July 16, 2007
PILOTS, POLITICS AND PROPERTY TAXES
The local politicians talk about the need to give PILOTS (payments in lieu of taxes) in order to attract businesses to Memphis and Shelby County. Well the 2006 figures are out and here are the results county by county. You can look for your self at the following state website. Shelby County is #79, Davidson County (Nashville) is # 19, Knox County (Knoxville) is # 47 and Hamilton County is #17. Go to
Click here to go to the list of PILOTS for every county in Tennessee for the year 2006
I have also attached a pdf file for Shelby County itself. Read the names of those that are getting the pilots.
Click here to see who and how much contributors to local politicians are getting in tax abatements, aka PILOTS
All the Tennessee counties’ property tax rates can be seen at the following website.
Click here to see the property tax rates for all the cities and counties in Tennessee
• Shelby County $4.09 Memphis and Shelby Cty $7.4732
• Davidson County $4.04 Nashville and Davidson Cty $4.69
• Knox County $2.69 Knoxville and Knox Cty $5.50
• Hamilton County $2.69 Chattanooga and Hamilton $5.096
• Tipton County $2.85 Covington and Tipton Cty $3.95
• Fayette County $1.74 Piperton and Fayette Cty $2.22
In 2006 Memphis and Shelby County gave $48 million dollars in tax abatements to various companies. Study the list and see the connection between those who contribute to local politicians and those that are getting the tax abatements. Who picks up the slack? You guessed it, the homeowners who are paying the highest tax rate in Tennessee. Davidson County gave $6 million in pilots, Knox county $1 million and Hamilton County $17 million.
What we need to do. We need to drain the swamp and cut the patronage jobs, cut the no bid contracts, cut the professional contracts that the Mayor gives and generally cut the fat so that more money is available to lower property taxes and do the things that the tax payers really want, a lower crime rate, better educational performance, cleaner streets, better job opportunities and open and transparent government.
Here is what I recommend.
Give the voters a chance to vote on changes in the City Charter, preferably by City Council ordinance or by the Charter Commission recommendations to do the following.
• A charter section like the Shelby County charter sections which allow citizen generated referendums like the voters used in 1994 to set term limits on County Commissioners.
• An open records charter amendment requiring election commission reports of donations and expenditures to be submitted electronically in spreadsheet format so that they can be entered into a unified database and published for notification and verification of information. All required election commission documents detailing contributors to and expenditures from all local elected officials needs to be put in an electronic data base so that the public can tell who is contributing to whom and how the contributed money is being spent.
• TERM LIMITS- Prevent elected officials from getting the tenure that gives them the position to sell their influence to developers and other buyers of political influence exhibited by Tennessee Waltz and Main Street Sweep.
• NO SALE OF MLGW WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL- Because MLGW is piling up cash at the ratepayers expense, politicians want to get their hands on the cash. As of December 31, 2006, MLGW had $306 million balance in current assets minus current liabilities, up from $277 million in one year. The law says that any surplus remaining after establishment of proper reserves, shall be devoted solely to the reduction of rates. Also the board of MLGW should be expanded to seven or more members to include members from the largest Shelby county cities outside Memphis such as Germantown, Collierville and Bartlett, those members to be appointed by the Mayors of those cities.
• THIGHTEN ETHICS RULES- No election official should be able to serve if he benefits from any contract involving City taxpayer money even if he recuses himself from voting on that particular contract or issue.
• PENSION REFORM- the January 2001 pension change has cost millions of dollars to date and will go on costing millions more as these elected and appointed officials retire. Since hardly any of the taxpaying public who work in private industry has a defined benefit pension plan anymore, a defined contribution plan should be instituted in the future for all newly hired public employees.
• OPEN RECORDS- The following should be put on the internet promptly. All RFPs (Request for Proposals), replies to RFPs, contracts, purchase orders, related correspondence and selection justification. All professional contract awards with related correspondence. All building projects, related contracts, purchase orders, change orders and correspondence e.g. the FedEx Arena and the Cannon Center and school projects. All salaries, benefits, pension details, land deals and minutes of meetings. All budgets, financial statements and audits. Only by making open records access easier, can we keep the sunshine on government practices which politicians like to conceal. The current no bid purchase orders given under the ACS contract shield is an example of gross abuse and lack of transparency in bidding and awarding contracts.
• APPOINTEES- There are over 400 appointees whereas the charter, according to Sara Hall’s reading, only allows about 110. This needs to be defined and limited to much less. The January 2001 pension resolution allowing elected and appointed officials to collect pensions and health benefits after only 12 years regardless of age has already cost millions and has the potential to cost $60 million if all of the current eligible elected and appointed people retire under that provision.
• RESTRICT ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM VOTING MEMBERSHIP ON CITY AND COUNTY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS- This is where the influence peddling starts and needs to be stopped.
• CONTRACTING AUTHORITY- Prohibit the Mayor, any Mayor, from signing any contract unless it has been approved and funded by the City Council.
• Reinstate a separate non political Park Commission as it was previously constituted before the City Council dissolved it to its detriment.
This can be done and passed if only the new City Council or the Charter Commission has the courage and resolve to propose it for the voters. If we can elect people to the City Council who have the taxpayers interest at heart rather than their own self interest, they may be forced to put these items on the ballot and let the voters decide.
