--Original Message-- - From: casaderoca@aol.com - To: sandie.smith@co.pinal.az.us - Sent: Thu, 3 May 2007 1:02 PM - Subject: Shea Homes
May
3, 2007
Supervisor Smith –
Yesterday my local east valley newspaper informed me that Shea Homes has broken
ground at Gantzel and Combs Roads to build what was described as a “2400 home,
massive gated community with a private golf course to be called Encanterra”. I
know this is the area that you have been extolling where Ironwood Drive is
supposed to have been widened. A question pops into my mind, and because you
are so closely associated with the widening of Ironwood, the Superstition Valley
Transportation Fund and the collection of impact fees from developers, I will
ask you. Precisely how much in impact fees has Shea Homes paid toward the
Ironwood Drive widening? Precisely how much in impact fees has Shea Homes paid
for other infrastructure needs? I doubt you would need to research answers to
these two questions so, consequently, I hope for a timely response from you.
Kenny Baker - Apache Junction
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(Note: - The E-Mail series copied below has been re-formatted to place it in the actual order of receipt.A portion of the first E-Mail had been distributed by Tom Jenny as advice to AZ taxpayers to help reduce high taxes)
E-MAIL # ONE >>> <casaderoca@aol.com> 04/22/2007 5:46:59 PM >>>
April 22, 2007
Supervisor Smith *
In keeping with your oft’ published ad in the newspapers, “call me with
your concerns”, I sent you an e-mail in which I requested you and the
other Board of Supervisors members cut the Pinal County property tax
rate in half to adjust for the massive increase in assessed valuations
for the year 2008. I included in that e-mail a copy of an opinion
column by Arizona Senate President Tim Bee in which he called on
“members of every council and board with property taxing authority
throughout Arizona to respond proactively to the rapid increases in
property valuations” and in which he warned, “if elected officials are
not careful with the authority voters have given them, frustrated
voters may take it away”.
I sent that e-mail to you on April 2, 2007. Today is April 22, 2007,
and I have not received any communication from you in the twenty
ensuing days. Twenty days seems sufficient for you to at least answer
with your usual “I’ll look into it” response, but alas you didn’t even
bother with that. I can only presume, then, your “concerns” motto is
worthless and that worthlessness really reflects the ineptitude you
have displayed during your entire tenure as a supervisor.
If perchance you should have even an inkling of guilt about your poor
performance in office and want to make amends and learn something about
governance, I suggest you read the column by Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn
on how to handle impact fees which was published in the East Valley
Tribune April 14, 2007. In fact for your further edification, in this
e-mail, I include another opinion column recently published in the East
Valley about DEMANDING a reduction in tax rates, and a healthy one at
that.
Kenny Baker - Apache Junction, Arizona
Four steps you can take to bring property taxes under control.
Chad Kirkpatrick is chairman, and Tom Jenney is executive director, of
the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers (www.aztaxpayers.org), a state
chapter of Americans for Prosperity (www. americansforprosperity.org).
If you are not angry about your property tax bill, you probably haven’t
studied it yet. Many Arizona homeowners are seeing their property tax
bills go up by hundreds of dollars. For many * especially older people
on fixed incomes * exploding property tax bills will force some tough
tradeoffs. In extreme cases, increased property taxes may force people
out of their homes.
There are ways you can minimize your property tax bill, though.
Courtesy of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers, a state chapter of
Americans for Prosperity, here are four steps you can take to bring
your property taxes under control:
* Demand that your taxing district officials lower their rate You will
have to contact your county supervisors, city councilmen district board
members, and the members of your water and library districts * among
other local taxing authorities. Instructions on how to find and contact
your taxing district officials are available at
http://www.aztaxpayers.org/TaxDistricts.pdf.
When you contact your elected officials, you should ask them three
questions: What is the current tax rate for this taxing district? How
low must the rate go to keep me from paying more dollars than I paid
last year? How far will you reduce the tax rate?
