TAXES HIGHER THAN VALUE OF YOUR PROPERTY!

ONLY IN MICHIGAN
____________________________
GOOD MORNING FLINT!
BY Terry Bankert 3/01/08
http://attorneybankert.com/
You are invited to join me at Face Book
http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362
___________________________
Full article at:
http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com
Summarized article on Flint Talk:
http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=25815#25815
Inez Brown comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsnzt3Ufy-4
___________________


ITS JUST NOT FAIR, no tax payer will believe it is fair to tax them at a rate higher than the value of their property. To the elected officals and political leadership just what are you going to do to correct this injustice. Following are several articles I found to educate my self, I hope some of this is of value to you.[trb]

If you're upset about your latest property tax bill and think your taxes are just too high, there is a place where you can argue and try to have them reduced. [12]

You can give it a shot in front of the Local Board of review, good luck. You see there are possibly too things working against you 1. A city that has artifically kept property taxes high in a declining housing and commercial market. 2.Proposal A haunting you from John Englar's political grave.[trb]

When the conservative began to run amok in Michigan their dumb decisons are costing michigan families today.[trb]

(S)ome aspects of what has become known as Proposal A were not well thought out.[M]

OUR LEGISLATURE Passed as a tax limitation amendment to the state constitution in 1994, Proposal A which limits property tax increases to the rate of inflation or 5 percent, whichever is less, regardless of increases in home values.[M]

HERE IS WHAT THE BALOT PROPOSAL SAID ADOPTED 3/15/1994 ( A low turn out special election whodathunk)

A proposal to increase the state sales and use tax rates from 4% to 6%, limit annual increases in property tax assessments, exempt school operating millages from uniform taxation requirement and require 3/4 vote of Legislature to exceed statutorily established school operating millage rates. The proposed constitutional amendment would:
1. Limit annual assessment increase for each property parcel to 5% or inflation rate, whichever is less. When property is sold or transferred, adjust assessment to current value.
2. Increase the sales/use tax. Dedicate additional revenue to schools.
3. Exempt school operating millages from uniform taxation requirement.
4. Require 3/4 vote of Legislature to exceed school operating millage rates.
5. Activate laws raising additional school revenues through taxation including partial restoration of property tax.
6. Nullify alternative laws raising school revenues through taxation, including an increase income tax, personal exemption increase, and partial restoration of property taxes.[MI]

The legislation established both a taxable value and an assessment value on a home. The assessed value is half of true cash value, but the taxable value is what is used to determine a homeowner’s taxes.[M]

THIS WILL BE A HARD FIGHT JUST TO BE FAIRLY TAXED

But to be successful, you'll need to be prepared. [12]

So you think you are paying too much in property tax. How do you know that you are? First of all, do you understand the difference between your state equalized value (SEV) and your Taxable Value?Remember you are not appealing the taxes, you are appealing the assessment, the SEV. By appealing the SEV you reset the SEV and the taxable value. It should be in your best interest for years to come.[REN]

ASSESSORS ARE JUST REGULAR PEOPLE, THEY MAKE MISTAKES

If you opened up your property tax bill recently and thought the assessor was just downright wrong, you can argue your case at your tax board of review.[12]
Most communities have their review boards meeting next week. If you're thinking you want to go, you'll [12]

PAT WAS WRONGED

Pat Oakes is not only a homeowner, but also a realtor. And given his background, he knew right away when he opened up his tax bill that his taxes were being pushed up higher because his house was being valued over what it should be.[12]
It is comparison information that will help people like Oakes when they show up at their tax board of review next week.[12]

After you buy your home then taxable value will become more important. There are two numbers on your tax bill. SEV and the second is taxable value. Proposal A of 1994 changed the way taxes were determined. Instead of increasing taxes based on 50% of actual cash value, commonly referred as SEV (state equalized value) now after the first year you buy a home property taxes are based on taxable value. If a property is not acquired during that tax year then the increases in taxable value are limited to the lesser of five percent or inflation.[REN]

So boiling that down in English the first year you buy a home the taxes are based on SEV. The second year the taxable value is SEV plus the lesser of five percent or inflation. Remember inflation on the house can be negative so sometimes taxable value and SEV can go down.[REN]

