The Development of Authority, Part Two: Funding and Function

[XLFD]

MONEY FROM THE PEOPLE:

The Ludington DDA sometime along the way did what was in their power to do; levy 2 mills in taxes. From a 2008 article about Ada, Michigan creating a DDA: "The ability to levy a tax of up to 2 mills is possible, but seldom used, said Township Planner Jim Ferro. "It is common for there to be some concern about a new tax," he said, "but in all of Kent County - and there are more than a dozen of them (DDAs) - none have used the authority to levy property tax."

And when Grosse Pointe considered one: "Residents voiced concerns that one funding option for a DDA was the levy of a millage within the district. The levy could not exceed 2 mills and only could be approved by a DDA board and city council. "There is definitely a concern about a 2 mill tax increase, but since the DDA board will be (mostly, if not all) comprised of merchants, that's not going to happen," John Denomme said.

In 1984, this may have been what our DDA planners thought. What they say is true, a DDA can raise your taxes by 2 mills without any form of public vote. In the last two years, the DDA and its ex-officio members have fought against tax rollbacks successfully with the city council, and kept this rate, even while our cities property values head south. No private individual or business came forward to support keeping that rate in the truth-in-taxation hearings.

 

Vocal disagreement in the city council meeting in 2009 by business-owner David Stratton, Best Choice Market, 222 W. Ludington Ave., stated that other than snow removal on the sidewalks he did not believe he gets anything for the taxes that he is paying and he did not believe he was getting anything for his DDA tax money. Councilor Engblade was the only vote against raising the millage this year, while Councilor Holman was the lone dissenter in 2009.

Nearly $50,000 of tax money each year is used from this source for the DDA.

MONEY FROM OTHER LOCAL PUBLIC BODIES:

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a financing tool that uses future growth in property values in the district to finance downtown improvements. For instance, if the taxable value of a commercial building goes up because of improvements made to it, the taxes resulting from that increased value would be applied to DDA programs and operations.

A TIF is a re-allocation of new tax revenues, not a tax increase. It takes a percentage of money the city and county collects from millage. For example here is the City's TIF projections: 

Schools typically opt out of this capture of their millage to preserve their funding, as can other taxing authorities when the DDA is created. Most don't. Using the above chart, we can find out how much they were projected to get this year. You need only multiply the annual totals by 12% (.12) to see how much TIF the DDA gets. As you can see they received $75,032 this year ($625,268 X .12), and they got $32,135 of that from the city operating millage. You can say they took $2820 from the police pension, $2680 from Senior Citizens, $833 from the County Fire District, $1371 from the District Library, $8586 from WSCC, $2500 from LMTA, and even $8 from Soldier's Relief. Though it isn't a tax increase, it may steal funds from what one may consider more valuable public functions.

DDAs in Michigan can also obtain funds through loans, fundraising, and donations. 

 

WHERE THAT MONEY GOES:

What is done with the $120,000? It varies but here is the itemized city budget prepared for the DDA last year and projected into 2012

Without going into specific detail of each of these breakdowns in the DDA budget just yet, this opens up a couple questions:

 

1)  Administrative Costs are defined as "Expense incurred in controlling and directing an organization, but not directly identifiable with financing, marketing, or production operations. Salaries of senior executives and costs of general services (such as accounting, contracting, and industrial relations) fall under this heading. Administrative costs are related to the organization as a whole as opposed to expenses related to individual departments.  Between 2009 and 2010 there were no obvious change in the administrative aspects of the DDA.

The current budget records indicate that the Administrative Costs of the Ludington DDA jumped from $10,000 last year (and previous) to $30,000 this year and years henceforth.  The financial records show an outlay of $2500 at the end of each month for this expense, this year, with no explanation other than for 'administrative costs'  (that's a difference of $20,000-- where have we heard that number before-- eliminating lifeguards, raising City Attorneys salary, tax increase levied on Longfellow Towers all happened this year.  Any relation?)

 

What is the meaning of this dramatic raise (tripling) of administrative fees?  This question was asked and has been ignored by DDA executive Heather Venzke, and is now the subject of a FOIA Request.

 

2)   There appears to be no capital outlay from DDA's budget for DDA sponsored events like Friday Night Live, Octoberfest, the New Year's Eve Ball Drop, et. al., from this budgets disclosures.  State law requires that monthly DDA expense records need to be made available to the public.  I FOIA'ed those records, and even though the Ludington DDA had no monthly expense records per se, they did have their annual financial reports available which revealed some interesting data about how the money is being used.   And what are some of these expenses in the budget actually refer to? 

(stay tuned for The Development of Authority, Part 3:  Under the Microscope)

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Bottom line is if XL can ever get open books which is the only way one side or the other here gets exonerated. We have drive bys that rather than defend their disagreement with XL with numbers .. They just would rather smear the character of the one asking the questions.

IMHO opinion if they can not add numbers to the discussion, or dispute the numbers turned up that are public record to the debate they are just drive by spammers.

I personally didn't have an opinion formed one way or another until I see the peanut gallery trying to defend simple questions by intimidating the persons asking. Makes me feel there must be something to really look at if I were still a resident.

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

I love the line......" You have not provided any type or form of evidence to back up these allegations. "
Aqua... the posted  public record type fillings for the city of Ludington are just your fabrications I guess. It all just a matter of semantics I guess? If the items didn't show what you feel they show why is there suddenly a little drive by mob forming?

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

"What is sad about this entire situation is that the person who created this website is out for nothing more than to get even with the city of ludington for receiving a ticket that he deserved."

 

What is sad is when a nameless faceless drive by, calls people out by name, and then feigns being offended. When real people call out real people with real paper and real facts. Way to take advantage of an open debate forum.

[XLFD]

What is sad, is that the people who run Ludington have yet to publicly admit the fact that they were guilty of having over a dozen stop and yield signs erected unlawfully beyond the crosswalks, with many not even backed up by Traffic Control Orders.  Including the one I rode my bicycle past through an empty cross street.  Who's neglecting their duties?

[AQUAMAN]

Neglect, nepotism, and negligence are not new ideas to clever foxes at the city level, it's been a long term disease, like an uncontrolled cancer, and spreading, due to apathy at the local citizen level. So, what can we expect?, if sheeple are scared and nervous nellys cause they will have undergone numerous personal attacks to distract attention elsewhere, instead of on the subject of concern. Methinks strong vital nerves have been activated/aggravated, and a sunami is prevalent now. Fasten your life preservers, we're in for a tidal wave of negative drive-by's due to Torchers revealing truths. Right, Disarm?  

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Well damn. I thought he was gone.. and by his own choice no less... The fact he had to answer that little tweak at all, makes me wonder though...

[AQUAMAN]

If anyone here, drive-by or not, has any evidence as to what exactly all the funding at the DDA is going for, explicitly, not just administrative and project costs, please inform us. Maybe X is way off base? And  Cyndi, if you have other material for a thread of more interest and debate, go ahead and post it. Your voice and say is important to all, and you have that freedom to do so anytime you want to. Who knows, your thread may be the best going at any particular time. But Pleeeeeze, don't come on to make unfair undermining criticizms, then make a fake compliment on the exit, it's getting to be Nauseating at best.