Press
Campaign complaint filed against Portage schools
Kalamazoo, MI (March 24, 2008) –
The Kalamazoo County Taxpayers Association has filed a campaign election complaint against the Portage Public School district with the Michigan Secretary of State.
The compaint charges that the Portage school district has allowed “Kids First” to use public school facilities. “Kids First” is a ballot question committee that is campaigning for a “yes” vote on the May 6 KRESA tax.
Michigan election law (MCL 169.257, Sec. 57) prohibits a public body, such as Portage schools, from making a contribution of public resources, including use of public facilities, to a candidate or a ballot question committee.
The complaint filed March 24 by the Taxpayers Association charges that Portage schools, on at least three separate occasions, allowed “Kids First” representatives to attend PTO meetings on school property. At these meetings, the “Kids First” representatives conducted planning activities for the “vote yes” campaign, solicited donations from PTO members, solicited volunteers from PTO members, and distributed a sign-up sheet for volunteers. “Kids First” representatives also disclosed that they planned to distribute “vote yes” literature on school property, which would also be a campaign election violation.
The Taxpayers Association strongly urges Portage schools, indeed all public schools, to prohibit any campaign activity from taking place on school property. Schools should follow the law, not break the law.
Voters betrayed on KRESA tax renewal
Kalamazoo, MI (Feb. 28, 2008) –
The Portage school board has joined the Kalamazoo school board in seeking a renewal of the 1.5-mill KRESA “enhancement” tax. Since both districts contain more than 50 percent of the students in the KRESA intermediate school district, the tax is officially placed on the May 6 ballot.
With this action, both boards have betrayed the trust of the voters. During the first campaign for the KRESA “enhancement” tax in 2005, tax proponents repeatedly promised voters that the tax would last only three years. Here’s the proof:
“We hope this [tax] will do something in the short term, to get the schools through this rough time.” —Craig Misner, KRESA superintendent (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 3, 2005)
“When would the KRESA tax expire? After three years.” —Voter guide, Kalamazoo Gazette, May 1, 2005
“The property tax increase would be levied for only three years.” —Editorial, Kalamazoo Gazette, May 1, 2005
“Q: How long would the proposed increased last?
A: The proposed increase is temporary and would expire in three years.”
—Fact sheet on KRESA millage by Kalamazoo Public Schools
“On May 3rd, voters in our local school districts will vote on a temporary, 3-year, 1.5 mill property tax increase to help fund the operations of our local schools.” —Fact sheet by the Kalamazoo County Education Association
“The proposed increase in taxes is temporary and would expire in three years.” —Susan L. Nelmes, President, League of Women Voters (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 26, 2005)
Those were the promises. Tax proponents insisted that the KRESA “enhancement” tax would last only three years. Except they weren’t promises. They were lies. Tax proponents lied to the voters three years ago because they knew it would be easier to sell the tax as a “temporary” tax. But they planned, all along, to put the tax back on the ballot this year.
ATTENTION NEWS MEDIA: The Taxpayers Association will campaign vigorously against the KRESA “enhancement” tax. If you do stories on the tax proposal, please contact us to get the other side of the issue, to make sure your story is balanced.
KRESA tax: they lied
Kalamazoo, MI (Feb. 20, 2008) –
In 2005, public school officials in Kalamazoo County placed a 1.5-mill “enhancement” millage on the ballot, which covered the entire KRESA taxing district. At the time, those officials promised that the tax was only “temporary,” and would last only three years.
It now is clear that those officials lied to the voters. School officials are planning to ask for a renewal of the KRESA “enhancement” millage next year, despite their promise that the tax would expire.
If the KRESA “enhancement” millage is placed on the ballot next year, it would be a profound betrayal of trust. Does the word of public officials in Kalamazoo County mean anything? Can they blatantly lie to the voters, and then turn around and ask them for even more money?
School officials are crying poverty, claiming their budget are squeezed and they need the money from the “enhancement” millage. Tough luck. Welcome to the club. The budgets of working families and businesses in Kalamazoo County have been squeezed and cut for several years now due to Michigan’s poor economy.
In fact, school spending habits prove that they have plenty of money in their budgets. A recent Kalamazoo Gazette article (June 3, 2007) shows that public schools in our region are overpaying health care benefits by thousands of dollars per employee, because school districts have a sweetheart contracting deal with MESSA, the teachers’ union insurance provider. By competitively bidding out health insurance, schools could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in their annual budgets.
The Taxpayers Association has one simple message for school officials thinking about renewing the KRESA “enhancement” millage—just say “NO.”
Taxpayers Association asks for independent pension investigation
Kalamazoo, MI (April 9, 2007) –
The Kalamazoo County Taxpayers Association has sent letters to Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and Michigan Auditor General Thomas McTavish, requesting that they conduct an independent investigation into recent problems with the Kalamazoo County government employee pension system.
Last March, county officials revealed that due to a problem with a formula used to determine lump-sum payments to retirees, the county had overpaid retirees $6 million in benefits to which they were not entitled. In the intervening weeks, 59 more county employees have retired to take advantage of this faulty lump-sum formula, resulting in an additional $4 million in benefits being paid over and above what they earned.
The Taxpayers Association believes that an independent outside agency needs to investigate this affair, to determine what happened, when it happened, and who was responsible. Such an investigation would also help establish new oversight checks within the pension system which would prevent such problems from happening in the future.
Kalamazoo County residents have lost $10 million because of this county pension fiasco. Merely fixing the lump-sum formula is not enough. Taxpayers deserve a full, complete investigation into this problem to get all the answers on how and why it happened.
City Officials Trying to Shut-Up Taxpayers Association on Bus Tax
KCTA vows to continue spreading the facts
Kalamazoo, MI (November 1, 2006) –
The Kalamazoo County Taxpayer’s Association (KCTA), a non-partisan taxpayer advocacy organization, received a letter today from the City of Kalamazoo requesting that they, “immediately stop any reference to the (bus) millage not supporting Care-A-Van service”.
KCTA president Isaac Morehouse said that in all of his meetings and emails with officials there was never given one shred of evidence that any of the $3.4 million/yr. tax hike would go to Care-A-Van service. “Now I’m being told that $350,000 of the tax is going to this service” said Morehouse, “that was strangely absent all the earlier data I received.”
Morehouse stood by the claims of KCTA that this tax is not about Care-A-Van, “Even if this small amount is going to Care-A-Van what the taxpayers are being asked to fork over is ten times that amount! That just doesn’t add up.” Morehouse added, “When 90% of the money is not for Care-A-Van, I think it’s pretty accurate to say that this isn’t about Care-A-Van.”
In a letter of response KCTA said it does not plan to cease it’s campaign against this tax hike, and requested that perhaps the City should retract their claims that this tax hike is for Care-A-Van. The letter reads, “In fact to obtain the amount you mention it would require only a 2.5% reduction in Metro spending with NO reduction in Care-A-Van’s budget. I wonder why this fact did not make it into your beautiful taxpayer funded 4 page full-color bus tax promotional flyer?”
According to KCTA, the fact remains that this tax hike is being requested to bail out the underused bus system. Morehouse said, “Any way you slice it it’s very misleading to claim this tax is about Care-A-Van.”
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