Monday, June 23, 2008

Ruston Revenue Sources: Opinion

The Ruston Connection has a commentary today about what the council is looking at for revenue sources (the subject of tonight's study session). As usual, most of the ideas are shortsighted and buried way inside the box (as opposed to outside the box). Here are some other thoughts. ~ Karen
  • Reporting of the building permits has always taken place. The problem is not what the RC makes it seem. I seriously doubt "several hundred" permits were not reported to the assessor. Besides, it's not permits that matter, it's the increased value from improvements that impacts the tax revenue Ruston receives from our homes. Most permits are for repairs, not major upgrades that add taxable value.
  • Increasing gambling tax will only dry up a small revenue stream. The casino is already struggling. They have opened their books to the town to confirm their struggles. They are closed on Sundays because of poor attendance. They say they will be forced to close their doors and lay off dozens of employees, thus ending not only the limited gambling tax, but eliminating any sales tax revenue from them as well - not to mention the harm to the employees and the negative impact of yet another vacant building in our business core. The News Tribune's recent editorial put it well, "Jacking up the gambling tax from 3 percent to 20 percent is not a path to fiscal health; it’s a surefire way to get the city more seriously addicted to gaming revenues than it already is." Read the full editorial here, it contains some great encouragement about listening to each other and working together.
  • The B & O tax punishes businesses that do well. The council should look outside the box like Lakewood and others have done to eliminate this regressive tax. A simple focus on attracting businesses with a decent retail sales would more than make up for the $6,000 we current receive annually from B&O taxes. We have a vacant business on 51st Street, and many more that will be built at Point Ruston. What better incentive for new businesses to locate in Ruston instead of across the street in Tacoma? For more discussion, read this earlier post on the issue.
  • Grants are a great idea, but I think we've burned some bridges when we walked away from the $75,000 state grant a couple of months ago. That kind of reputation follow a municipality.
  • The interlocal agreement for help with major crimes was something Ruston had for years with Pierce County that the council walked away from under the current leadership. It's long past time to re-establish what should have been maintained in the first place.

7 comments:

James Wingard said...

Point Defiance Casino, $40,000 to $70,000 in taxes collected at present will be lost. Lawsuit from Casino for malicious actions big bucks. Class action lawsuit from casino employees losing jobs because of spiteful actions by Cabal council bigger bucks.

This as a result of a conspiratorial vendetta waged by the CABAL (council and followers). A certain manifestation of mental illness or just sheer deviltry in their insane policies designed to destroy the town, this wonderful little town we used to have before this invasive species of caballias invaded the town and started to tear away at its peacefulness and civility.

Remember all this came about after two Caballers, now on the town council, visited the casino and demanded they remove their sign. On whose orders or on what authority is not clear but the impending lawsuits should bring out the truthful facts.

Mr. Casino, it is not Ruston, sue them individually and feel free to contact the undersigned if needed.

Anonymous said...

your statment on the grant should be revised to state $75,000 - please feel free to delete this comment after you revise.

Ruston Home said...

Thanks for the correction. I'll leave the comment up so everyone can see the correction just in case they looked at the post earlier in the day. That's what I get for going off memory!

Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Wingard nailed it squarely on the head as usual. Thank you Jim for the vigilance and clear written expression that many of us are not able to do. You, Karen and the remaining few loyalist are carrying a heavy load.

Porkchop

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Thank you to the previous commenter for proving my point. The extensive remodel on my home was not typical of the 207 permits issued in 2006. The issue of getting the permit values to the assessor is an easy administrative solution that has been solved.

I'm glad to see that our council members and their close friends are reading this blog. It has accomplished an important goal - one of having all voices participate. The reason I suspect this last comment came from someone on the council is that the list Jane Hunt compiled with this information was not publicly distributed. Only council members were given a copy (although it would have been available via a public information request).

I have removed my home address on the previous comment out of respect for some semblance of privacy for my family. This is another example of the personal attacks this group gives out when they feel threatened. I think I’m fair game since I continue to participate, but my personal life should not be thrown into the mix. I have been approached by several people with personal information about council members and their close friends that I will not post on this blog. It’s all part of the civility that is needed if we are ever to regain any sense of community in Ruston.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, the comment just before mine now shows after my last comment - part of the process of deleting the address. ~ Karen
_________________________

Ruston Town Hall issued 207 building permits (between 2004 and the end of 2007). This includes the permits for **** * ****** -- $3,528.30 for $114,837.00 of work in 2006/07.

Those 207 permits (including those for the extensive remodeling at ************) never got to the Pierce County Auditor. The Town's valuation is nearly a half million dollars short due to this reporting failure.

Don't make you 'believe'???