September 28, 2005
Dear Neighbor,
With fuel prices going through the roof, we are all watching our budgets. Around the country, politicians and citizens are pursuing means to alleviate this burden on families. But here in Wallace Township, a referendum vote has been introduced to raise our local township income taxes by 50%! When we could all use a break and could benefit from keeping as much of our hard earned dollars as possible, a tax raising referendum is being introduced.
The plan is to raise taxes in order for Wallace Township to borrow 2.9 million dollars for 20 years. What happens if we hit a recession and can’t make our payments? You can expect a property tax raise to cover the cost. What do we get for 2.9 million dollars? Development rights ("open space"). Basically, the township hands a property owner 2.9 million dollars to not develop their land. So the land owner gets a large check and their property taxes go down because their property is re-assessed. This pushes all of our property taxes higher and we can’t even step foot on the land we just bought the rights to. No park, no nature preserve, no trails, nothing…
How many acres could we get for our 2.9 million dollars? According to the Open Space Task Force, they believe they can purchase 114 acres of development rights from a land owner. What they do not tell you is that half of this land would have been preserved without a tax raise, leaving us paying 2.9 million dollars for 57 acres. This is hardly the silver bullet that will preserve our scenic views, especially when coupled with the fact that 1500+ acres of the remaining 2600 acres of "open space" in Wallace Township are already on there way to being preserved. 1500+ for free. 57 acres for 2.9 millions dollars. Doesn’t add up, does it? (Please see the FAQ page included in this mailing and www.wallacevoters.com for why our ordinances already provide for preserving open space.)
We all want to preserve as much "open space" as possible. We should pursue county and state grants, support strong land preserving ordinances, and unite concerned residents to voluntarily pool funds in this pursuit. However, forcefully collecting tax revenues from families who either can’t afford it, or who simply do not support this tax raise is wrong.
Many of us have not forgotten the 218% property tax raise that occurred 3 years ago. Many of us still do not know what we got for this money and are still waiting for our refund. Do we really plan to turn around and vote for a 50% income tax raise?
The supporters of this tax raise have very deep pockets. They will use expensive signs and mailings to try and influence your vote. But, all of that will mean very little when you and your neighbors Vote "NO" to the "open space" income tax raise on November 8th.
We urge you to visit our website www.wallacevoters.com to find more information about this tax raise. At the website you can also learn how you can support our efforts this election and in the future. We can do much more to match the opposition’s campaign if you are willing to help us. Your donations will be appreciated, but your time and support will do more.
Sincerely, * ALERT: Register to vote in Wallace Township by October 11th! *
Wallace Voters PAC * Must be postmarked by 11th – see our website to print out form *