Ludington Welcomes New Owners of Longfellow Towers by Tripling City Taxes for Them

[XLFD]

On Saturday, the LDN reported that the new owners of Longfellow Towers — which may experience a name change to Arbors of Ludington — may pay about $20,000 a year more for city services soon.

 

Since opening its doors in Ludington during the 1970s, the apartment building’s owner has made payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) to local governments based on rents collected instead of paying on the building’s value, said City Manager John Shay.

 

“We provide the whole range of municipal services and that (PILT) has not really gone up in several years, and the cost of providing services has gone up,” he said.

 

The owner of Longfellow Towers is currently United Church Homes of Ludington, which Shay said pays 4 percent of its rents to the city as PILT. 

 

The city council, Shay said, will consider extending the 4-percent PILT payments — which brings about $10,300 a year to the city — while adding a $20,750-a-year municipal services fee.

 

 

Who will bear the burden of this tax increase?  The new company?  Guess again.  The fixed-income elderly women and men who live in this structure will likely find their rents and fees increasing and/or their services reduced to regain the money lost to our inefficient local government. 

 

Our local property values and wages continue to go down, our local taxes and fees continue to go up. Is this rational?

 

[Mary A.]

I guess the city has chosen Option A -raise taxes, rather than Option B - live within its means. It's not just going on in Ludington, though. Where I live, they're using scare tactics to try to get people to vote for millage increases.

[XLFD]

What are conditions like in your neck of the woods, Mary? Is it typical of Michigan? Are they threatening cutting back needed services for these increases?

[Mary A.]

Oh, yes, and they're going for the jugular - police, fire, parks and rec, libraries. They're insinuating that you won't be safe in your home. Many taxpayers aren't buying it, though. The residents of Troy just voted down a 1.3 mil increase for 10 years (I think those numbers are correct). So many people in Southeast Michigan have lost their jobs and have upside down mortgages on their homes. Home values have decreased 30-40% and more. There's a growing discontent with cities and school districts that refuse to suck it up and live within their means like the rest of us have to do.

[XLFD]

Hopefully, the city will decide to live within their means, for if they only take into account their own self-serving interests, they may face the people's backlash in a worse way than a failed millage vote. Is this common in most cities in SE Michigan, what you describe?

[Mary A.]

I can't say at this point. I think it's only just beginning. A couple of towns sneaked millage votes in this week, hoping people would not show up at the polls to vote against. One more affluent town actually voted in favor of their millage proposal; people with means seem to be unaware of the troubles around them. I will be voting on (against) an additional 1.9 mills for 10 years in the November election.

City and county governments are struggling. Suggested solutions include small towns combining services like police, fire and dispatch, and renegotiating benefits and employment/retirement contracts.

Until the housing market turns around down here and until people find jobs, things won't improve.

[masonco]

And those increases will go to the poor tennants...

Eventually they will have less help there because staffing will be too costly. How long will it take to eject the ones on subsidy (most of them are) and get full paying people in?

[XLFD]

And I think the United Church Homes of Ludington who currently runs the Towers have done a good, conscientious job of providing for its tenants. Will the new owners be as good? Will they be as involved? One can only hope at this time.

[Edie Lindsey]

X, this thread and your last one on the RSO-Landlord ordinance just goes to show you that the city has little regard for the landlords of Ludington. Ludington landlords, like landlords for most areas, are not a tight-knit bunch, and you will see little outrage until the jackbooted thugs from the assessor's office come knocking on their door in the middle of the night. Sorry, just had to throw in an obligatory nazi refererence.

[AQUAMAN]

Few here know, but I have living proof, through a balance sheet of the CIty of Lud., that there is about $7Million in savings/investments of cd's in the city coffers today. Just sitting there dormant, for a better municipal rating with the State. Not being spent for anything. Overtaxed funds that should be returned to institutions in tax relief like this, and all residents of the City, imho.

[XLFD]

Tax relief is definitely needed. You never hear the reason why the city needs to have such a surplus of the peoples money in their coffers. You hear almost all fees in the city being raised. You hear water bills going up 19% and sewer bills up 8%. You hear them tripling what they charge a bunch of fixed income folks for the privilege of living in this city.

Mr. Shay, you've been getting less tax money because the people of this fine city are losing the value of their homes, and losing their jobs or getting wage cuts. You have no problem advocating tax abatements for our businesses, why don't you give the folks a break, for once?

[AQUAMAN]

It's not only up to Shay, but the budget committee, and they must ALL KNOW the surplus there for the CITIZENS, it's NOT THEIR MONEY afterall, or is it? I thought it was taxpayers moneys! Well, if taxpayers don't protest in this instance, then who will? The gophers living over at the golf/gold courses?

[Mary A.]

They're also targeting those of us who live out of town (non-homesteaders), raising the taxable value of our properties. At least that's what happened to me last year. How do you justify that in this economy? I'm still awaiting my assessment for this year, but I'm not holding my breath. Retirement is becoming more a dream and less a reality at this point. All my hard work for nothing!