Beaver Island Michigan

Voting blindly without knowing all the facts and potential consequences. Isnâ??t the same as Nancy Pelosi saying â??we need to pass this bill so we can see whatâ??s in itâ?￾.?

Ron -
Point well taken. I think you are also thinking of the recent tax reform bill. No doubt Washington is screwed up but we should not let that cascade down to us.

Pretty naive to think that forcing a merger of two townships without consensus of the Voters is the right thing to do whether itâ??s 1988 or 2018. It will only divide the community. I wish i knew who you were so I could better judge as to whether your opinion is worthwhile. So I have to assume that you probably donâ??t have a clue as to the dynamics of living in a small community and the consequences of doing Township business in this inappropriate manner.

A Tale of Two Friends
by Joe Moore

http://beaverislandnews.com/The%20Tale% ... riends.pdf

Just a historical perspective from 1990 as a beginning.

Good point Ron, anyone that would vote yes at this point would be voting on pure speculations and fantasies that just by combining the townships it will be a miracle fix to Beaver Island. I would like to see a list of all the problems we currently have and how the consolidation will fix them. I personally believe if I could see a list of our current Island problems all could be taken care of without consolidation. The fact we are not seeing anything to support it makes me believe it would be a huge mistake to Beaver Island if this got voted in.

SAVE BEAVER ISLAND!!! VOTE NO ON â??CONSOLIDATIONâ?￾

John McCafferty

Joe, It seems that your concern could be fixed without consolidation. The business of tax collection is complicated. Peaine does levy less millage to collect the same amount of money necessary to contribute the same amount, that St. James is putting into the joint ventures. That has to do with the total Value for tax purposes in each township. As values go up in either townships, the Headley ammendement in Michigan forces the townships to decrease the millage so that no more additional tax dollars are collected than the year before -without a public hearing . A complicated procedure. So mileageâ??s have to be adjusted as values go up. This can mean a different mileage rate for a household and property owners in the different townships. But the original intent was that each township contribute the same amount. The people who bought Deerwood pay $13,500.00 in school taxes, have no vote or children in school. The average taxpayer with a taxable value , of say, $50,000.00 (if your home is your principle residence) pays rougly 850.00 for school taxes. Your Example about two guys drinking beer only holds up if both guys have exactly the same assessed value. Thatâ??s highly unlikely and I think youâ??d be hard pressed to find any such situation. Good try though my friend.

So is it that we all contribute the same it is just Peaine Township has more value than St. James on the assessed value of taxable property?

John McCafferty

Joe - A Tale of Two Friends.

Ron is right . . . there are far easier ways to address this perceived inequity and, if we proceed with consolidation, Peaine taxpayers will also pay for a significant portion of the St. James general fund and road fund expenditures.

Perhaps more importantly, Mr. Moore's argument is entirely dependent upon the definition of "what is fair."

Let's say that Fred's property has a taxable value of $100,000 while the property owned by James has a taxable value of only $50,000. Fred pays considerably more than James, but James may use more of the shared services. Explain how that is equitable?

Or, let's consider the case of seasonal residents who use township services, such as the transfer station, for only a few months a year. Is that equitable?

Collectively, Peaine Township taxpayers pay over $100,000 more for shared services than St. James taxpayers. Mr. Moore doesn't seem to think it's enough.

Joe, I re-read your post on the 2 guys drinking beer. I can relate to that . Even if the guy in Peaine is paying somewhat less, thatâ??s not all bad. Consider that St. James receives more of the benefits. St. James has most of the pavement. In recent years we can get from the parking at the Erin and into the hardware store without an inch of mud on our shoes. We have the sidewalks and sewer system. The fire station, Library, Health Center, Community center stores,bars and restaurants are close by. I think the people in Peaine deserve a little break. They need a drink to calm their nerves after driving 5 to 15 miles on the washboard roads. They need a lot more work done on their cars. Sand and dust are very hard on vehicles, They pay more for fire insurance because they are further from the fire station. They burn a lot more expensive gas to get to their cabins. Do you realize that without the Cabin Owners we do not have any reliable source of income? Without them we may as well pack our bags. The gravel roads are tough. No matter how much you take care of them they can be very wet and muddy or dry and bumpy. They have to drive long distances to get their milk, gas, beer and bread, and mail. Canâ??t store everything. The cost of gas is high on an Island. A long ways to launch your boat and not so great launch sites. The Wagner memorial launch is dangerous if thereâ??s any wind at all. People on the South end of the Island tend to spend a lot less time on the Island but they are paying a lot for 6 weeks use. Amazing they still build, but thank God they do. They generally get less return on their investment than the North end of the Island. It takes the EMS a lot longer to find them , if they do need help. A lot longer to get the fire department there and then no harbor to pump water out of. All the extra water needed has to be trucked to the site. Many of the seasonal roads are not even plowed in the winter. They have many more power outages that can last for hours or days because of all of the overhead lines. They spend a lot of money for backup power equipment and the fuel to run them. They pay more to get their homes built but do not get a return on that. Many people have lost tremendous values in their homes since 2009. I think they deserve a break. And they still love Beaver Island. How about that!

Great post Ron, love all your logic. Keep informing the people great
Info. Beaver Island consolidation???? What a nightmare to even start thinking about.

SAVE BEAVER ISLAND!!!! Vote no on township consolidation !!!!
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

John McCafferty

SAVE BEAVER ISLAND!!! Vote NO ON TOWNSHIP CONSOLIDATION!!!!

NO, NO, NO, !!!!

John McCafferty

Thank God for the vote. Yeah!!!

John McCafferty

Executive Director of the Michigan Townships Association, Larry Merrill, wrote an article in 2012 titled â??Michigan law spells out how consolidation might goâ?￾. This article has legal/educational information. In part the article states:

â??As far as the passage of the consolidation proposal, Merrill said that each township must pass the proposal because one or more townships cannot overrule anotherâ??s wishesâ?¦In other words, if the majority of voters in just one township turns it down, the measure fails.

Merrill noted that the new township would not have to be a charter township based on the new population and that there would not be a need for a reassessment of all properties. He said the cost of consolidation could include attorney fees, he said, but more likely it would take someone who is a municipal finance expert to make the transition.

He said if voters approve the consolidation, â??itâ??s a done deal,â?￾ adding, â??no one knows the answer to any of these [questions.]â?￾ Without answers, he said, it is â??not exactly an informed decisionâ?￾ by voters.

â??Thereâ??s not a mechanism for people to know with any [certainty] what theyâ??re voting for...[Voters will] buy a pig in a poke.â?￾â?￾

It is worth reading and is very short. See link below:

http://www.houghtonlakeresorter.com/new ... ht_go.html