PILOTS, POLITICS AND PROPERTY TAXES
The local politicians talk about the need to give PILOTS (payments in lieu of taxes) in order to attract businesses to Memphis and Shelby County. Well the 2006 figures are out and here are the results county by county. You can look for your self at the following state website. Shelby County is #79, Davidson County (Nashville) is # 19, Knox County (Knoxville) is # 47 and Hamilton County is #17. Go to
Click here to go to the list of PILOTS for every county in Tennessee for the year 2006
I have also attached a pdf file for Shelby County itself. Read the names of those that are getting the pilots.
Click here to see who and how much contributors to local politicians are getting in tax abatements, aka PILOTS
All the Tennessee counties’ property tax rates can be seen at the following website.
Click here to see the property tax rates for all the cities and counties in Tennessee
• Shelby County $4.09 Memphis and Shelby Cty $7.4732
• Davidson County $4.04 Nashville and Davidson Cty $4.69
• Knox County $2.69 Knoxville and Knox Cty $5.50
• Hamilton County $2.69 Chattanooga and Hamilton $5.096
• Tipton County $2.85 Covington and Tipton Cty $3.95
• Fayette County $1.74 Piperton and Fayette Cty $2.22
In 2006 Memphis and Shelby County gave $48 million dollars in tax abatements to various companies. Study the list and see the connection between those who contribute to local politicians and those that are getting the tax abatements. Who picks up the slack? You guessed it, the homeowners who are paying the highest tax rate in Tennessee. Davidson County gave $6 million in pilots, Knox county $1 million and Hamilton County $17 million.
What we need to do. We need to drain the swamp and cut the patronage jobs, cut the no bid contracts, cut the professional contracts that the Mayor gives and generally cut the fat so that more money is available to lower property taxes and do the things that the tax payers really want, a lower crime rate, better educational performance, cleaner streets, better job opportunities and open and transparent government.
Here is what I recommend.
Give the voters a chance to vote on changes in the City Charter, preferably by City Council ordinance or by the Charter Commission recommendations to do the following.
• A charter section like the Shelby County charter sections which allow citizen generated referendums like the voters used in 1994 to set term limits on County Commissioners.
• An open records charter amendment requiring election commission reports of donations and expenditures to be submitted electronically in spreadsheet format so that they can be entered into a unified database and published for notification and verification of information. All required election commission documents detailing contributors to and expenditures from all local elected officials needs to be put in an electronic data base so that the public can tell who is contributing to whom and how the contributed money is being spent.
• TERM LIMITS- Prevent elected officials from getting the tenure that gives them the position to sell their influence to developers and other buyers of political influence exhibited by Tennessee Waltz and Main Street Sweep.
• NO SALE OF MLGW WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL- Because MLGW is piling up cash at the ratepayers expense, politicians want to get their hands on the cash. As of December 31, 2006, MLGW had $306 million balance in current assets minus current liabilities, up from $277 million in one year. The law says that any surplus remaining after establishment of proper reserves, shall be devoted solely to the reduction of rates. Also the board of MLGW should be expanded to seven or more members to include members from the largest Shelby county cities outside Memphis such as Germantown, Collierville and Bartlett, those members to be appointed by the Mayors of those cities.
• THIGHTEN ETHICS RULES- No election official should be able to serve if he benefits from any contract involving City taxpayer money even if he recuses himself from voting on that particular contract or issue.
• PENSION REFORM- the January 2001 pension change has cost millions of dollars to date and will go on costing millions more as these elected and appointed officials retire. Since hardly any of the taxpaying public who work in private industry has a defined benefit pension plan anymore, a defined contribution plan should be instituted in the future for all newly hired public employees.
• OPEN RECORDS- The following should be put on the internet promptly. All RFPs (Request for Proposals), replies to RFPs, contracts, purchase orders, related correspondence and selection justification. All professional contract awards with related correspondence. All building projects, related contracts, purchase orders, change orders and correspondence e.g. the FedEx Arena and the Cannon Center and school projects. All salaries, benefits, pension details, land deals and minutes of meetings. All budgets, financial statements and audits. Only by making open records access easier, can we keep the sunshine on government practices which politicians like to conceal. The current no bid purchase orders given under the ACS contract shield is an example of gross abuse and lack of transparency in bidding and awarding contracts.
• APPOINTEES- There are over 400 appointees whereas the charter, according to Sara Hall’s reading, only allows about 110. This needs to be defined and limited to much less. The January 2001 pension resolution allowing elected and appointed officials to collect pensions and health benefits after only 12 years regardless of age has already cost millions and has the potential to cost $60 million if all of the current eligible elected and appointed people retire under that provision.
• RESTRICT ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM VOTING MEMBERSHIP ON CITY AND COUNTY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS- This is where the influence peddling starts and needs to be stopped.
• CONTRACTING AUTHORITY- Prohibit the Mayor, any Mayor, from signing any contract unless it has been approved and funded by the City Council.
• Reinstate a separate non political Park Commission as it was previously constituted before the City Council dissolved it to its detriment.
This can be done and passed if only the new City Council or the Charter Commission has the courage and resolve to propose it for the voters. If we can elect people to the City Council who have the taxpayers interest at heart rather than their own self interest, they may be forced to put these items on the ballot and let the voters decide.
posted by watchdog at
2:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home