| Today's Feature
Allen Building Sale Considered.
The City Council is scheduled
to hear the first reading of Council bill 02-33
this evening which would authorize the sale of
the property commonly referred to as the Allen
Building located just off the square on Third
Street.
A proposal by Mariposa Ranches,
owned by Dr. and Mrs. Bob Carter, has been
recommended by the Public Works Committee. The
sale price of the property would be $101 and
would include a commitment by the purchaser to
renovate the structure within about 18 months.
According to the recommended
proposal, the renovations would include a
complete restoration that would encompass the
interior and the facade. New windows, sidewalks,
and appropriate trim would also be included.
The City purchased the property
from Mr. Allen for $10,000 after a long period of
negotiations concerning the condition of the
structure. It was eventually condemned by the
City Engineering Department.
The City Council meets at City
Hall on the second and fourth Tuesday of each
month. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m.
Missourians
Fighting For ‘Real’ Property Tax
Reform.
by Steve Hunter (R-Dist.
127)
For the past eight weeks,
volunteers for Missourians For Real Tax Reform
worked relentlessly throughout the state in order
to collect enough signatures to force a statewide
vote on an initiative that would cap property
taxes for the state’s senior citizens and
limit the rate of growth for other Missouri
homeowners. While the group fell just short of
its goal, organizers said the effort to get
meaningful tax reform in the state of Missouri is
far from finished.
The group collected almost
100,000 signatures in eight weeks. Nearly 127,000
signatures were required statewide by May 5 to
place the proposed initiative on the November
2002 ballot.
"Time was our only
enemy," said Missouri Rep. Steve Hunter
(R-Dist. 127). "By the time we got the
petition back from the Auditor’s office and
the Attorney General’s office, we only had
eight weeks to gather signatures. It is nearly
impossible to collect that amount of signatures
in such a short time but we almost did it. There
were so many people who worked extremely hard to
get this task completed in time. I am so grateful
for all of the time and work that the volunteers
devoted to this important issue. The dedication
and efforts of the volunteers who stepped up to
help with this petition demonstrates that this
issue is a top priority for Missourians."
"This is only the
beginning," Hunter said. "The great
thing about the efforts of the initiative
petition drive is that it finally forced
meaningful discussion in the Missouri Legislature
for the first time. The group’s efforts are
important because this petition is driving change
in Jefferson City. This petition finally has
prompted the legislature to action and has opened
the discussion on property tax reform. If we had
not done the initiative petition, we
wouldn’t have gotten anywhere with this.
We’ve had property tax bills in the
legislature for the past five years and they have
never even gotten a committee hearing in the
House or been voted out of a Senate committee
until this year."
Hunter said he will not stop
working on this issue – and Missourians for
Real Tax Reform will continue its efforts as
well.
"We intend to re-file the
ballot language on Nov. 6, 2002, and will work
tirelessly to get this important issue on the
ballot for a statewide vote," said Hunter.
"This is a total grassroots effort. I am
grateful to all of the volunteers who gave their
time and support to this importance cause.
Without them, we would never have been able to
accomplish as much as we did in such a short
time."
The proposed initiative, known
as the Missouri Homestead Preservation Petition,
reads, in part:
"Shall the Missouri
Constitution be amended so that the assessed
value of residential property, excluding new
construction or improvements, shall not increase
during any two-year reassessment period more than
the consumer price index or five percent,
whichever is less, except that the assessed value
of residential property owned by any person age
sixty-five or older who has used such property as
a homestead for five years or more shall not
increase while that person resides on that
property, and all revenue losses by any political
subdivision as a result of these limitations
shall be reimbursed by the state of
Missouri?"
In order to get the proposal on
the November ballot, the initiative petition
required the signatures of 8 percent of the
people who voted in the last statewide election
from six of the state’s nine congressional
districts.
"We are fortunate to live
in a state that allows our citizens the
opportunity to make changes in state laws and the
Missouri Constitution through the petition
process," said Jan Klarich, the group’s
organizer. "This initiative shifts the
burden of proof from the taxpayer to the taxing
authority, where it belongs. It is clear from the
overwhelming response that we received for this
petition effort that we can accomplish the goal
of getting real property tax reform now that the
issue has been forced into the forefront of the
state’s priorities."
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
As you read this, it is
probably already obsolete information. We are in
the next to last week of the legislative Session
and the budget is still first and foremost on
everyone’s mind.
As I mentioned last week, Gov.
Bob Holden announced that actual collections for
the 2002 fiscal year were $250 million short of
the projections. For that reason, he is now
calling for us to dip into the Rainy Day Fund to
fund 2002 projects. We are currently working on
the 2003 budget and he has already been calling
for us to use the Rainy to fund ongoing projects
in that budget.
I know I have written about the
Rainy Day Fund in past columns, but with all that
is going on it is worth mentioning again. In
order to get into the Rainy Day Fund, it takes
two thirds of the House and Senate to agree to go
along with it. That is one of the few scenarios
where republican votes are actually needed to get
something passed. There are currently 75
republicans, 87 democrats, and one vacancy. The
vacancy exists because Gov. Holden refuses to
call a special election for a district where a
republican representative resigned.
It is totally irresponsible for
us to use Rainy Day money to fund ongoing
projects. We have been expanding the budget by $1
BILLION per year for the last ten years.
Unfortunately, much of that
expansion was in starting programs that go on and
on. Very little of it was one time expenditures.
Now Gov. Holden is asking us to pull money out of
a reserve fund that was set up for emergencies to
pay for these programs. Further, he is saying
that if we don’t go along with it, we are
being irresponsible.
I am having a really hard time
understanding this logic. If we use savings to
pay for programs that go on and on, how do we pay
for them in the following years? Add to that the
fact that if we use money out of the Rainy Day
Fund this year, we have to pay it back within
three years with interest. That means that in
future years we still have the programs to pay
for plus we now have to come up with the money to
pay back the Rainy Day fund. That puts us in the
hole double to start the new fiscal year. Sure,
it would be very easy to use reserve money to put
a quick fix on a problem this year, but to do
that and put the next General Assembly behind the
fiscal eight ball for next year would be one of
the most fiscally irresponsible things we could
do.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101 or 1-800-878-7126 or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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