On November 3rd, Washtenaw County residents refused to fund a new millage for the Sacred Cow of K-12 education. The earth shook, and the sounds of wailing from county school board trustees could be heard in Calcutta.
Seems some people, alas, weren’t paying attention in class.
On November 3rd, tens of thousands of county residents told the trustees of 10 school boards in the County, as well as the trustees of the WISD, not to mention the celebrity line-up of local politicos who backed the $130,000,000 tax hike for “the kids,” to go fluff their auras. Voters told school officials and their political allies who endorsed the millage (including Ann Arbor County Commissioners Smith, Gunn and Irwin) that it was not the moment for a tax hike.
The very next day, the French aristocrats on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners got together for a rollicking ”Let Them Eat Cake” party and went right ahead and imposed a new property tax. County Administrator Robert Guenzel is busy printing up t-shirts: “Real Men Impose Their Property Taxes. Voter Approval is for Pantywaists.” The t-shirts may be purchased at many of the local Ann Arbor restaurants where Bobbie G. holds staff meetings, or at Ann Arbor SPARK’s headquarters.
Ann Arbor’s four monarchists on the Washtenaw County Commissioners Barbara Bergman, Leah Gunn, Jeff Irwin (currently in the hunt for the 53rd District House seat), and Conan Smith provided half of the eight votes cast in order to impose the new property tax—an Act 88 Millage—to fund economic development and agricultural activities. The tax is expected to raise $608,000 from Washtenaw County residents. It’s a small tax. Tiny. Hardly noticeable. It’s certainly not the $30 million per year the WISD would have raised. So what’s the problem? It’s the principle of the maneuver, or rather the lack of principles associated with the maneuver to which I object.
The new millage will provide $200,000 for Ann Arbor SPARK; $50,000 for SPARK East; $100,000 for the Eastern Leaders Group; $59,000 for 4-H activities; $27,000 for Horticulture Programming; $15,000 for Agricultural Innovation; $15,000 for the Food Systems Economic Partnership; and $137,000 for the county’s Department of Economic Development and Energy activities.
Commissioners Kristin Judge and Wesley Prater voted against the new tax. Meanwhile, Ann Arbor’s four County Commissioners demonstrated their deep commitment to funding agricultural programs from the Act 88 Millage created in 1913 to fund agricultural activities. They voted to give the County’s 4-H program a generous $59,000, and made their political pals at the various economic development boondoggles get by with only $349,000 tax dollars. Foreclosures in Ann Arbor just recently hit the double digits, Michigan is in the top ten states with the most foreclosures in the nation, but the four A2 Commissioners supported the new tax to fund not only “economic development,” but to feed the gaping maw of the county’s own bureaucracy in the form of the Department of Economic Development and Energy Activities.
Pouring tax dollars into public-private “economic development” schemes without independent measurement of the progress of said economic development programs is like pouring water into sand on a beach. One rarely reaches the saturation point. Ever. The real problem is that when local politicos actually demonstrate due diligence and gently enquire after the taxpayers’ money poured into outfits such as SPARK, we discover that the Economic Development Emperor has no clothes. In April of 2009 Richard King, Chair of the LDFA, told Council members that without LDFA funding the 600 jobs SPARK officials take credit for creating over the past three years would have been created anyway. (The LDFA is a City Council-appointed committee that oversees the capture of the property tax money from Ann Arbor’s downtown development district that is funneled to SPARK.)
According to this piece, in the Ann Arbor Business Review, Google rode into town in 2006 promising to create 1,000 jobs by 2011. I actually think some local politicos got so excited by Google’s sexy talk of job creation, the boys had to stay seated during the press conference. Google greedily slurped up tax incentives from the state. Ann Arbor taxpayers footed the bill to have SPARK staff help Google officials find office space in downtown Ann Arbor. Taxpayers also paid to have SPARK staff wipe Google noses and cut their food, as Google executives were obviously incapable of taking care of their own real estate searches and physical needs. To sweeten the deal, taxpayers gave Google up to 400 parking spaces free of charge until 2010 in a nearby parking structure. Listen to Mayor Hieftje on the subject, and he’ll tell you Ann Arbor can’t get companies to locate to downtown without giving away spaces in our publicly owned parking garages.
In March of 2009, Google axed 200 workers in its sales and marketing division. Today, the head of Google won’t discuss hiring plans for the Ann Arbor office. However, a recent piece in the Detroit News reported that Google has created a mere 204 jobs in A2. Local writer Nathan Bomey writes in a March 26, 2009 piece, “But the acknowledgement today that it has committed too many resources to sales functions marks a significant blow to Ann Arbor’s hopes of securing major employment growth via the search engine king.”
SPARK officials spin Google as a SPARK “success story.” The truth is that Google is a perfect example of why it’s irresponsible for elected officials to waste public tax dollars to attract business to Ann Arbor, and why the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners should never have imposed a new tax to fund “economic development.”
