May 8 CC Meeting of May 5 and Stuff
IN THE COLUMN OF MAY 8, WHERE I REFERENCE THE MAY 5 CC MEETING, I SAID THAT THE VOTE WAS 7/0 TO APPROVE THE CIA.
NOW, OBVIOUSLY, THAT WAS NOT TRUE AS COUNCIL MEMBER KIP WALBY WAS ABSENT FROM THIS MEETING. I KNEW THAT, HAVING WATCHED THE MEETING, SO ALL I CAN DO IS APOLOGIZE AND 'BLAME' THE FACT THAT YESTERDAY I TURNED 60 YEARS OLD AND APPARENTLY THE RESULT OF THAT 'TRAUMA' CAUSED ME TO LOSE MY MIND!
The May 5 council meeting saw the Harper Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority (CIA) approved in a 6/0 vote. Kip Walby was absent from this meeting, but I suspect had he been there, the vote would have been 7/0. I hope those who voted for this will be able to justify to residents their vote to approve this the next time they come asking for a 'special millage' of one sort or the other. No matter how you slice it, money that could have served the entire city and its services that was available from the taxes paid on Harper Avenue is out of the loop and every cent, including the inflationary increase, is now 'dedicated' solely to Harper Avenue.
So now we have two TIFA districts -- the Nautical Mile TIFA and this CIA -- now bleeding our general fund. And just look at all the new development on Jefferson! Just look at all the new businesses....yeah, right!
I'll tell you this, I will never vote to approve another 'special millage'. Once approved, like the street and police and fire millages, you have basically voted yourself a tax increase forever and have taken the pressure off city council to actually cut costs and live within their -- and our means. Besides, we have over $11 million (or did as of 9/07) in 'reserves'. Click on this link to see it. February 2008 County Exec and General
Hey, I just realized who it is that Mayor Bob reminds me of....Mr. Rogers! And, in his best Mr. Rogers manner, he kept insisting that anyone who questioned what the CIA was and what it could end up doing basically did not know what they were talking about. Guess they can't read, huh, Mayor Bob?
He also kept saying that any money the CIA got would be "new money". Well, that's true. But it's "new money" based on every cent of inflationary increase (just look at your own property tax bills) plus "new money" based on every increase in taxable value. If businesses think they are not going to be paying more in property taxes, they may be the ones Mayor Bob should be lecturing. From the exhibits provided by the Harper Avenue Blue Ribbon Commission report (Blue Ribbon Commission Exhibits - Harper Avenue) you can easily see how much the taxable value is expected to increase year to year....and an increased TV means increased property taxes for the businesses.
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Will Ted ever go away? County executive looms for us....
We were told, in the propaganda put out by those whose answer to every situation is bigger and more government, that we needed a County Executive because our county was 'larger than the state of Delaware' so we needed one individual in charge of the day to day operations of our county.
So, what do they do? They hold the election to begin the first step in this process deliberately timed to a cycle where few voters actually vote. So much for concern about representation for the citizens of this county.
By a less than stellar margin (only about 9000 votes county-wide) the 'movers and shakers' of this county have foisted a dastardly joke on its residents and if all goes according to plan -- and I don't see it not --by 2010, we could be looking to elect the first county executive and guess who 'some Democrats' are suggesting should be the first? Why, that 'good ole boy' Ted Wahby. And I do mean 'good ole boy' because in 2010, Ted will be 79 years old. You can read today's Macomb Daily story about this by following this link: MACOMB DAILY
Keep your hand on your wallets and when it comes time to vote for the new charter, remember you can still say "No."