Re: [Mpls] Deep in the heart of Taxes - a stake through the heart of Minneapolis

[Eric Oines]

Everyone's a Republican when the tax bill arrives...

Actually, you can thank the 2001 special session legislature and Jesse for this one.

And you can applaud Greg Gray, Linda Higgins, Neva Walker, Linda Berglin, Karen Clark and Scott Dibble for voting against it if you are looking for some Mpls politicos who did the right thing.

This is classic "pass the pain to make ourselves look good" stuff.

The changes made to lower commercial property tax (including rental properties), and the effects on TIF are forcing the city to outrageously raise property taxes in order to cover the shortfalls.

And you know what? They (the Legislature) knew this would happen and they did it anyway.

Could the increase have been smaller? Probably. A lot smaller? Probably not.

The worst part is that Gov. Tim and the Repubs are probably going to raise the state rates on homestead next year to help close the state gap, so you'll get hit hard again even though the city is capping at 8% next year.

Eric Oines
North Minneapolis


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From: "JIM GRAHAM" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "mpls issues" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 11:06:11 -0600
Subject: [Mpls] Deep in the heart of Taxes - a stake through the heart of Minneapolis

I do not know about the rest of Minneapolis, but our actual property taxes
rose by an average of 22 1/2% on my and my wife's houses. How can this
possibly be possible or rationale while City "Leaders" are telling us we are
going to have to tighten our belts for the budget shortfall ahead. And
please, please, do not tell us it is because of the Republicans. As a
lifelong Democrat I am absolutely insulted by such rhetoric.

Remember folks this IS NOT the 8% additional increase the politicians have
promised for next year. Inflation is going crazy in this City, and it IS NOT
because of Republicans, it is because of our own elected Democratic and
Green Party "Leaders". Dennis Schulstad has been gone for a long time, and
I don't remember the Republican before him. I have a good memory, but I
think it has been thirty years. Wasn't Jens Christensen voted out in 1972?

The hardest hit part of the population will be the poor renter, who these
tax increases will be passed along to. How can our politicians even pretend
to be concerned with "Poor People" and "Affordable Housing" when they put
such a burden on the poor? This tax increase does more to increase a poor
persons cost of housing than anything I have seen. Responsible Rental
Property Owners are on such a small margin that this tax increase must be
passed directly to the renter. Renters, the working poor, and the poorest
members of this City toil under the burden of such tax increases. Remember
renters; the poor management downtown directly affects what YOU pay for
rent.

We need to have a referendum to put a ceiling on property taxes so that they
"SHALL NOT RAISE MORE THAN THE CST OF LIVING INDEX WITHOUT A REFERENDUM OF
PUBLIC APPROVAL. The only way we can stop our elected politicians from
their addiction to spending or giving away our money is to create procedural
roadblocks in the form of actual laws. Minneapolis is a public corporation
chartered by the State of Minnesota; perhaps we need a State Law requiring
the City and County Officials to act in a proper "Fiduciary" manner when
dealing with a public trust. I also ask the Feds to do the same with
corporations like Enron. There is a public trust that not only Corporate
CEOs are violating.

Which large public giveaways should we cut next, how about all of them? How
about requiring a referendum for any corporate subsidy (read Grant) of over
$500,000. I know that this is a lot of money to us little people, but you
can't expect Mayor and City Council to go "Cold Turkey" after so many years
of offending. How will they raise funds for guaranteeing the incumbent will
stay in office if you can't pay your "friends" with a few million of
taxpayer dollars? And what about those Multi-unit housing developers and
large "Non-Profit" developers who we want to subsidize to build affordable
housing? You don't think the Brightons, Shermans, and the Project for Pride
in Livings should have to compete with "Real" Developers in the "Real
World", do you? How would you ever get "Target" downtown if you didn't give
them those millions? You would have to settle for Opus, who wants to make
money without public subsidy, what a disgusting idea. Without a few million
how are you ever going to get CUB forced into NorthEast and on Lake Street?
Why you would have to resort to people like the 60th Street CUB who spend
their own money. Now I ask you, how is a politician going to ask for a
"Political" contribution from someone like that? Isn't it "New Urbanism" and
"Smart Growth" to suck public dollars to build something the public doesn't
want?

Yes folks, we have to demand that our politicians spend money in a
responsible manner, and take their fiduciary responsibility more seriously.
So I am calling for a referendum. Do we need the State Legislature to act in
order to do such a referendum? Could Brian Melendez, Lisa McDonald, or Dee
Long help us out with this question? What are the proper procedures and laws
governing forcing such a referendum? Come on Brian, you or one of the List's
many lawyers or politicians must know.

Jim Graham,




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