Here’s another Google-in-the-making: This comes from the SPARK web site: MEDC, Ann Arbor SPARK, ETCS, MDIT and EMU have collaborated to bring Systems In Motion to the Ann Arbor area. ”Systems In Motion, a Silicon Valley-based IT services firm has chosen to locate a new support center in the Ann Arbor region. Venture-backed Systems In Motion combines the best practices of global service delivery, with strategic investments in intellectual capital and assets built for next generation technology architectures. Systems In Motion will create 1,085 new jobs in the Ann Arbor region over the next five years. Additionally, the company will invest over $15 million in capital.”
Sound familiar?
Ann Arbor’s County Commissioners, then, just voted to impose a new property tax to give tax dollars to SPARK and SPARK East to help the organizations continue with the important work—of creating high-paying jobs for those who work at the economic development outfits. The LDFA’s contract with Spark was for $872,836 during the audited 2007-08 year. $872,836 dollars to create no jobs which would have not otherwise been created. Michael Finney, the CEO of SPARK earns $200K per year plus benefits. In May of 2009, City Council voted to strip Project Grow of its funding. The very next month, the Council voted on a resolution sponsored by Second Ward Council member and LDFA Board member Stephen Rapundalo and Fourth Ward Council member Marcia Higgins, to increase the LDFA’s budget by $25,000.
I seriously doubt that county voters would have approved Robert’s Guenzel’s Act 88 Millage scheme had it come before them on the ballot November 3rd, alongside the WISD millage “enhancement.” Then again, Real Men Impose Their Millages, Sweetie.
Hell, there’s something to admire in a guy who can convince eight elected officials to spit into the faces of 347,000 county taxpayers so he can fund a new county department, and keep tax dollars flowing to his buddies at the “economic development” boondoggles.
Popularity: 20% [?]
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Unbelievable.
Comment by Ken P. — November 5, 2009 @ 8:09 am
Finding money for local agriculture would be a good use of the funds, but it is never–NEVER–ok to impose a tax. The power to tax must reside with the public.
Comment by Lou Glorie — November 5, 2009 @ 10:16 am
A2 Politico, I love your style. This is the first time I’ve seen your blog, but I’ll definitely be back for more.
Don’t be so kind to Ouimet and Ping. I was at the Mackinac convention and listened to the rhetoric of “living within our means” and balancing the budget without raising taxes. Another big theme? Stop picking winners and losers when it comes to business. I know Ouimet was there; I met him. Not sure about Ping. Both call themselves Republicans. Ouimet voted for the tax and Ping was absent, although regardless she was planning on abstaining from voting.
Which is worse?
Ouimet betrayed his principles.
Ping took the cowardly way out.
Comment by Janelle Baranowski — November 5, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
Registered Voters in Washtanaw county – 269236 – but ballots Cast only – 60261 22.38% so this referendum is not passed according to direct democracy. Certain decisions are best taken out of the hands of representatives and determined directly by the people but have to passed with 51%. And here we have problem with November 3, 2009 election.
Comment by Aaron — November 5, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
This is very disappointing. That Jeff Irwin voted for this as he runs for higher office is unwise, to say the least. Conan Smith is my Commissioner, but when he runs for re-election he won’t get my vote. Between this and the $900 hotel room, I’m thoroughly disillusioned with Conan Smith’s judgement. Evidently, he’s under the impression that county residents are made of money. We’re not.
Comment by Charles Brooks — November 5, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
Thanks for your post covering county issues and our meeting last night. Although it is clear that the writer disagrees with my vote on this one issue, I appreciate the feedback and opportunity that this forum and others provide. We get far too little public comment on county issues and tapping into resident sentiment is a continual struggle for county government.
I would like to make it clear that I don’t take these issues lightly. I know that our economy is struggling and that many county residents are one calamity away from destitution and default. I take spending public resources very seriously and I work hard to focus county resources on serving residents. Those of you who have watched me work know that I am an advocate for fiscal responsibility and collaboration and consolidation between local governments. Just last night we heard a report from Sheriff Clayton about our progress on consolidating city and county 911 dispatch. This move will save hundreds of thousands of dollars immediately and millions over the long term by sharing expensive dispatch technology.
What surprised me about this article is that while it focused on the Act 88 millage which will add $4 to the tax bill on a $200,000 house, there was no mention of the proposed $15/per person fee on food service workers. This proposal will require every worker – from servers to baristas – to pay and attend a class at the county to be certified to work in Washtenaw County. This fee is a far more onerous tax on working people. There will be many severe problems implementing this program not the least of which are language barriers and the reams of recordkeeping required at both the county and the restaurants. These are huge costs that I don’t think we should impose unless it can be shown that it will reduce food borne illness in Washtenaw County. I’ve looked into the numbers and we have a very well respected health department that gets results – we already have a very low incidence of food-borne illness in our community (far below the national averages). The question remains: will this new fee get results? I don’t think so. I believe that we should continue to focus on firm and consistent enforcement of the safe serving regulations already in place.
