, maybe, it will help bring revitalization to the downtown, but a developer must be sought to make it work. Trying to foot this bill with taxpayer money and loans was a huge mistake.
Ypsilanti suffered the same fate as many communities when the market tastes of consumers went from downtown, small family-owned stores to malls and megastores outside the cities. Businesses have left and residents have moved. I feel bad for Ann Arbor having lost Pfizer, but I look back at how we've lost General Motors Assembly, Ford Motor Ypsi, Motor Wheel, Kelsey Hayes and many other employers. I know how much worse off we are than Ann Arbor. Here began the process that has crippled our city and needs to be addressed by the only way I feel we can improve it. The current council did not start this process but they need to work to fix it.
As a few businesses closed, the property taxes collected went down or stopped growing. As small areas were bought by Eastern Michigan University, they went off the tax rolls. As family dwellings were changed to rentals, their appreciative values slowed down and tax rate increases were locked in. These factors started making income problems for the city to maintain services.
City government kept returning to the voters asking for a millage increases to keep up. Then more loss of business happened and slow growth of property values and again we faced budget shortfalls. Now property values are falling as record numbers of homes are unsold. Homes are in foreclosure in record numbers, much higher than the percentage rates in any other Washtenaw County area. What should have been a temporary solution became a continuing way to deal with these shortfalls.
The city leaders say that you can get a better value home for the money here, but it's being offset by higher taxes and falling property prices. Other areas have higher prices for the comparable house, but in those areas real estate still appreciates instead of being sold at discounted prices. At the current rate of tax, 55.8 mills, the city has the distinction of being one of the top five highest tax rates in the state (one of the highest in the U.S.) - and .2 from being the highest tax rate allowed by law! I love my city but even I know that it doesn't give me enough to earn that. The street improvement millage was a back breaker that punished newer residents that had bought their homes at higher prices and had higher assessed values.
Our council has stated that we must pass an income tax to be solvent. Here are some facts, though. The tax rate has increased over 5 mills (over 20 percent) in the last six years even with Headlee rollbacks. Proposal A automatically increases your property value and taxes annually by the rate of inflation and much more if you are a recent property purchaser caught in the pop-up situation. The city assessor's office has and will continue to raise assessments at the maximum allowable rate. They do this because they can, without voter approval, despite falling real estate value.
Tax revenues paid to the city by residential property owners have increased 60 percent in those six years - over three times inflation. The proposed city income tax would generate an additional $4-plus million a year - a 40 percent to 50 percent increase in general fund local tax revenues. Even the city manager noted this is not going to fix the problems. According to an analysis done by Mayor Paul Schreiber, the proposed city income tax would increase the local tax burden per household to 1-1/2 times that of Ann Arbor and would amount to a 35 percent increase in city taxes for the average household. Taxing employees of local businesses, targeted especially at EMU employees, is going to hit mainly clerical and custodial people, etc. who make low wages and are ones who really can't afford it.
Let's not forget that we are going to get an increase in the state income tax and sales tax also.
Politics is loaded with dirty pool and this ballot is no exception. Having the power to compose the ballot proposal, the council is now being sued for what critics call biased, misleading and illegal ballot language. Read the entire text of the lawsuit at www.stopcityincometax.com/lawsuit/.
Healthy growth and increased revenues are gained when cities encourage and foster desirability and new folks come here to buy property. This allows the city to raise assessments under Headlee rules and revenues naturally go up.
Vacant unsellable property does not allow revenue increases. Raising taxes again is the best way to kill economic growth, business attraction and incoming migration. Taxes must be decreased to encourage new residents and raised assessments based on real value. This other method is not a wise path! I urge voters to go to the polls Nov. 6 and defeat this proposal.
About the writer: Michael V. Bodary is a resident of Ypsilanti. To contribute essays to Other Voices, contact Mary Morgan, opinion editor, at 734-994-6605 or mmorgan@annarbornews.com.
The letter to the editor is one of the best tools available for the grassroots activist to get his message out to the public. They are easy to write. Letters exist to provide a forum for public comment or debate. A letter to the editor is meant to express your opinion or point of view.
GUIDELINES FOR LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
BE TIMELY:
Write your letter within a day of the article?s date. You should write letters every time you see an article in the newspaper talking about the Ypsilanti
City Income Tax.
INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Include your full name, city, state, phone # (many news organizations will call you to verify you really wrote the letter -- most will not print anonymous
letters).
BE CLEAR:
Make one main point.
BE CONCISE:
1- 3 paragraphs, 3-8 sentences, 40-100 words. Short letters show confidence in your position. Keeping your letter brief will help assure that the newspaper
does not edit out your important points. Make sure to follow the paper's letter submission guidelines, which are usually found on the editorial page of the paper.
BE ACCURATE:
Letters that are factually inaccurate are not printed.
BE INTERESTING:
Get your reader?s attention and keep it to the end of your letter. Open with an interesting fact or strong statement and keep your points as interesting as possible.
AVOID PERSONAL ATTACKS:
Show respect for the opposite opinion. Being rude may cause people to disagree with you on principle.
PROOFREAD:
Re-read your letter. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes. If possible, ask another person to read your letter for accuracy and clarity.
DON?T WORRY IF YOUR LETTER IS NOT PRINTED:
If it is well-written it might not be printed if it addresses the same issue as letters already printed.
In your email, use the following format:
HEADING:
To the Editor: (If writing directly to the writer Substitute Dear Mr./Ms. ___)
Re: ?headline?, Date of article
BODY:
1-3 paragraphs
CLOSING:
Your full name, City, State, Your Phone # (Only if requested by news organization)