Tag: Macomb County (page 2)

Tomorrow, commissioners in Macomb County vote on raising the county millage rate by 9%.

Government employee unions and other proponents of this property tax hike argue that the increase will "only" cost the average Macomb County homeowner an additional $27 per year - "less than a cup of coffee per month".

Okay, let's look at the average Macomb homeowner's recent tax and utility cost increases as "cups of coffee".

A medium cup of plain coffee at Starbucks in Sterling Heights costs $1.75.

The average millage rate in Macomb County is 33.87 mills and the average homeowner with a home worth $154,000 paid $2,608 in property taxes last year.

The .04 mill veterans property tax increase approved by voters in November's election adds $3.25 to the average homeowner's property tax bill this year. That equals almost two cups of coffee.

The new .1 mill zoo tax increase adds $7, or four cups of coffee to a homeowners 2009 property tax bill.

This year's Proposal A inflationary increase of 4.4% will add another $105.60 to an average homeowner's bill. Another 60 cups of coffee.

Property taxes are only part of the average homeowner's woes. Other government agencies also increased costs and fees. For example:

Well, here's where we see if the prognosticators made the right call regarding the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.

Tune in after the break...

While the county's largest employer, GM, prepares to shed 3,400 more jobs in May and also cut the salaries of all its workers as well, the Democrats running Macomb County just keep screaming "Give Us More, Give Us More, Give Us More."

Read On...

Yeah, I said NINE PERCENT! And I'm not saying that they're "thinking of raising your taxes" or "might raise your taxes". No, they WILL raise your county property tax millage rate from 4.2 mills to 4.5685 mills - about a 9% hike. And they'll be voting on the tax hike later this month.

How insane is it to raise taxes on suffering citizens in the middle of the worst depression in decades? Do Commissioners have any idea how bad things are for citizens right now? Do they care?

Folks, it is time to protest.

Or this one... Michigan Democrats' concept of "solutions" is counterproductive these days, when it isn't outright dangerous

OK, so that first sentence might be a bit more universally embraced, by both Republicans and Democrats, but if the Dems' latest round of "answers" to Michigan's economic woes get around the state there isn't much doubt the second will be gaining a heck of a lot of traction, and soon.

From Michigan Democrats in Congress to their representatives in the state legislature and the Governor's mansion all the way down to local county government, there are ideas being floated today that might not just kill Michigan's economy, they might wind up killing some of us while they're at it.

You know things are getting dangerous when Macomb County Democrats' scheme to increase taxes on local moms and dads by $10 million a year is the least devastating thing on the board.  A $10 million tax hike to fill a $10 million budget deficit.  In spite of the fact that Macomb County currently has $30 million in its rainy-day fund!  (Hint: Its raining cats and freaking dogs outside, boys and girls.)  The Detroit News reports:

Dennis Cusik wanted an explanation of the county's retirement plan which has, until recently, allowed workers to retire at 50 years old with 20 years of experience.

"I'd just like to ask ... how can you justify giving retirement at 50 years old?" he said. "We're in dire straits here."

Good question.  They can't.  See, these sorts of things, these decisions, they have consequences.  The News reports that since 1980, when County government had five employees for every retiree, they now have 1.2 employees for each.

That leads to some awfully funny math.  And speaking of funny math, there's no place where numbers mean less these days, especially with dollar signs supposedly in front of them, than in the halls of the overwhelmingly Democratic controlled Congress.  

(Now THAT'S what I call a segue.)

Read on...

So what can you do? Take a moment and call or e-mail Macomb County Charter Commissioners and tell them to support equal treatment for all immigrants by advocating English-only services. Here's the contact information for Charter Commission Chairman Jacob Femminineo -- the Boss Tweed, who controls the Democratic super-majority: (586) 954-9500 or jacob.femminineo@macombcountymi.gov

What was suppose to be a routine meeting of the Macomb County Charter Commission turned into a heated evening with Democrats opposing a proposal that would saved taxpayer dollars by mandating that English is the official language of local government.

The proposal was put forth by 21-year-old Commissioner Harry Awdey, one of four Republicans on the 26-member panel responsible for writing a charter of home rule statutes for one of Detroit's largest suburbs.

Democrats have controlled most of the proceedings since the Charter Commission started meeting in December. The super-majority, acting under orders from Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer -- who resides in the county and pushed for the charter process -- even refused a straight-forward request by Republicans to allow one of their members to serve as vice chairman, as the four GOP commissioners represent nearly 50% of Macomb County's land mass.

But the latest controversy caught the attention of newspapers and TV stations in what is otherwise a lightly-attended Charter Commission meeting.

All three Detroit TV news stations were there with cameras rolling, while reporters from the Macomb Daily, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and Michigan Public Radio were also covering Awdey's proposal.

While Democrats accused Republicans of being anti-immigrant, Awdey and supporters of the proposal said it was common-sense because there are too many languages. By providing services in the native language of some immigrants, Macomb County was excluding smaller minorities -- particularly those without a lot of political clout with the county's Democratic machine.

Macomb County Democrats claimed it wasn't patriotic to advocate English-only policies even though it would save cash-strapped taxpayers.

Former State House candidate Dan Tollis spoke during the meeting's public comment portion. He was upset that the Charter Commission's super-majority was unwilling to treat all ethnic groups  the same and noted Macomb County doesn't translate documents or provide services in Italian or Polish despite large numbers of those ethnic groups.