The first year you are taxed on the SEV value and then from then on you are taxed on the taxable value. [REN]

ILLOGICAL SMOGICAL
They warn homeowners against basic arguments, saying that it's illogical for their taxes to go up while their values go down.[12]

AGAIN HERE ARE THE TERMS BEING USED AGAINST YOU
Difference between SEV and Taxable Value

Your SEV is determined or set when there is a change in ownership of the property. I.E. when you buy the property the SEV is "reset" by the assessor to the current SEV. The state equalized value (SEV) is 1/2 the cash value of the property. (Or market value). The assessor usually determines what the SEV is by using comparables that have sold over a 2 year period. Just because you bought the house at $200,000 doesn't mean that the SEV will automatically be $100,000. The SEV value of the house may be above or below the purchase price. In the buyers market of 2007 & 2008 I am seeing many SEV's higher. That home with a $200,000 purchase price may have a SEV of $260,000.[REN]

PROPSAL A

For houses that have been owned before Proposal A when into effect back in 1994, that's just the effect of a souring economy.[12]

The system is the result of Proposal A, the measure that capped how quickly
property taxes could rise even as home values skyrocketed.
This year, Proposal A is working in a different way allowing
taxes to continue climbing while people are struggling to find home
buyers and property values are dropping. As long as the market value of
your home (an amount double the states assessed value) remains
greater than the taxable value, your assessment can decline from
year to year while your property taxes rise [FJ]

Taxable value is the dollar figure that your property tax bill is based on. Because of Proposal A, taxable values can continue to rise even when a property's market value is dropping. [FJ]

Taxable and assessed values become the same after a property is sold. After the sale, taxable values can continue to rise, but not more than 5 percent per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. [FJ]

Helpful Web link, "How to read your assessment notice." http://www.michigan.gov/documents/0310_ASSESS_tax_document_124137_7.pdf.

Source: Michigan Tax Tribunal[FJ]

Over time, for people who have remained in their homes, the gap between the taxable value and assessed value has widened. Because of that, those people will likely see an inflationary increase in property taxes even if their assessed values have gone down.[M]

A home’s assessed value would have to fall below the taxable value for property taxes to decline.[M]

One of the problems with Proposal A is that when it was passed, legislators did not address the situation of a declining Michigan housing market.[M]

So now, while some residents face lower assessments on their homes, the decrease is applied to only the true cash value of the house, not the taxable value, which could be considerably less than the true cash value, but is the figure used to determine a person’s tax liability.[M]

YOUR BURDEN TO SHOW LOWER VALUE

What can help you reduce your assessment and possibly lower your taxes is coming in with documented proof that your house's value is lower because of comparable home prices or because of problems in the home that the assessor may not have known about.[12]
And don't forget to bring proof in writing.[12]

A RECAP

Assessors say it's a quirk of Michigan's landmark 1994 Proposal A property tax reform, which amended the state constitution and changed the way public schools are funded.[L]

The voter-approved law limited how fast property taxes can rise. But, assessors say, it also limits how fast taxes can drop when property values tumble.[L]
The Greater Lansing Association of Realtors data shows the average sales price of houses dropped to $141,569 last year. That was down 8 percent from $154,167 in 2006.[L]

"Now that the market is going down, people think their (taxes) should go down. But honestly, there's no tie," [L]


BOARD OF REVIEW

To find out when your tax board of review is meeting, you'll want to contact your local city or township offices.[12] And blame this problem on every elected official in sight.



Posted here by
Terry Bankert GOOD LUCK
http://attorneybankert.com/
Join my political party of preference
http://www.michigandems.com/join.html
—where did this stuff come from---
[12]
WJRT 12 TV
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=5996222#bodyText
[FJ]
The Flint Journal 3/2/08
http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-49/120443904655640.xml&coll=5
[M]
The Mortgage Foundation
http://www.mtgfoundation.com/2006/12/michigan-property-tax-proposal-doesnt-account-for-declining-housing-market.html
[REN]
The Real Estate Network
http://activerain.com/blogsview/337379/Fighting-your-Michigan-taxes
[L]
The Lansing State Journal
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/NEWS03/802240640
[MI]
The University of Michigan
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/propa.html

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POLICE KILLINGS, How would Flint handle the controversey?

