A friend dropped off a print out of her property tax increases since 2009 to me yesterday.
Since 2009 she has done little to no improvements to her property. In fact this past year, the city had to tear up her boulevard for water issues and remove a tree due to the icestorm.
Her home has not increased in value since 2009. It is valued at $96,000 by the county.
From 2009-2010 her taxes increased $4
From 2010-2011 her taxes increased $3
From 2011-2012 her taxes increased $70
I suppose the sudden bump has to do with the county & school district opt-outs.
The part that is disconcerting is that while the city is handing out property tax cut incentives to wealthy developers, we are sticking it to the little guy to help pay for the needs of the county, city and school district.
If we feel like we need to continue these kind of increases, fine. But let’s eliminate TIF’s and have a triple approval process with the county and school district.
l3wis. I was wondering as I read this if you could get this person to show his/her water rate increases from 2006 to now. By my latest calculations they have risen 228% since then. It all adds up to a breaking point. I know of a retirement village that reluctantly had to raise its rents the coming year because of just that increase. Maybe $10 to $20 a month increases don’t sound like much, but it is astronomical when on fixed incomes.
Also kind of ironic when at the same time the SNAP program sees decreases, paratransit is thrown under the bus, and so on, and so on . Then we read this on page 1 of the argus
http://m.argusleader.com/topnews/article?a=2013311270035&f=706
And then this in the same paper, same day in the voices section.
http://m.argusleader.com/voices/article?a=2013311270017&f=710
There is a breaking point….and we are on an accelerated pace towards it.
I have often argued that the low unemployment numbers are due to people having 2 or 3 jobs. Of course those numbers will be low. At least half of the people I know have more then one job, and most of not all of my married friends both work full-time.
SD has a 7.8% underemployment rate
http://blog.heartland.org/2013/10/underemployment-in-america/
In 2010 SD had a 10.3% multiple job rate. The highest in the nation that year.
2011 wasn’t much better, we dropped to 9% tying with ND as nation’s highest:
http://madvilletimes.com/2011/10/1-in-10-south-dakotans-work-multiple-jobs/
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/09/art3full.pdf
I am guessing with the economy as it was and the slow recovery for the working man in SD, those numbers haven’t changed much. Especially with skyrocketing healthcare, home foreclosures and more apartment seekers.
Uh Oh…. Is DL starting to see the light????
Walk towards the light Scott and leave liberalism behind you. Rufux and Poly are lost causes, but you may be saved.
HEHE.
Hold it. How does people having multiple jobs lower unemployment stats? A person is either employed or unemployed.
You’ve got to explain that math.
How does people having multiple jobs lower unemployment stats?
Really ljl? We have to explain that one?
Yes Poly you do.
If you have 1 job you are employed. If you have 4 jobs you are employed.
If you have no job you are unemployed.
If you are talking about UNDERemepolyed I can understand your logic, but underemployed is not a factor of the calculated rate.
Employment is not calculated by filled or unfilled positions. It is calculated by the number of people who are currently drawing unemployment benefits.
Example: The national unemployment numbers are reducing, in large part due to percentage of folks have run out of unemployment benefits and now are using disability as a replacement.
EXSCUSE me if my using facts are getting in the way of your hypothesis.
And our taxes go to building 2 new hotels meant to put other EC & Arena hotels out of business. Yet the city does nothing to help the homeless. It breaks the county. We need another soup kitchen serving another thousand meals. Next thing my sultan Mike proposes is golden arches outside city limits at the entrance to his palace. Real gold.
Could be worse.
I hear in Watertown the unemployment is creeping back up to record highs and the new mayor is proposing a new event center, a new aquatics center, a new ice arena, a third fire house and a new police station.
He must be a student of Obama/Huether economics.
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