> That's how cities work, unfortunately. > Those of us with the last, I'd say, fewer than a dozen houses on Lake > St. between the river and the city line are experiencing the same kind > of tax-'em-out. We're trying to hold out, on my block, to maintain it's > mostly residential character. We have only one business on our block. > My taxes, as the house on Lake St., went up 31% this year alone, and a > house I paid less than $50,000 for seven years ago is now worth > (according to the city) $179,000. Don't I wish! Of course, my wages have > not kept up with that kind of inflation. I'm told by the county that I > will be assessed $15,600 for repaving Lake St. The Library Referendum > has yet to kick in full throttle, but that will add yet more to the tax > bill. I will be forced out. > I'll probably wind up gittin' me a double-wide and movin' up a holler.
I'd describe myself as lower middle class, a homeowner (for 3 years now), and it looks like my adventure into middle-class inner-city homeownership may have to come to an untimely end soon. Property taxes are the culprit. They have gone up substantially every year since I moved in, so my house payment goes up every year, but my income does not. With the phase out of taxable values in property taxes, I'm looking at impossibly high rates just around the corner. I'll have to move. I'm sick about it too. I've worked my entire life to get where I am, achieve my dream of owning my own house in Minneapolis. I've always worked, whether employed, or operating my own business, and employing people. I've never asked for anything from the city, or county, state, or feds in the form of financial aid - ever. I've never even taken unemployment, when I could have collected it, but I pay in, and keep paying more and more and more, never taking a dime back, and soon, I'll probably have to move out of the house I worked towards buying my whole life because these jerks in our city and county governments can't stop spending my money. My hard work and sweat is paying for car sharing experiments, publicly subsidized art, unnecessary and lavish library construction (which I will never use - I buy books), broadband internet service for those without (I pay $50 a month for mine!), Yellow Brick roads, a train I will never use, "urban villiages," "Empowerment Zones," fixing up the Sears building (for commercial enterprise that should pay for it itself), an Eco-Industrial Center expansion, a billion other feel-good-accomplish-nothing-worthless programs, and now, MINI GOLF?! (*&[EMAIL PROTECTED]) the net benefit to me: I can't afford my house anymore. Thanks. Keep up the good work. Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.smokeoutgary.org REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
