Monclova Township asks Toledo and others to oppose TARTA sales tax plan
As reported by the Toledo Free Press Monclova Township Trustees have written a letter to the Mayor and the other member communities of TARTA, asking that they oppose the TARTA sales tax plan. The Toledo Free Press has the letter linked on their website.
Monclova isn’t one of the member communities that make up TARTA, but, all of the member communities have to agree on the sales tax plan before the Lucas County Commissioners could allow this to be on the ballot, according to how the process was explained in a previous post that outlined it:
1) Tina Skeldon Wozniak explained that the Lucas County Commissioners first would have to pass a resolution requesting that the county become a member of TARTA.
2) Jim Gee explained that the all current TARTA member communities would have to pass resolutions approving Lucas County’s membership.
3) TARTA would place an issue on a Lucas countywide ballot, asking residents if public transit should be funded by a sales tax. (If TARTA puts the issue on the ballot, it does not count against the County’s existing sales tax cap.)
4) If the outcome is a yes, Lucas County would be accepted and a sales tax would replace the property tax.
Just keep into consideration all the
people who have only TARTA and TARPS
for their transportation to get any
where in the local community.
It is wrong for certain communities to
May 11th, 2009 at 7:09 pmrestrict these people from going there
for personal business and services!
Seriously, Sue?
Is it really immoral for a person who has spent a portion of his life – his limited God-given time on earth – working and toiling and sweating and sacrificing to make a buck…. How is it wrong for that person to say, No I don’t want my money to go to something i don’t want it to go to? When that person is the one who earned the money, whatever he does with it is his business.
What is wrong and immoral and reprehensible is for someone to try to browbeat others into doing something that the earner of the money doesn’t want to do.
Who are you to tell me what is right and wrong with how I use my money when you did absolutley nothing to put that money in my bank account. I’m the one working 40 plus hours, working weekends, and going to school full time. You will not tell me what is right and wrong about how I spend my hard earned cash.
I feel better now.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:56 pmSue didn’t use the word “immoral” she stated “It is wrong” and she’s entitled to her belief that it’s wrong to not provide public transportation, especially for the disabled and senior citizens.
You can believe it’s not wrong, but the reality is our tax dollars go to a variety of things we have no control over that we don’t get to vote on.
We might get to vote on this one, we might not. All it’s going to take is one member community of TARTA saying no and things will remain the same and if you live in Toledo, Tom, you will still pay for TARTA, but it will be through property tax instead of through a sales tax. Residents of communities that are not members of TARTA will still continue to not pay the property tax and in return will not provide public transportation.
Personally? I think this is something the voters should decide, but that decision is not up to us, at least not at this point.
The whole argument of I shouldn’t have to pay for things I don’t use is not a valid one when you consider you pay for public health, public education, public transportation (if you live in a member community), public parks, public pools, public golf courses, public libraries, etc….There is no cafe plan of public services where you are only taxed for what you use…
May 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pmIf something is wrong it can be moral????
Just because we do pay for everything now doesn’t mean the principal shouldn’t apply. My problem in general is with people who tell me it would be wrong if I did this or that with my money when that is not their decision.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:09 pmIt depends on what definition of the word “wrong” you are using. My point is she is entitled to feel it’s wrong, and you are entitled to disagree but the reality is, there is way too much selectivity when it comes to the argument of “I don’t use it therefore I don’t have to pay for it.”
You don’t seem to be in support of the voters deciding, you seem to prefer for one of the member communities to take it upon themselves to stop this from being something that voters of this area decide on. I think whenever possible it should be up to the voters, we vote on levies, we should be the ones to decide this.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:17 pmI am in support of keeping as much money as I can since I earned it.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:19 pmThat didn’t answer the question.
I don’t know many people that say “HEY tax me some more I love it!”
May 11th, 2009 at 9:22 pmActually Bill Clinton once said something like he loved cutting that tax check to the federal gov every tax season, but I digress.
This whole TARTA situation is a mess, and I would preferto see it run without tax dollars, but no public transporatation system has ever been capable of that…
I really don’t care either way, they’re still gonna take my money. Go ahead, vote.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:35 pmYou’d probably end up paying less under a sales tax scenario than you do in property tax. Which would mean you’d keep more of your money.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:54 pmYes less will be paid if went to a sales tax.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:08 pmWITH A SALES TAX EVEN OUT OF AREA AND OUT OF STATE PAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CAN’T BUY A CAR DUE TO LOW WAGES AND TARTA AND TARPS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GET AROUND. MY DEGREE IS IN LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION SPECIALIZATION, AND SOME OF MY COURSE STUDY WAS IN MASS TRANSPORTATION, SO ANY CITY OR METRO-PLX OF OVER 500,000 NEEDS A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM….AND THIS WAS DOCUMENTED
May 11th, 2009 at 11:43 pmThanks, Lisa Renee, you stated it all
very well.
I just know that anyone that the only
transporation they have available to
them is TARTA or TARPS. Any of them,
including the disabled or seniors, are
not even able to consider any services
at St. Charles or any physicians in
Oregon as well as anything else there.
