Dear Readers please accept my apology. I had said I thought the powers that
be (the elected politicians) would be taking care of the Stormwatergate
quickly, because it was embarrassing to appear so uncaring and stupid during
an election year. I forgot that some politicians have no shame. I
apparently underestimated the capacity for "uncaring" and "head in the mud
dumb" in our elected officials. Which apparently makes me, and the voters,
just as stupid as the politicians, or at least naive in my belief that they
would change after being presented with their mistakes. I unwisely left the
"uncaring" element out of the equation. Our present Mayor and some Council
Members just do not care about the injustice of their add-on-taxes for
renters and inner-city neighborhoods.
The present City of Minneapolis administration clearly has taken a page from
the Pawlenty Administration's book and tacked additional taxes hidden as
"fees" on the poor for the advantage of the more affluent. No matter how
unfair their new "tax" is, since the new tax does not impact "their" voters
these politicians just simply do not care. Does it really take a class
action lawsuit to make them care or to force the City of Minneapolis to do
the right thing?
On Friday I received a $50.00 Stormwater bill for a small duplex that is
approximately 1000 sq.ft., and which has neither a paved driveway nor a
garage. Now before some one starts arguing the fact that fees are not really
that different because their's is not higher. Let me repeat, I HAVE IN MY
GRUBBY LITTLE HAND A REAL, NOT IMAGINED, BILL FROM THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS
FOR $50.00 FOR STORMWATER CHARGES ON A DUPLEX THAT HAS 1000 SQUARE FEET OF
IMPERMEABLE SURFACE!!! A single family homeowner would be paying less than
$4.00 dollars.
I, like most of my neighbors, am being robbed by the stupid, and unfair
application of what was originally a great idea. It was a great idea to
charge for stormwater on an equitable basis according to how much is
produced by your property. Like so many good ideas the City "leaders" are
presented with, this good idea is being destroyed by an inept group that
could not manage a little league baseball team. We are talking about
management here. The political leaders have been told about the problem and
even beaten up about it by Nick Coleman in the StarTribune, and on "List".
Because they have not heard about it lately the Minneapolis Politicians
think they can now take their heads out of the sand and ignore it. Ignore
it, because the public decided to allow them time to address the problem,
they think it went away.
Lets look at the reality of this P-- Poor Planning:
1. People are assessed a tax on a theoretical statistical model with no
actual relationship whatsoever to what they actually are liable for, or
should legally owe.
2. When notified of the inequity and mistake, the property owner is notified
that they (Minneapolis) do not care! That unless proven otherwise you are
guilty and must pay what "they" (Minneapolis Politicians) think you should
pay.
3.The City of Minneapolis "supposedly" encourages "Smart Growth" with more
compact land use and greater density. Minneapolis "supposedly" encourages
affordable housing. The key word is "supposedly". Duplexes and triplexes
that supply over 80% of affordable housing are assessed more than two times
the tax, on the same amount of stormwater runoff, as single family housing.
Duplex dwellers are then "statistically" charged two or three times that
unfair amount, resulting in poor people paying up to nine times the TAX for
the same amount of stormwater runoff.
The City's political leaders for some reason think God makes more expensive
rainwater fall on poor people. Clearly the tax is for being poor, NOT for
the amount of rainwater that runs off a property. I know the Mayor has no
opinion about what his appointed administrators do, but I would think the
three lawyers on the Council would see that some equitable justice on this
issue was enforced, or if they have no care for justice to at least avoid
the possible legal action that potentially occur. A true liberal judge just
might feel that poor people should have equal treatment under the law might
just frown on such a tax on being poor in Minneapolis.
I am amazed that the three or four Council Members that supposedly represent
the poor neighborhoods where this unfair tax is concentrated are not up in
arms about it. One would think the other CM's would also have at least some
care for the social injustice of this tax on the poor. After all they pretty
much all "Claim" to be DFL'ers, a Party that "supposedly" cares about and
represents the interests of the poor as well as the rich. I can think of no
more regressive tax in my memory than one that charges poor people a tax
eight to nine times higher for rainwater that falls on them than the same
rain that falls on the more affluent residents of Minneapolis. Or is it
that it is not a higher tax for being poor and getting rained on, could it
be that they are taxed nine times the amount for NOT voting in as great a
number as the more affluent? Has to be some reason for the higher taxes
upon the poor. Perhaps the sewers in poor neighborhoods cost more???
It is time we get real, and get some leadership from City hall. Or perhaps
get some new bodies down there. In a system that rewards fluff over
substance we can't guarantee minds, but new bodies perhaps. Presently we
have some folks more interested in fluff than they are in substance.
Jim Graham,
paying more for the privilege of living in Ventura Village
"Honest criticism is hard for a politician to take, particularly from a
relative, a friend, an acquaintance or even a stranger."
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