Great information here. It really helps to answer the question that I have had all along, “How do other communities managed to keep their roads paved without an income tax?” When you consider that the income tax money is only 5% of the overall budget, it seems feasible that by being a bit more fiscally conservative the city could afford to get by without imposing this tax.

By the way, has anyone found a price tag for the elaborate structure on the Maple Street side of City Hall? Or how much more it cost to have brick inlay put at the intersection of Bridge and Maple? I hope that the city received a discount on the brick work, since it was done so horribly off center to Bridge Street. In all seriousness, how did these things find their way into the project in the first place? The architect decided to put them in? The council directed the architect to put them in?

It is the kind of expenditures that Tom references and that I mention above which make me question the need for the income tax.

Scott

Great forum ! It’s great to see people get involved. Like many other concerned citizens, I am very concerned as to the direction Portland is heading. I recently wrote a letter which I have received a lot of positive feedback on. For those of you that did not get a chance to read it, here it is!

I was not able to attend the last City Council meeting due to a conflict in my schedule. However I will be at the next meeting and I look forward to meeting you. I have decided to run for City Council and I would appreciate any support you can give. I feel the time is now for change in Portland and I have decided to try and step up and make that change for the better. I hope you and your readers of this forum will also continue to stride to make a difference.

Jim Andros

City income tax is a waste of money (by Jim Andros, Portland)

Did you know that Portland is one of 22 cities in the entire state of Michigan which has a city income tax and requires its citizens to pay 1 percent of their income and fork it over to the city? That’s right, you give 1 percent of your check to the City of Portland and only 21 other cities in the entire state do this.

In 1981 the then city council deceived voters into voting for this scam. They advised the voters if they passed the city income tax, all money would go towards improving city streets. They also advised the voters the city income tax would only be imposed for 10 years. Here we are in 2007 and Portland still imposes a city income tax on its citizens. As most of our state suffers through a difficult economic time, Portland continues to spend. Portland Public Schools does not have money for new roofs. The State of Michigan is over $800 million in debt this upcoming year and cuts are being made everywhere, but Portland just spent $1 million on a sidewalk barely one block long and just purchased several acres of land (outside the city limits) with your money.

What the average taxpayer may not know is that most cities use the property tax and gas tax money towards road improvements. Why doesn’t Portland? Where are our property tax and gas tax funds going that is supposed to be used for road improvements? Why can the majority of the other cities in the state budget their money for road improvements without imposing a city income tax on its citizens but Portland cannot? I do not know about you, but I do not see too many orange barrels in my neighborhood for road improvement. It’s time to stop spending. Stop making citizens pay this city income tax. If this city income tax is such a necessity, who do only 21 other cities in the entire state have such a tax? I’ll tell you why, because it’s a scam.

Have you every wondered by Portland has not opened any new businesses since 1981? Why would any new business want to open in Portland and have to pay so much in taxes when they can open the factory down the road in a city which does not have a city income tax. It is a shame because Portland would be an ideal spot for such new businesses due to its location. Therefore the city income tax may be costing you an opportunity at new jobs with higher wages and better benefits.

Portland labels itself as a “cool city”. Well I do not see anything “cool” about deceiving your citizens and wasting their money.

“He [Mr. Dempsey] stated one of the reasons discussed for purchasing the property was because in an Agricultural Zoning District in Danby Township the proposed uses for this property was for mini storage or a truck terminal. He stated we did not feel those were uses we wanted to see at the City’s front door. He stated we also felt there was no way we could control the zoning of the property because the zoning is up to Danby Township. He said, “If you want to control the outcome of the property the way to achieve it is to simply purchase it”.

First of all, the Township does not propose what to put on property, rather certain uses are allowed. And, contrary to what Mr. Dempsey would like the general public to believe, the statement that the “proposed uses for this property was for mini storage or a truck terminal” are absolutely FALSE. That property was zoned Agricultural. However, the only ALLOWED uses for it would have been: Anything related to farming operations (including crop farming, greenhouses, etc.), single family homes, State licensed residential care facilities, churches, roadside stands or a public park, playground, or recreational area.

Despite what Mr. Dempsey wants you to believe, any other use would have required a special use permit and would have had to come before the Planning Commission and a public hearing. This information was, and is, readily available in our Zoning Ordinances which are on the Danby Township website (www.danbytwp.org). I find it hard to believe that an educated lawyer would not have even attempted to obtain this information. After all, I am only a high school graduate and I found the information on my own. Obviously, he either didn’t attempt to obtain the correct information or he purposely misrepresented the facts. Either way, should a man like that be in a position of managing ANY city let alone Portland? I guess that is a question better put to the City residents and not me.

Ask yourself a couple questions. And be honest. Would the Mayor have answered Mr. Frazee like this, if there were other people or a reporter present? Did Mr. Frazee deserve an honest and open answer, the same as every resident of Portland deserves when they ask an elected official who represents him? Was Mr. Frazee’s question somehow out-of-line or insulting?

Why does the Mayor refuse to answer his questions?

Or, does the Mayor now understand just how poor a decision it was to gamble with $1.2 million dollars of taxpayer money? Maybe he just doesn’t want to admit to the public what the consequences might be if the detachment is successful.