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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-23-22 Public Comment - D. Erickson - Tax IncreaseFrom:agenda@bozeman.net To:Agenda Subject:Thank you for your public comment. Date:Tuesday, August 23, 2022 2:01:39 PM A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted. Form Name:Public Comment Form Date & Time:08/23/2022 3:01 PM Response #:1684 Submitter ID:51853 IP address:71.15.212.245 Time to complete:46 min. , 32 sec. Survey Details Page 1 Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options. Public comment may also be given at any public meeting. Email: agenda@bozeman.net Mail to: Attn: City Commission PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771 First Name DENNIS Last Name ERICKSON Email Address MTHOMEFINDER@GMAIL.COM Phone Number 4065798967 Comments Ladies and Gentlemen of the council, The proposed increase in property taxes being considered tonight by the council is being brought forth at the wrong time in our history. While I understand the idea of raising property taxes at a time when assessed values of residential and commercial properties in Bozeman are at an all-time high, I’d ask that you consider the following: 1. We are in a period of 8.5%-?? inflation when our fuel and food prices are already putting a stretch on the average Bozemanites budget. 2. A property tax increase for residential properties directly affects the most vulnerable members of our community, i.e. the young person starting their life and now paying upwards of $2,000 per month for rent to live in Bozeman and the elderly homeowner on a fixed income who has spent their entire life in Bozeman and now is being economically evicted due to these onerous tax increases, both of whom will be directly and adversely affected by a property tax increase in the form of higher rents (property owners will pass these increases on to renters and tenants in commercial properties) and fewer dollars for necessary items such as food, utilities and fuel. 3. A property tax increase for commercial property owners will be passed along to tenants who are having hard time surviving in our COVID-afflicted, inflation damaged economy. As we speak at least four Bozeman restaurants are quietly marketing their businesses due to the difficult economic climate in our town. Recent increases in wages for employees have already put a necessary burden on small, locally owned businesses so that only large, corporately funded businesses such as chain stores, hotels and restaurants can survive, thus degrading our small-town quality of life we’ve enjoyed and want to preserve. Couple this with the fact that the last assessment cycle saw commercial tax rates double in many instances in the past few years! 4. One of the justifications for a tax increase as posted on the city website is the increase in property values due to the new construction in Bozeman. Large hotels funded by wealthy investors but which add little value to the average Bozemanites quality of life along with entertainment venues, large market rate apartment complexes that charge rents in excess of 45% of a wage earners gross income, developers who build and sell $1 million condos to wealthy out of state clients, all have driven market values upward. However, the average tenant won’t see the benefit of a property valuation increase, just the opposite. A current homeowner won’t see the benefit until they sell their home! In the meantime these vulnerable social classes will, in effect, subsidize the infrastructure needs brought about by largely unfettered development by wealthy hedge fund managers whose only concern is the bottom line dollar these properties will generate. The UDC provides excellent technical guidelines for building, but little in the way of the impact on human lives. The Code rules the day, not the citizens of Bozeman. 5. And, finally, this vote for a property tax increase, a vote that could very well affect every Bozemanite at some level, is being brought forth behind a veil of information blackout. I have contacted several large and influential groups to ask their opinion of this proposed increase and none of the heads of these organizations , people whose job it is to be aware of any major issue being considered by the city council, none were aware this vote was scheduled! The council’s history of conducting business without properly informing the public it serves is well known. I want to believe this is simply a matter of inefficiency or oversight, but I’m not entirely sure of that. In either case, you need to do better. I’d suggest you abandon the idea of placing ads in the local paper legal notice section, a practice that yields no public engagement but does barely satisfy the law requiring notification, and adopt a practice of buying some ads on television, radio or the internet or in-depth discussions on your website to inform people of your plans. A lack of bodies in your council chambers does not reflect a lack of interest on behalf of the public, it simply reflects a lack of being properly informed. It wouldn’t hurt if commissioners stepped out and met the public in Chataqua type settings where issues could be openly discussed and debated. If you want public interest SHOW A LITTLE INTEREST IN THE PUBLIC! I wish you success in your endeavors, My Best…, Always! Dennis Erickson mthomefinder@gmail.com 406-579-8967 If you would like to submit additional documents (.pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .gif, .jpg, .png, .rtf, .txt) along with your comment, you may alternately address agenda@bozeman.net directly to ensure receipt of all information. Thank you, City Of Bozeman This is an automated message generated by Granicus. Please do not reply directly to this email.