POLICE KILLINGS, How would Flint handle the controversey?
____________________________
GOOD MORNING FLINT!
BY Terry Bankert 3/03/08
http://attorneybankert.com/
You are invited to join me at Face Book
http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362
___________________________
Full article at:
http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com

Summarized article on Flint Talk:
http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=25775#25775


Inez Brown comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsnzt3Ufy-4

___________________

“Police!”[NYT]

BACHELOR PARTY AND BULLETS

If the following chain of events occured in Flint MI USA, are we up to the challenge as a community to expect and demand a fair hearing? If the NY officers are exonerated, found not guilty, will there be community protests. With the same facts would there be protests in Flint? Flint Police, Genesee Prosecutor, Flint Ombudsman, City and Community leaders are you capable of fairly reacting to these facts if they occured in Flint? Why talk about it in Flint if it has not happened? I remember reading stories about intersection deaths that result in a new traffic stop to save lives and wondered why our leader could not analyize these saftey concerns before a tragedy. Here I argue why not review in Flint our policies, procedures and accountability systems before there is an alledged police brutality death? Why not?[trb]

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM NEW YORK CITY

On the night of the bachelor party, the undercover detectives were responding to complaints about prostitution at the Kalua Cabaret. They claim they fired their guns into Bell's car only after Isnora identified himself as a police officer, and after the car nearly ran him over and smashed head-on into an undercover police van [W]
That single word is playing an increasing role in the trial of three detectives charged in the killing of Sean Bell, as prosecutors seek to prove that the detectives did not identify themselves as police officers before they opened fire.[NYT]

I WONDER WHAT IS THE POLICY IN FLINT ON IDENTIFICATION BEFORE SHOOTING?

In his opening statement, Queens prosecutor Charles Testagrossa pointed out that the detectives didn’t properly identify themselves as police before brandishing weapons and opening fire. Testagrossa said the detectives’ conduct “was carelessness verging on incompetence.”[WW]

WHAT WERE THE DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES THAT WERE VIOLATED BY INCOMPETENCE? WHAT ARE FLINT’S POLICIES?

It’s clear, however, that the district attorney’s office has no plans to raise more serious and relevant issues, like the racist New York Police Department’s occupation of oppressed communities and its shoot-first, ask-questions-later stance toward people of color.[WW]

The detective was steps behind Isnora as he tailed Bell's group from the club, down Liverpool St., and to their car just before the 23-year-old groom-to-be fell in a 50-bullet barrage. [D]

The 50-shot barrage that killed an unarmed bridegroom outside his bachelor party came without warning and was over in matter of seconds, the police shooters' commander testified Friday[W]

POLICE WANTED TO MOVE THE CASE OUT OF TOWN.

Detectives Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, and Mark Cooper pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. The cops had tried to get a change of venue outside New York City, hoping that a mostly-white upstate jury would vindicate them—a tactic used successfully in previous police brutality cases.[WW]

WHEN LEFT IN NY THE POLICE DO NOT WANT A JURY OF PEERS, BUT A JUDGE ONLY.

At the defendants' request, the case is being heard by a judge and not a jury.[W]

THE VICTEM DIES ON HIS WEDDING DAY.

A key question emerged after the first week of testimony in the trial of three detectives charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day: Did the officers identify themselves before opening fire? [N]

COPS DID NOT HEAR THE OTHER COPS YELL!

On Friday, the commanding officer of the undercover police unit that confronted Mr. Bell on Nov. 25, 2006, Lt. Gary Napoli, testified that he did not hear the detective who fired first, Gescard F. Isnora, yell, “Police!” Nor did he hear any of the other officers, including the other two on trial, Detectives Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper, shout the word, he said.[NYT]

DEAD GUYS FRIENDS DID NOT HEAR THE COPS YELL POLICE

While similar claims have been made by Mr. Bell’s friends, who were around the corner, and by an exotic dancer who said she saw the shooting, Lieutenant Napoli’s was the first such testimony in the trial from a fellow officer.

