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Sadly government is mostly about taking YOUR money and giving it to to somebody in government or one of the special interest groups that run government. This article illustrates that perfectly.
Last while Phoenix City Council member Jim Waring is a good guy for writing this article, Jim Waring is usually a bad guy who needs to be booted out of office with the rest of the crooks on the Phoenix City Council.
My Turn: Why is Phoenix using tax money to fight taxpayers? Jim Waring, AZ I See It 4:02 p.m. MST October 11, 2016 The Roosevelt Row Improvement District has been a fiasco. Senior employees were suspended, some citizens’ confidence in fair city procedures have been undermined and now the city is wasting taxpayer money on a lawsuit to fight for the right to raise taxes on district businesses and commercial property owners. A provision in Arizona law created in the early 1980s (and edited for special interests in 1985, ’91, ’98, ’99 and 2002) allows property owners to form a district to tax themselves. The problem: Owners have little say on the tax However, the voting to form a district does not require a majority of voters. There is no ballot. Citizens are notified by registered mail of the district's creation. If they are opposed, they must sign a notarized legal document. If they choose not to go through that burdensome process (or happen to be out of town or otherwise unavailable) they are automatically counted as a yes vote for the property tax. This is unlike any other process in government, and places undue burden on citizens who want to fight the change. With the support of the Arizona Association of Realtors, the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, the Arizona Retailers, Arizona Tax Research Association, the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance and others, the state Legislature and governor passed and signed a bill that changed this outdated law. The bill requires all proposed improvement districts, including the proposed Roosevelt Row Improvement District, to do what all other special tax districts in state law must do: follow a transparent process that includes persuading the majority of property owners to tax themselves for a specified government service. Why rubber-stamp something that conflicted law? Unfortunately, there are some that believe it is acceptable to create a government district in which they do not have to pay a special tax, but should be entitled to tax other businesses for their benefit. The opponents of this legislation now claim the retroactivity clause (that was included to keep all special districts uniform under the law) is “special legislation." However, the same kind of retroactivity clause was included in 2002 in Senate Bill 1429 that made changes to enhanced improvement district statutes to fix a problem with a Scottsdale district. It is unclear why that was not deemed problematic "special legislation,” but it is “special legislation” now. The Phoenix City Council approved creating the district, but not the assessment diagram (basically, the map of the impacted area). Not because a majority of the council wasn’t in favor of creating the taxing district (most were, although four of us voted no), but because citizens and council were not provided an adequate diagram which is required by law for the council to approve. If not for members of the public pointing out this fact and Council members DiCiccio, Gates, Williams and myself asking questions, the council would have rubber stamped a law that did not strictly comply with state law. The message: If you resist, we'll wear you down Is it any wonder some citizens have concerns about city procedure? This bill the city seeks to overturn in its lawsuit doesn’t stop the formation of the Roosevelt Row Improvement District. However, it does require a majority of property owners to agree to be taxed. That is not an unreasonably high bar to reach. In fact, it should be expected. It is disappointing the majority of the Phoenix City Council does not agree, and is spending taxpayer dollars to fight taxpayers. Frankly, the message being sent by City Hall is taxpayer dollars will be spent to wear you down if you resist city desires — even if citizens have a compelling enough argument to get a bill passed at the Legislature – and that is wrong. Councilman Jim Waring represents Phoenix City Council District 2, which encompasses the northeast sections of the city. Follow him on Twitter, @Jim_Waring, on Facebook @WaringJim. |