Beaver Island Taxpayer's unfair and unvoted tax

carolburton · Post by **carolburton** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:14 am

Ken
What can we do as tax payers to change this?

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:19 am

Good information. A couple of questions:

When did each township approve the 1% Admin Fee?

Does the fee have to be approved each year at budget time?

Once approved, how is it rescinded by the township for the future?

How many billing cycles has it been collected? (It could be some big money over the years that might be getting used for something else)

Is there some accounting trail showing money collected offset by receipted expenses paid?

The money not spent should show as a balance line item, what is that total?

It seems like nothing but a tax on our taxes.

Where can a concerned citizen get the answers?

One last question, what if a tax payer paid only the tax amount on the bill and held back the 1% Admin Fee until we had further clarification from the township?

Kirk

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 1:45 pm

One percent here, one per mil there is no big deal until you look at your total tax bill. If BI wants to grow and thrive which we all want, people need to look at what non homesteaders are paying in taxes overall. Beaver Island needs to elect fiscally responsible and accountable township officials who will address the tax issue.

Kirk

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 2:01 pm

There's no place like Beaver Island. The remoteness is a big part of its charm. Clean air, starlit skies, little traffic, etc., can't compare it to any other place. It's seclusion and small population translates into less people to divide costs of services amongst. There are critical services for which we need more funding- especially increasing compensation for those who provide life saving services. We need to be able to attract a second paramedic to the island.

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 2:54 pm

Trish -
It's what brought my family to BI 80 years ago this summer and it is why I'm still here. Believe me, I love our Island. I understand both the math and politics regarding living in paradise with no industrial tax base, we pick up the difference.

Kirk

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:27 pm

Trish -
If you are really serious about a second paramedic, and I do agree with your proposal, it would be prudent to explore the possibility of the BIRHC becoming a federally funded rural health center with a full time doctor. The townships could eliminate the millage for the HC and use it to fund a second paramedic.
We don't need more tax revenue for needed services we simply need fiscally minded township boards to direct the money to where the peoples' needs are greatest. I can give you several examples of where big money was spent on the wrong issues for the benefit of a few.

Kirk

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:20 pm

How do we push for the designation? What is the history of past efforts?

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:51 am

Trish -
Will be happy to answer your questions off line and allow this thread to remain a tax issue subject. Check your PM for my e-mail and send me one if you would like more information relative to your questions above.

Kirk

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:00 pm

Ken -
Any update on your Freedom of Information request?

Kirk

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:19 am

I have gone back 20 years on my tax bills and the fee shows going back that far which leads me to assume we are looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars collected without legal authorization.
I have submitted a Freedom of Information request asking the township to provide the exact number of what appears to be legally unapproved/unauthorized dollars collected. I will share the number when I receive it in as much as the public has a right to know.

Kirk

Eric N · Post by **Eric N** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:16 pm

Ken, please bear with me! I am trying to wrap my very limited mental ability around this particular subject. Can you put into layman's terms just exactly what the implications are surrounding this 1% fee not being levied according to the law?

Eric N.

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Mon Aug 11, 2014 9:53 am

I am still attempting to determine the total dollars collected by the township without having the resolution authorizing the Administrative Fee on our tax bills. The township declined to provide the figure, referring me to the Charlevoix County Treasurer who has been very cooperative. I find it odd that the township either can't account for the money collected or simply refuses to divulge it. The estimated figure is around $500,000, which to some taxpayers is insignificant based on the obvious lack of interest in these posts or holding the township accountable.
A very real question is how can a "resolution" passed by the township on August 6, 2014, become retroactive back to 1982, the date the resolution was to have been approved in order to lawfully charge the taxpayers? Equally puzzling was that the board felt no obligation to give the public any details or explanation at its August meeting. Boom, just do it! There may well be a very logical explanation for all this but the township is certainly not forth coming with any information, possibly in hope taxpayers will not pursue answers as is usually the case.
A half million dollars may not be a big issue for many on Beaver Island but for fixed income retirees it becomes a matter of affordability to live here. I would also venture to guess it would be big consideration for younger people contemplating moving here.
I do know this tax is not what Beaver Island needs to stimulate the economy or prosper and the township can stop the fee anytime it chooses to do so.
Oh well, life goes on as usual in paradise.

Kirk

BI Pirate · Post by **BI Pirate** » Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:34 pm

Hey, I have a suggestion for you rabble-rousers, become pirates.

I bask in the lap of luxury everyday on a tax free island and that is real prosperity.

It leaves me more coin for my indulgences at DD's Pub and that's my contribution to stimulating the economy over there on the Big Island.

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:59 am

Thanks for the suggestion of becoming a pirate, we'll keep the option open, I feel we might already be there.
I'm not necessarily looking for lower taxes and certainly not fewer service, but simply accountability for the taxes we currently pay, especially the Administrative Fee. This is an imposed tax that amounts to a tax to pay for the cost of the township taxing us. Plus, until I hear otherwise, I do not think there was ever the required resolution by the township to lawfully impose the tax. Has it really cost the township over $500,000, to tax us?????

Kirk

ScottS · Post by **ScottS** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:35 am

$500,000 over 30 years is about $17,000 a year, spread over (guessing) 5,000 taxpayers is about $3 a piece, per year, on average.

That's probably why you're not getting much traction here.