Make sure you do your homework before asking those questions. Some
elected officials have boasted to taxpayers that they have cut their
rates by a few pennies. If officials actually need to lower their rates
by a few dimes, they are not doing taxpayers much of a favor. In many
of the districts subject to uncapped secondary valuations, tax rates
may have to fall at least 30 percent to keep taxpayers from suffering
tax increases.
* Vote against all new taxes, new bonds, and budget overrides.
The next special election is Tuesday, May 15. In Maricopa County,
there will be bond votes in Avondale, Chandler, Glendale, and Queen
Creek, and school district budget override votes in Cave Creek Unified
and Kyrene Elementary. Contact your county recorder’s office for
details.
* Pressure your state legislators to restrain local taxing authorities.
The Arizona Legislature did a great job last year by (temporarily)
zeroing out the county education equalization rate, putting Proposition
101 on the November ballot, and enacting a 10 percent cut in the
personal income tax. One of the best arguments for a further reduction
in the state income tax is that homeowners will need that extra cash
just to pay their local property tax bills!
* Work hard to get serious tax reform passed on the 2008 ballot.
This is far and away the most important thing you can do. There are
currently at least two committees at work crafting ballot initiatives
that will incorporate elements of California’s famous Proposition 13
tax reform. The most important element of any serious tax reform
proposal is to put a firm limit on the growth of all property tax
revenue going to all taxing districts from all classes of property,
including business property. This can be done by limiting the growth in
assessed values or by limiting total levies * or both.
One model for serious tax reform is SCR1025, a legislative referendum
bill introduced by Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City. The bill would
limit future growth in assessed value to 2 percent per year for all
classes of property. The referendum passed the Senate last year, but
was stifled in the House.
Thanks to Prop 13, California was successful in clamping down on
runaway increases in property taxes. Where California failed was in
allowing other taxes to increase in the place of property tax levies.
Arizona has a strong advantage thanks to Proposition 108, which
requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to increase state taxes.
Taxpayers must take action. Left to their own devices, Arizona’s local
politicians will do very little * if anything * to lower tax rates or
restrain their spending. As usual, taxpayers must protect themselves.
The Arizona Federation of Taxpayers is ready to help, but it’s really
up to you.
CHAD KIRKPATRICK and TOM JENNEY
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E-MAIL #
TWO ---Original Message-----
From: Sandie.Smith@co.pinal.az.us
To: casaderoca@aol.com
Sent: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 8:21 AM
Subject: Re: Where is the answer to my e-mail?
I am sorry that you did not get the information on taxes that I sent to you at
2501 W. McDowell Road in Apache Junction, Arizona with a breakdown of where your
tax dollars go for the portion of taxes that you pay to Pinal County. We are
between 1/4 and 1/3 of your taxes. We reduced our portion of the tax rate last
year and should be able to reduce it again this year. If you would like me to
resend the information, please let me know where you would like it to be sent.
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E-MAIL #
THREE ---Original Message-----
From:
casaderoca@aol.com
To:
Sandie.Smith@co.pinal.az.us
Sent: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 2:03 PM
Subject: Re: Where is the answer to my e-mail?
April 23, 2007
Supervisor Smith –
Thank you for finally responding to my e-mail. I am pleased to know, now, that
your office is capable of replying. Unfortunately, you did not respond to the
issue I raised and that is cutting the Pinal County tax rate in half because of
the gigantic increase in property valuations. I even included several citations
to help you discuss this but apparently you did not read them. The person who
wrote back under your name evidently did not read them as well. As anyone in
your position should be aware, the doubling of valuations will cause a huge hike
in tax revenue, which will place the long- suffering property owners under an
even greater burden that they can ill afford. You should also be cognizant of
the fact that Yavapai County, with a very similar demographic to that of Pinal
County, operates on half the budget with half the tax rate. For you to state to
me that the county has reduced its tax rate last year (you don’t say how much)
and maybe again this year (you don’t say how much) is to treat me like an
uneducated fool. A tiny percentage point is not a reduction. Dropping the rate
from 4.5% to 2.25% would be a reduction.