So, I appreciate the focus on the county and I hope that this substantial issue gets some attention from the community. We need to hear from residents and the food service workers who will be affected before this large burden is imposed upon workers and businesses. BTW – you can watch the public hearing and the debate on this issue at: http://video.ewashtenaw.org/boc/showtime.pl?2009-11-04-BOC=video
The video is indexed so you can jump to the public hearing itself. The Commissioners weigh in at the end of the meeting under “Items for Current/Future Discussion.”
Comment by Jeff Irwin — November 5, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
I agree with your stance that the new property tax seems nefarious but it didn’t happen in a late-night, post-election-day huddle. According to an article by Ryan Stanton, http://www.annarbor.com/news/washtenaw-county-board-preliminary-ok-to-small-tax-increase/, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners discussed this on October 7th. According to Ryan:
“Commissioners are expected to adopt the 2010-11 budget in committee on Nov. 4, with final approval Nov. 18.
Commissioners noted the Act 88 millage would only be levied for one year before the county board revisits it next year.”
I wonder what the Board needs to hear before granting or withholding final approval on Nov 18th.
Comment by RunsWithScissors — November 5, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
Commissioner Irwin,
Thank you for the link to the meeting video. Could it be that the $15 fee will be ignored by workers and majority of restaurant owners? Enforcement will require manpower that the county doesn’t have, don’t you agree? Property taxes, on the other hand, are collected automatically. One imagines the county could collect the fee from the restaurant owners, but again, enforcement would prove problematic. One can’t envision the average restaurant owner turning away a server who was not certified, or perhaps even agreeing to employment with a caveat that the worker would then become certified (which would never then be mentioned again).
Comment by Yale89 — November 6, 2009 @ 11:27 am
Yale 89. The idea behind the $15/per person fee is that the fee will cover the cost of the classes and the enforcement. Considering the number of food service workers and establishments in the county, it seems hard to believe that the work could be done properly with the anticipated revenue (estimates are $75K in year one and $100K thereafter). Here is the link to the original presentation on the idea: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/boc/agenda/ws/year_2009/2009-08-06ws/index_html/2009-08-06ws2.pdf
There are enforcement provisions in the proposed regulation. You can read them at: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/environmental_health/food_safety/eh_foodborne.html. When/if you go there you must download the document at the link “Proposed Food Handler Card Regulation.” Essentially, the enforcement is that the health department will follow up to ensure compliance and if the establishment is employing workers without certification, then there will be a warning. Then after 30 days, there is a stern warning and a requirement to stop employing people without cards after another 14 days. Eventually, a scofflaw establishment will get hit with violations on their inspection report.
Comment by Jeff Irwin — November 6, 2009 @ 3:15 pm
Commissioner Irwin and I have had good discussions about the proposed Food Handlers Course. As a food server in Arizona for many years, I was required to take a course in order to work in a restaurant. The county is charged with keeping the public safe from food borne illness through our Public Health Department. It is our responsibility to keep our residents safe by ensuring they are served food in a healthy manner when they eat out. Many professions require a license to operate. These “licenses” or cards let the employer know the person has been trained to do their job in a way that will not harm potential customers. Two examples I cited in the meeting would be dog groomers and nail technicians.
What you will not see on the tape of the meeting is a discussion I had with the professional business owners and our Director of Public Health after the meeting. We agreed that the system that works in many other communities across the country may not be the perfect answer for Washtenaw County. We are going to meet again soon to discuss a program that can work for all the parties involved.
This public hearing was not a vote on taxes and did not cost anyone any money. The Act 88 millage was something I did not feel right about voting for. To compare the food handlers course discussion to an actual vote to raise taxes misses the point.
Comment by Kristin Judge — November 6, 2009 @ 3:49 pm
Comm. Irwin,
Maybe this “onerous” fee could be paid out of the tax dollars saved in unreported income? I worked in restaurants throughout high school and college, and generally you could figure that employers and employees under-reported tips by around 50% (in 2006, both restaurants I worked at based my tips on 10% of sales…keep in mind, the recommended tipping amount is 20%.)
Comment by Janelle Baranowski — November 6, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
Here’s what Barbara Bergman just wrote to me:
The board of Commissioner held two separate hearings on this millage. It is within Michigan State Law to levy this tax. It will raise $600,000 for economic development activities across this county.
Since our General Fund revenues (ie tax base) has diminished by $17 million over the last year, we need to generate revenues, especially those which will augment county income. We are no longer able to fund many needed human services and further cuts are on the horizon. Without economic development and support of our agricultural industry, our county will be able to do less and less for its citizens.
I will not vote to rescind this needed tax. The amount to collected does not equate with the school millage request.
Thank you for communicating your concerns to me.
Barbara L. Bergman
Comment by digs — November 9, 2009 @ 2:50 pm