In our financial coffins, that is. Such a quaint yet apropos idiom, eh? Swing that hammer, Gertie!Here in Fort Wayne, I have had numerous posts about all of those taxing "entities" that can levy property tax hikes. If you check the archives, you WILL find them, trust me. Well get ready friends, because here comes another player.
Citilink, the city's public transportation authority is seeking a SIXTY-ONE percent (that 61% - no misprint) INCREASE in it's 2008 property tax levy as a result of several recent Ft. Wayne annexations, including much of Aboite Township (thanks a bunch, folks...lol).
This afternoon (lots of time to prepare your pissing and moaning speeches for all the GOOD they will do), a public hearing will be conducted (I imagine the City-County building will be the venue) to discuss it's budget. This budget calls for a $2.1 MILLION (they just love the sound of that word, don't they?) increase in the amount of (here it comes...hope you're sitting down) PROPERTY TAXES the corporation can collect (someone erroneously still believes that BLOOD can still be had from a TURNIP).
Other city services have increased their operating revenues to provide services to *new* areas (that would be ABOITE), and Citilink officials were told the transportation corporation could as well (love to know "what" other city services they're talking about). Officials were told they were not eligible for such an increase (too many hands already in our pockets?). With past annexations, Citilink had not collected more tax dollars (low man on the totem pole, eh?). Existing residents instead saw a DROP in the taxes they paid to the corporation because more people were contributing (and that drop was taken away by those other 30+ "entities" that all had a slice of OUR pie through INCREASED taxes).
Fort Wayne officials did the SAME thing to raise money to operate government services for Aboite residents. Newly annexed Aboiters paid city taxes for the first time this year (bet THAT was fun for all of you), resulting in an average increase of 57%. So what that means to homeowners (everywhere else but the SOUTH side of Fort Wayne), is that anyone with a home worth $100,000 will pay an ADDITIONAL $32.40 in PROPERTY TAXES to cover Citilink's budget increase. See, our homes down HERE don't come close to "that" magic number of $100K (lucky us...I think).
But wait...there's more....
Because Citilink is appealing several city annexations (back to 2004), controller Dawn Reese advertised an amount HIGH ENOUGH to cover ANY increases the state Department of Government Financing might allow (that was nice of her). She increased the 2007 levy by about 15% (nice round figure), THEN added an additional 5% for annual growth as well as an additional 32% (another nicely arbitrary figure) increase to get the $2.1 MILLION increase.
Without more money, it's difficult to provide service to expanded areas (I don't know...they did OK with Aboite BEFORE all this annexation crap, didn't they?), but with more resources, they can do MORE in that area and around the rest of the city. This additional funding "could" help provide (sounds a bit intangible and ambiguous) better service system-wide with more frequent service and later service. It "could" also help pay for extending the Waynedale route to the new Social Security building off Bluffton Rd.. The money "could" also help offset the loss of federal grant funding that will run out (aw, c'mon...you can beg some dinero from SOME Federal agency...get creative, people).
Officials tend to create a "new" development plan in a few years (when even MORE money will be needed) adding more routes in the Aboite area (that will probably include Columbia City and Harlan by then...the way this city needs to annex). Officials believe (no certainty here) that if the service is more convenient, the ridership will increase (yeah...I want to ride with indigent, transient bums and other assorted human flotsam...that makes my ride SO much more enjoyable). But escalating gas prices and more environmentally conscious residents have contributed to an increase of riders in the past years (I guess that would include the people that had their licenses taken away from chronic DUIs as well?) they said. Ridership increased 10 percent last year, which was above the national average of 3 percent.
So I guess all you in Aboite can finally park your Lexus 300s, Mercedes, Lincolns, BMWs and Hummers now. You can take the BUS...and save the globe at the same time.
(pause for hysterical laughter)...
Yeah... I thought as much!
2 comments:
I have never had the "pleasure" of riding any of the city buses. Every once in a while I come up on them when I'm in town. I have to say I've never seen more than one or two people getting on, off or even waiting for the buses.
Am I missing something? Do they even have a need to expand? Perhaps expand their routes (though I doubt Aboite would have many passengers). I can't understand why tax payers are financially responsible for them to expand in the first place. Seems to me that if they ran Citilink better they'd be making their own money, as they should be.
Jen, There's loads of reasons as to "why" a public transportation works (or does not).
We had the PTC in Philly, until SEPTA took over...and then what was once a GOOD urban (and suburban) transit system when down the crapper REAL fast. The first thing we noticed was the prices doubled!
Any public transporation company is only as good as the city in which it operates. Which speaks volumes in this instance.
And it appears as if Citilink is following in the city's footsteps (keep raising the rates wthout raising the quality of the CURRENT service).
That's tossing good money after bad (imho). I've seen it before.
B.G.
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