YO, GET MY GUN

The undercover cop who said he heard someone shout, "Yo, get my gun," moments before
Sean Bell died in a hail of police bullets could take the stand Monday. [D]

Detective Hispolito Sanchez, who worked with detectives Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper in Kalua Cabaret on Nov. 25, 2006, will be the first undercover cop to testify about what went on inside the club. He would also be the first officer to describe firsthand the feud between Bell and the driver of the black SUV parked in front of the seedy Queens strip joint where Bell was having his bachelor party. [D]

The defense has said Isnora witnessed the standoff and -- convinced that Bell and two friends were going to his car to retrieve a weapon -- followed them on foot as the police van and another unmarked vehicle carrying Napoli converged.[W]

NO BADGES WORN ,42 SHOTS FIRED

He also testified that he did not remember whether Detective Isnora or Detective Oliver, who fired 42 shots between them, were wearing their badges.[NYT]

I YELLED POLICE,....

Detective Isnora testified before a grand jury that he shouted, “Police!” lawyers said in their opening statements last week. [NYT]
Defense lawyers sought to question whether the lieutenant could have heard the shout. [NYT]

VICTEM WAS A BAD DRIVER

At the time, Lieutenant Napoli was in the passenger seat of an unmarked car traveling south on Liverpool Street, away from Mr. Bell’s parked car, as Detective Isnora approached it. Mr. Bell sped from the curb, hitting Detective Isnora in the leg and ramming Detective Oliver’s unmarked van before reversing, hitting a wall and ramming the van again. [NYT]

Detective Hispolito Sanchez, who worked with detectives
Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper in Kalua Cabaret on Nov. 25, 2006, will be the first undercover cop to testify about what went on inside the club. He would also be the first officer to describe firsthand the feud between Bell and the driver of the black SUV parked in front of the seedy Queens strip joint where Bell was having his bachelor party. [D]

Sanchez told investigators he was one of the two detectives close enough to overhear Joseph Guzman threaten the SUV driver in an angry faceoff, saying, "Yo, get my gun," according to a police report written the day of the shooting. [D]
The detective was steps behind Isnora as he tailed Bell's group from the club, down Liverpool St., and to their car just before the 23-year-old groom-to-be fell in a 50-bullet barrage. [D]

Sanchez was the first undercover to enter Kalua, about 1 a.m. It was his job to scout out patrons who might recognize Isnora from his prostitution bust at Kalua the week before, a police report said. [D]

Sanchez fired no shots that night, because he had left behind his gun, his badge and his bulletproof vest in order to enter Kalua undetected, his commanding officer testified last week. He faces no charges. [D]

Isnora, who fired 11 times, faces manslaughter charges. Cooper, who fired four times, faces misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges. [D]

All Sanchez had was his cell phone, which he used to communicate with the other undercovers and provide regular updates to Lt. Gary Napoli, the unit leader that night.[D]

Napoli testified Isnora became increasingly "frantic," warning his boss, "It's getting hot on Liverpool, for real." As this was happening, Sanchez was close by chatting up a club dancer, identified by sources as Marseilles (Trini) Payne. He was using her for cover, sources said. [D]

Lt. Gary Napoli's testimony was the first from a police officer to echo what other witnesses had said _ that on a confused Nov. 25, 2006, when 23-year-old Sean Bell was killed in a 50-bullet barrage, the detectives who opened fire outside the Kalua Cabaret never identified themselves. [N]


Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora face manslaughter charges, while Detective Marc Cooper is charged with reckless endangerment. [N]

Napoli, 50, was not charged, but prosecutors say the lieutenant helped author a "tale of carelessness verging on incompetence." [N]

Besides Napoli, the first week of testimony in the trial included eyewitness accounts from an exotic dancer at the club, Bell's father and a strip club regular, Harold "Bones" James, who said he helped organize the bachelor party that brought Bell to the club with a group of friends. [N]

Napoli told the New York Post Saturday that he was "able to block any outside emotion" when he testified in the trial. [N]

It is unclear if Sanchez saw Isnora step in front of Bell's car and open fire. [D]

