By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall, A Populist
SOCIALISM: “A system of society or group living in which there is no private property.” “A system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.”…Merriam-Webster Dictionary
We read with great interest the News-Herald article written by Bill Debus titled “Trustees support LCTA letter”. Here is the article:
We call to your attention the following excerpts of the article:
“Property taxes reform will focus on generation of similar amounts through other taxing methods, the association stated.”
“This will increase the burden on income, sales or other taxes currently paid by taxpayers in Ohio,” l the association stated.”
“The last 20 years have seen tax reform at the state level, which has reduced funding for local government, resulting in an increase of local taxes through levies approved by voters to maintain necessary levels of service…”
We will address the quotes in the article one by one:
Property taxes reform will focus on generation of similar amounts through other taxing methods, the association stated.”
The citizens’ led grassroots movement in Ohio is abolishing the overly complex, deceptive, socialist Ohio property tax system not “reforming” it. We are not advocating replacing the existing tax revenue “dollar for dollar”, but do require that the State follow the Ohio Constitution; and serious efforts must be made to control the spending in this State. We do no have a problem generating revenue in the State, the problem is overspending by a bloated government at the State and local levels.
Another problem is that there are no “checks and balances” at the State or local level that can control the spending by the taxing authorities. This permits massive accumulation of “rainy day” funds, sucking the life blood out of the community. Each County has a Budget Commission comprised of the Auditor, Treasurer, and Prosecutor. In the majority of counties they are merely “rubber stamps” for the taxing authorities. Taxpayers have no advocates.
The State legislators must follow the Ohio Constitution Article VI, Section 2:
“The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state; but no religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.”
The main issue that most people will not touch is the socialists’ inspired school funding. We are not the only citizens that are calling Ohio school funding socialism personified. Listen to State Representative Dan Troy (Democrat for Ohio’s 23rd District) at a recent town hall meeting at the Wickliffe Public Library:
Although the various school unions will vehemently object, school funding in the State is out of control while test results show an overall failing public school system statewide. To continue with ever-increasing school funding and expecting different results is ludicrous. Consolidation of school districts must be seriously considered in order to control costs. Approximately, 65% of a homeowner’s property tax bill is for their local school district. In addition, the State Board of Education must stop their unfunded mandates on local school districts that continue to add layers of bureaucracy and costs to the unsuspecting taxpayers.
Second, the News Herald article stated:
“In addition, the association noted that a reform of how local government is funded must originate in the state legislature.”
We would like to bring to the attention of the citizens that the Ohio Revised Code already provides the Township with the opportunity to collect fees without tying the cost to the value of a taxpayer’s home. The state legislators gave the Townships this funding alternative back in 2011 when Kasich lowered the local government funds.
“A board of township trustees may establish reasonable charges for the use of fire and rescue services, ambulance services, or emergency medical services. The board may establish different charges for township residents and nonresidents, and may, in its discretion, waive all or part of the charge for any resident.”
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-505.84
In the Township form of governance, there are three Trustees elected by the people. However, in reality it only takes two to control the destiny of the people, and they control the Administrator to ensure he follows their directives or lose his/her job. That is a lot of power in the hands of a select few. Power is a very intoxicating elixir!
We have consistently told the Concord Administrator that we will pay for reasonable government services, but do not tie the cost of those services to my home. What does the value of my home have to do with payment for police, roads, parks, libraries, etc.? Fire services could be charged based on the square footage of my home. There is no reason for the government to be in the home valuation business to collect for services. Tens of millions of dollars could be saved throughout the State for the taxpayers if the government got out of the property valuation business.
Police protection, roads, and other services can be paid for in the same manner as fire protection. If it is not clearly stated in the ORC, then state legislators can do their jobs and authorize Townships to also charge fees for the other services. However, rather than the cost relating to home valuation, the fees could be based on other factors, such as, the number of people in the home, miles driven, or a flat fee per car, etc.
Although most government officials abhor it, transparency is a key to good governance. We expect the Townships, and other municipalities, to provide the details on how much the taxpayer is paying for police, fire, roads, parks, recreation, administration, etc. The taxpayer will then be able to determine if the local authorities are being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money by comparing similar costs in other municipalities.
If you look at your property tax bill, you will see that services for your municipality is reported as a lump-sum. We were told by the Lake County Auditor that the details can be provided, but they don’t have the money to change the software that could provide the transparency for the taxpayers. We find that to be a “bit of malarkey” since the Lake County Commissioners just passed a resolution accepting $3.9 million in overpaid property taxes, that the County held for over 30 years, into the County General Fund. LIKE GOOD LITTLE SOCIALISTS THEY DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THE DETAILS!
And lastly, the News-Herald article states:
“The last 20 years have seen tax reform at the state level, which has reduced funding for local government, resulting in an increase of local taxes through levies approved by voters to maintain necessary levels of service…”
We agree that the state legislators and former Governor Kasich reduced the funding to local governments since 2011 necessitating increases in local funding to pay for services. However, we do not agree that the Townships are totally powerless to pay for services by other local means. As we have previously stated, the Ohio Revised Code already allows Township the ability to collect fees.
The size of government, and, therefore, the cost of government services would be drastically reduced with the abolishment of property taxes. These savings should be passed on to the taxpayers. In a meeting with local public officials, we were told that if we do not have property taxes, we do not need a County Auditor or Treasurer. Our response is: “That is a start!”
We have learned that there will be fearmongering sessions held by Concord Township officials. We have to pay them their salaries and benefits so that they can tell everyone that the whole society will collapse if the government cannot continue to price you out of your home with their ever-increasing property taxes.
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.
Another problem with socialism is that officials expect the citizens to accept sub-standard work by government officials.
Allow us to illustrate our point. This is Concord officials’ idea of acceptable road repair. It happens to be in this writer’s neighborhood.
Another example of sub-standard government work is the resurfacing of Ravenna Road in Concord. We suggest that when driving on that road you hold on very tight to the steering wheel since the surface provides a challenge for the driver.
Home ownership is the foundation of our freedom and liberty. It allows families to get out of poverty by transferring wealth from one generation to the the next. Our current property tax system is:
– overly complex, not even legislators understand it
– deceptive by design, legislating around maximum inside millage rules
– subject to manipulation by third parties and the government
– taxing unrealized gains
– pricing people out of their homes that they worked all their lives to achieve
ANY TAX CAUSING A CITIZEN TO BECOME HOMELESS IS IMMORAL!
Categories: Community Activism, Lake, Real Estate Taxes, Uncategorized