Kenny Baker - Apache Junction
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To: sandie.smith@co.pinal.az.us
- Sent: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 11:46 AM - Subject: tax rate
Supervisor Smith - i am including in this e-mail a copy of an opinion column
written by senate president tim bee in which he discusses the
reduction of property tax rates in the various political entities in the
state of Arizona. this discussion became necessary with the giant increases in
assessed valuations state wide. he suggests that tax payers will feel a great
deal happier paying taxes figured on lower rates. i know i would and i know it
is up to your board to lower the rate. i suggest at least halving the tax rate
for Pinal county and i even suggest that if you fail to do so, the political
fallout will not make you happy. i have highlighted, in red, some pertinent
points made by senator bee.
Kenny Baker - apache junction
Measures reduce property tax burden — Sen. Tim Bee, R-Tucson, is president of
the Arizona Senate.
Property taxpayers across Arizona are alarmed. They have been receiving
notification from county assessors that the taxable value of their property is
again increasing. Their anxiety is certainly justified since experience tells
them that increases in assessed value will translate into higher property taxes
when local governments set their budgets. Some taxpayers are exploring the
possibility of joining a handful of tax revolt efforts that are brewing around
the state.
Valuation increases do not have to result in tax increases. Let me
illustrate. Since 1998, the Arizona Legislature has decreased the property tax
rates it controls to reflect increases in assessed values on existing properties
through a mechanism called “truth in taxation.” From its enactment to the
present, the state’s truth in taxation law has saved Arizona property taxpayers
more than $750 million. The state budget that the Legislature is currently
working to put together will include another truth in taxation rate reduction,
reducing K-12 school tax rates by 27 cents per $100 of assessed value, saving
property owners statewide another $135 million. This has been accomplished
without negatively affecting local school budgets.
The fiscal 2008 state budget will also include the second year of a
three-year suspension of the state equalization property tax rate, saving
taxpayers far more than $200 million for each of the three years that suspension
is in place. In addition, I am supporting legislation that will make this tax
relief permanent by repealing the state equalization rate.
The Legislature has also enacted several changes in recent years to limit
the authority local taxing jurisdictions have had to increase taxes without
voter approval. Similarly, property taxpayers will benefit from last November’s
voter approval of Proposition 101, a constitutional amendment that was referred
to the ballot by Legislature last session. This new law will ensure that
counties, community colleges, and cities cannot increase primary property tax
rates above established limits without voter approval.
In fact, largely due to the Legislature’s actions, the current average
property tax rate in Arizona is down 57 cents from the previous year. Of course,
this is only a state average. Some local jurisdictions have been responsive to
increasing values by decreasing their tax rates, sometime by adopting truth in
taxation rate reductions. Many local taxing authorities, however, have been much
less responsive.
Arizona’s citizens elect their state and local leaders to provide
stewardship of governmental institutions and its finances. In my view, the
fundamental fiscal responsibility of elected officials and other public leaders
should be to ensure that the tax systems producing revenue whether from
property, income, or sales do not collapse under their own weight.
Without questions, voters play an immeasurably significant role in this
process. Voters elect the leaders who make property tax decisions. More
directly, of course, voters approve local bonds and budget overrides, and even
create new taxing districts. In all too many cases, however, state laws and
election practices can make the connection between such elections and property
taxes less than transparent.
I call on members of every council and board with property taxing authority
throughout Arizona to respond proactively to the rapid increases in property
valuations. In most instances, this can be done by using a truth in taxation
calculation to determine a reduced tax rate that offsets the rising value of
existing properties. If elected officials are not careful with the authority
voters have given them, frustrated voters may take it away. If that is the
ultimate result, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
SEN. TIM BEE - COMMENTARY
(Editor Note: Pinal County has NOT lowered the primary tax rate more than a token for 7-years. If the tax rates remain the same, one would presume that thousands of folks will have to abandon their homes in Pinal County.)