WHEN THINGS GOT HOT THE TOP GUY DUCKED FOR COVER

At the moment of the initial shots, the lieutenant had ducked down in his seat to find a police dome light for his unmarked car, he said. He first heard what sounded like two vehicles collide, followed by gunshots. Believing the police were under fire, he remained crouched in the seat, he said. [NYT]
From here in the cheap seats, the case appears to be coming apart at the seams, with witnesses constantly tripping themselves up.[NYP]
On Thursday, two of Bell's friends told the judge that as the party broke up, the guest of honor exchanged glares and insults with an unidentified man dressed in black and possibly armed. The stranger, they said, struck a menacing pose by putting his hand in one pocket.[W]

Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Paultre-Bell, gave tearful testimony inside the courtroom, noting that she last saw him “in the morgue” on what should have been their wedding day. Bell was also a father of two.[WW]

But a source sympathetic to the defense told me the men are "genuinely scared and genuinely upset" about Bell's death. Isnora "goes home every day and sits in front of ESPN." [NYP]

"They know their lives have changed forever," the source said. [NYP]
This was supposed to be a case about racist cops shooting a black man for no good reason. [NYP]

But after a week, the only witnesses have been ex-cons, New York's "second best" pole-dancing stripper, plus a police lieutenant who ordered his men to "Move in!" - then hid in his car rather than risk getting shot. [NYP]

Even so, it's no sure thing these men will walk. [NYP]

The case was supposed to be about race. But from the get-go, the defense knocked that down. Isnora is African-American, as is Cooper. Oliver is of Syrian descent - which would make even the Rev. Al Sharpton define him as a person of color. [NYP]
This case was supposed to be about guys enjoying Bell's bachelor party, before gunshots forever silenced the fun. [NYP]

But Bell's pals described the Kalua club as a joint chockablock with hookers, drug dealers and sleazy exotic dancers who coerce patrons into buying them overpriced drinks. [NYP]

Stripper Marseilles Payne testified she watched as a colleague was slapped in the face by a male customer, behavior that's tolerated there. Bell's felonious crew watched men threaten one another with guns. [NYP]

"These witnesses are sporting felony drug convictions like they're MVP awards," cracked Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association. [NYP]
We heard from Lt. Gary Napoli, the ranking officer who barricaded himself inside his car when things got hot - and did not hear cops shout, "Police." [NYP]
Justice Arthur Cooperman might punish Oliver for firing 31 of the 50 shots - although it may have taken less than 10 seconds. And Cooper's shot hit a train station, where a bystander could have been struck. [NYP]

In the end, the judge alone will decide whether to make the tragic death of Sean Bell a whole lot worse by taking down these cops. [NYP]

A BEAR IN THE WOODS

On cross-examination, a defense lawyer, Anthony L. Ricco, asked about his having not heard any shout. “Because you didn’t hear it,” he said, “does that mean it wasn’t done?”[NYT]

“No,” Lieutenant Napoli replied. [NYT]

THE PASSENGERS TALK NEXT

Mr. Bell’s two friends in the car that morning, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, are expected to testify that Detective Isnora did not identify himself before firing. [NYT]

A prayer vigil led by the Rev. Al Sharpton preceded the opening of the trial. Later, community members and activist groups organized a picket line, held signs, drummed and chanted, “Remember Sean Bell,” “No justice, no peace,” and “Death to police terrorism.” The New York Times falsely reported the latter’s demand as “fringe groups’ call for violence against the police.”[WW]
Groups participating in the protest included People’s Justice Coalition, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the New Black Panther Party, the National Action Network and the International Action Center.[WW]

How would our public and community institutions and leaders be acting had this happened in Flint. I for one would look to the Flint Ombudsmans office.[trb]

Posted here by
Terry Bankert 3/3/08
http://attorneybankert.com/
Join my political party of preference
http://www.michigandems.com/join.html

—where did this stuff come from----


[NYT]
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/nyregion/03police.html

[D]
New Yprk Dailey News
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/03/03/2008-03-03_undercover_cop_present_at_night_of_bell_-1.html


[N]
Newsday.com
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--policeshooting0303mar03,0,4457804.story

[NYP]
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03032008/news/columnists/brave_faces_of_scared_cops_100266.htm

[trb]
Comments of Terry Bankert to include all cap headings.
http://attorneybankert.com/

[W]
WNBC
http://www.wnbc.com/news/15449032/detail.html

[ww]
Workers World
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/sean_bell_0306/

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