Interest find on township consolidations

[meadefamily]

[meadefamily]

Thank you Andy...That helps understand.

Edited to remove question, Andy answered it above.

Kathe

[meadefamily]

Ken,

I am not sure that would have helped, as if they were on the board that would have been a conflict...Maybe you should move some of those cots down past the four corners. If the consolidation passes and the taxes go up as I am afraid they will, we may all need them down here, as we won't be able to afford our homes!

Kathe

[Andy's Grooming Barn]

Kathe-
From what I can see is there is no true advantage, you would be paying higher taxes to have a say so that is already being done for what it is worth, St. james people are already on the board speaking on the behalf of the people but there are guidelines etc. to follow both with BITA and BIBCO so you would be limited it isn't like they can just say lower shipping and ticket cost....just doesn't work that way.

BIBCO/BITA isn't like with the transfer station that mileage is paid to it and the financial decisions are made by the boards. No township money is involved with BIBCO/BITA and the state has guidelines on the BITA board that have to be followed, St. James doesn't get to appoint members to the BIBCO board so you still have no say so to that area at all, they are privately owned by stockholders if people want say so in BIBCO then buy stock.

Again I am explaining this the best I understand it as it is confusing but I see no advantage to be a part of BITA, defiantly not a tax increase to be a part of that in my opinion.

[islandliving]

We have heard a few times from Carol that consolidation will eliminate nepotism? Is that a fact of consolidation? Brad Grassmick stated once that the Islands future lies in the hands of few family and friends. So consolidation will fix this? I know an easier way, itâ??s called an election.

John McCafferty

[Wkohls]

Please see https://wkohls.wixsite.com/consolidationinfo for fully-documented facts relating to the impact of township consolidation on property taxes. Many thanks to Jack Gallagher for his help!

[Mojave Bob]

Bill --

Thanks for crunching the numbers. It is very helpful to see it in actual numbers. Based on what you have presented, it would be expected that the consolidation is likely to be more popular in St James than in Peaine.

The taxes on the island are not cheap. But, when I bought my property, I investigated what the taxes were, and I decided I could live with it. When we had a millage vote for EMS last year, I was pleased to see it pass (I have no vote), because EMS is good for the island, and who knows - someone I love may need it someday. I support the millage for the school, although I have no school-age children or grandchildren who will ever benefit directly from it. But, the school is the life-blood of the community. If we lose it, we lose the island.

So, you see, I am not heavily motivated by the idea of lowering taxes. Taxes serve a purpose, and I will always support paying for what is worthwhile. So ... What I am about to ask is not intended to incite a riot - it is an honest question. Considering that the St James economic/business "engine" supports the material needs of Peaine, is a leveling of the tax levy inappropriate? Yes, Peaine pays a lower levy now, but should they? Is there a valid reason why it should be so? Again, please do not flame me - I am just asking a reasonable question, seeking a reasonable answer.

[Wkohls]

Bob . . .

Thanks for your post. Before I continue, I would respectfully ask that you share your identity. Others may view your posts with more credibility if you choose to do so.

In my initial post, I noted that . . .

If we were staring with a â??clean sheet of paper,â?￾ itâ??s unlikely that anyone would design our current structure comprised of two townships and, at least to my knowledge, no one believes that two townships are theoretically superior to one township.

The question before the voters, however, is much more complicated. Concisely stated, the questions is . . . do the net tangible benefits of consolidation justify the consequential expenditures that will be required to complete the consolidation?


I hope that you will now agree that . . .

Many of the so-called â??benefitsâ?￾ of consolidation could be more easily achieved by other means.

Merely shifting financial burdens or benefits among Islanders does not make the Island better off.

Peaine taxpayers would face higher tax levies and its voters would cede significant control in the event of consolidation; itâ??s difficult to see what they would get in return.

It now appears that the pro-consolidation folks may have an agenda relating to the airport as well as some sort of vision for a wellness center possibly supported by tax dollars.


In your post, you state that â??the St James economic/business "engine" supports the material needs of Peaineâ?￾ and ask, â??is a leveling of the tax levy inappropriate?â?￾

My initial thoughts follow for your consideration . . .

There are a number of businesses located in Peaine Township that are vital to the Islandâ??s wellbeing, including Island Airways and Island Energies (a.k.a., the Station.)

I could argue that the St. James economic/business engine is dependent upon the Peaineâ??s property owners.

As I noted in an earlier post, until recently, Peaine paid a lower millage rate for EMS. That was resolved amicably between the townships. If there are other items to be discussed, by all means, letâ??s have the discussion.

I am sure that I will have additional thoughts to share in the comings day. But I wanted to respond in a prompt manner.

[tkludt]

Bill,nice work and thanks for putting some facts to this subject. I have to admit I was surprised that a petition for this was circulated apparently amongst a chosen few. So much for being inclusive on the island.

Now all we hear is crickets. What a pleasant sound.

[meadefamily]

I am pleased to see that Bill and Jack Gallagher worked on this together and did such a fine job of providing facts.

The calm is refreshing. Now if we can just get people to use their real names...

Kathe Meade

[islandliving]

The calm is probably created by diligent work being done to come up with a reason of why consoldidation is a great idea!! Since our â??Leaderâ?￾ and several other citizens have come up with some pretty good reasons why it is not. Actually excellent reasons!! Thank you all.

John McCafferty.

[megsing3]

It is not calm, it is consideration and reading new information - and looking at a whole bunch of new ovals and arrows.

It is noticeable that the new anti consolidation posts are spread within a day over many new threads. It is a normal and often very productive practice used to exhaust and confuse the electorate. Perhaps that is not the intention but it IS often the technique used to produce encouragement of the status quo and eliminate revolution.

So, in the late 80â??s there was a discussion of similar topic. Letâ??s say 1988? IF I read the multiple threads correctly, part of the purpose was to illuminate the the tendency of history repeating itself. The decision was made then not to consolidate... Thatâ??s fine, but when I was 5 or 6 years old I pretty much only cared about looking at the new toy museum and running down mount pisgah.
Within 30 years our world has shifted, and grown. What was the world, the island like 30 years prior, in 1958? 1928?
Making the same decisions is not an argument for remaining a divided community.

Think of...
Finances, representation, responsibility, accountability. Fairness, economy, sustainability, environment.

[meadefamily]

Meg

I would think the website was added in a comment on the threads so people who were following certain ones would be aware of the information.

As far as several threads, I am not sure that is the case. A few who wanted to voice thier thoughts created thier own thread. This particular thread is very long and difficult to follow.

Kathe

[Andy's Grooming Barn]

Meg,
I am sorry that you took it that way about how the website was put on the forum, Kathe is correct, it was intended to try and get the information out to everyone no matter which one of the threads they were reading about consolidation. There was no manipulation intended if you look at the website there was a lot of time and work put into just facts and figures as people have been asking for.

If you feel differently you are welcome to gather your own facts and put them out there, I truly think for the voters to be able to make the best decision for the island they need to see all sides of the issue. If people are civil to each other, use their own names and present facts I think the forum is a great place to get the information out to the pubic.

I personally will only place my vote on FACTS.

[islandliving]

I think people would be happy the website was placed to the public in anyway possible. I hope the information is made possible and adverstised in way more places than the forum. People need to start reading the facts of consolidation instead of fairly tale stories of days gone by.

John McCafferty