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Washtenaw County Comm. Ouimet (R) Votes for Tax HikeBy J Baranowski, Section News
cross posted on Some Other Viewpoint
Imagine my surprise when I logged onto annarbor.com Thursday morning and discovered that the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved (or, rather, IMPOSED) a property tax increase. Didn't county citizens vote down additional taxes less than 48 hours before? I thought the people had spoken loudly and clearly, "No More Taxes!" Apparently, the Commissioners didn't get the memo. The meeting was initially expected to result in the approval of the two year budget for 2010-11. Like our lovely Lansing legislators, the Board wasn't able to make it happen; budget approval was delayed until November 18. Lucky for taxpayers, they did manage to get a tax hike approved. And they didn't even need taxpayers to do it! Talk about ingenuity!
Tapping an archaic law from 1913 allowed the Board to circumvent voters and approve the millage. A dazzling example of our Board's committment to democracy. Bravo.
Now here's the best part: Republican Mark Ouimet voted Yes. In his defense, he claims it was only a partial 'yes.' Huh?! A partial yes? What beautiful double-speak you have, Mr. Ouimet. "The reason I voted for essentially the MSU Extension, the horticulture program, the agricultural program and the Food Systems Economic Partnership is, because it's such a small part of the budget, my concern is that would continue to get lost," says Mr. Ouimet. Which makes me curious- how much extra spending did you vote for beyond these programs? Let's see...
*$200,000 for Ann Arbor SPARK. Since Mr. Ouimet didn't mention the 4-H portion, I can't be sure whether he approved $487K or $546K in extra spending, in order to approve funds amounting to either $116K or $57K. So, Mr. Ouimet, your justification for voting yes amounted to 19.2% or 9.5% of the total amount approved.
Mr. Ouimet, justify your vote until the cows come home. But I'm not buying what you're selling.
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Washtenaw County Comm. Ouimet (R) Votes for Tax Hike | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 hidden)
Washtenaw County Comm. Ouimet (R) Votes for Tax Hike | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 hidden)
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 Related Links+ Some Other Viewpoint+ property tax increase + archaic law from 1913 + SPARK + Eastern Leaders Group + Also by J Baranowski |