COSI was voted in last year along with
the Zoo, the Public Library, Mental Health, Mental Retardation, etc. Does everyone go to each
one of those frequently. No, but it
is there for the public, as public
transporation needs to be when one
wants and needs it!
Do other locations have this type of
May 11th, 2009 at 11:43 pmproblem where some of the suburbs
want nothing to do with the major
cities public transportation??
Mahoning County was the last one to switch over, the first time this went on the ballot it failed, the second time it passed. It was similar in that areas that did not previously have public transportation would after the sales tax plan went through. Some of those areas did not initially support this, similar to what we have here.
They are still implementing it there as far as the change over since they are not yet collecting the sales tax.
WRTA is their website.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:53 pmMichael raises a valid point, a sales tax formulation also collects money from additional sources, which include those who do not reside in one particular levy area.
It’s one of the reasons why it’s felt that a sales tax is a more equitable form of funding and why the other transportation authorities have switched to this type of funding rather than property tax levies.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:54 pmLOOK AT OAKLAND, CA WITH THEIR ‘BART’ BAY AREA REGIONAL TRANSIT
May 12th, 2009 at 12:37 amAND NEW YORK WITH THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD AND ITS INTERCONNECTING SUBWAY SYSTEM…THE BMT/IRT AND THE 6TH/8TH AVENUE AND TIMES SQ/GRAND CENTRAL LINES..OUTSTANDING SERVICE AND MAYOR MIKE BLOOMBURG HAS KEPT THE COST DOWN
Sales tax….more equitable…but very regressive.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:10 amTom, you believe every other transportation authority in Ohio is regressive?
As well as quite a few other transportation authorities in other states use sales tax, many feel that property tax is regressive.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:43 amI like to shop at Menards. But there is not one near me in Ypsi.
Recently, I planned on making a major purchase, which I did. I wanted to make this purchase at Menards, so I drove down to the one on Airport Highway. Is that Monclova?
Regardless, I made my purchase and to my dismay, the sales tax rate was 6.75%.
Sorry NW Ohio, next time, I will just drive to Jackson and make my major purchase where the sales tax rate isn’t so high.
So anyone out there that thinks sales tax increases of any kind are a good idea, for transportation, or anything else, remember, other municipalities are competing for your business.
Taxes suck.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:25 amMichigan doesn’t allow local governments to charge a sales tax which is why the 6% sales tax levied there goes to the State. Ohio’s base rate of sales tax is 5.5%. The lowest county sales tax in Ohio is 6.25% – there are four counties who have that rate.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:34 amLisa Renee – you make some very good points.
For some, TARTA is the only way that they can get around. For others we choose to use TARTA for a variety of reasons; I love the Call-A-Ride buses.
I think a county wide system would be wonderful and the move to sales tax a better way to pay for it.
To make communities more livable, we have to support certain public services like the Library, the Metroparks and public transportation.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:40 amIf you want to compare Michigan versus Ohio when it comes to taxation? A good place to start – Michigan and Ohio.
Michigan ranks higher in property tax and business taxes, but ranks lower than Ohio overall when it comes to taxation.
Michigan’s gas tax is higher than Ohio’s so hopefully you saved a few cents by filling up here before heading back up north.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:42 am6.25% will still keep my dollars in Michigan.
Sorry LisaRenee, but someday there must be a better way than to punish the many to help the few.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:42 amJeff, that’s exactly how many would describe property taxes, or funding for public education or a variety of other issues. The basic issue is if something is going to exist which voters have agreed they want TARTA, which is the better way to fund, property tax or sales tax.
The general consensus is that property tax is a regressive form of taxation and that sales tax is a more preferred way. Will there one day be a better system? Doubtful, it’s either figure out which way is the fairest or quit providing any public services at all and at this point? Most people support the idea of public services.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:46 amMichigan property taxes are a rip off. But substituting one for the other is just putting lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig.
There just has to come a point where enough is enough.
As far as the gas, etc., you are right. I wouldn’t drive to Ohio to purchase a trap for a sink. But then again, I won’t be driving there to purchase any more major items either. And that’s too bad. Because that is a nice store, they had what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay. And then the sales tax got added on, which screwed up the entire thing.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:11 amLisa,
When taking all issues into account, the sales tax is the most regressive. If it weren’t for the EIT, taxes on Soc. Sec. and Medicare would be just as regressive.
Real estate taxes are paid by those who own property…and quite ofen it can be reqressive for people of modest means. (Yes, renters pay to…indirectly.)
But others….seniors and people living on Soc Sec./SSI or welfare…living in subsidized housing…have to pay sales taxes. There are many such individuals….THEY are the one impacted the most.
I have many less than positive thoughts about Tarta…giant buses w/ few passengers for starters.
For now, if I lived out in the county, I would not vote for an increase of the sales tax.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:57 amTom, it’s been generally accepted that property tax is more regressive than sales tax, not just here in the US but in other nations such as Canada where numerous studies have been done on this.
If you like, I can provide some of those studies.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:16 pm