Mayor Ken LaMont: Mandan not No. 1 in property taxes

Bismarck Tribune - April 9th, 2007

“No. 1 is great if you’re a girl’s basketball team, but not in taxes.” This was a comment offered by Mandan Park Board member Terry Kraft at the events center public forum held March 27.

Kraft was referring to an article that ran in the Bismarck Tribune on March 25, which stated that residents in Mandan “face the highest property taxes in the North Dakota.” He and other Mandan leaders and municipalities are concerned about property taxes and have been working to hold the line on budgets.

Our community is striving to retain and attract businesses and residents. As we work together in this development process, it is important that you know Mandan tax rates have decreased. Mandan’s consolidated mill levy now ranks fourth among the state’s 13 largest cities.

The data used in the Tribune article was based on tax rates levied in fiscal year 2005 that were payable in 2006. For taxes levied in 2006 that were payable in 2007, the consolidated levy for Mandan — including county, school, city and park district shares — dropped by 13.17 mills to 521.51 mills.

Here’s the comparison from the North Dakota League of Cities as of January 2007:

Devils Lake, $538.83; Grafton, 522.38; Jamestown, 521.60; Mandan, 521.51; Williston, 502.19;Â Valley City, 492.59; Wahpeton, 490.28; Grand Forks, 483.47; Fargo, 467.25; Dickinson, 457.21; West Fargo, 449.99; Minot, 441.74; Bismarck, 440.40.

The city of Mandan is often blamed for tax rates in the community. You may be surprised to know that the “city” portion of the Mandan property tax bill is 21.3 percent, which is slightly below the 21.8 percent average of North Dakota’s 13 largest communities.

Please also consider that a home buyer can get more for his or her dollar in Mandan — be it newer, bigger, or both — than in larger cities like Bismarck or Fargo. Listings of taxes on the so-called same $150,000 home across various communities do not provide apples-to-apples comparisons. A home that sells for $150,000 in one community might sell for $160,000 or a $170,000 in the next.

As Mandan continues to grow its business base, we can look forward to additional property tax relief through increased sales tax collections, which reached a record $1.42 million in 2006.

The Truth About Free Tuition

Minot Daily News - April 8th, 2007

Sen. Tony Grindberg deserves to be commended for having the courage, as a Republican, to propose a bold and sweeping plan to address the issue of out-migration. Unfortunately, the perspective from which he views the issue is flawed. From my discussions with him regarding the “North Dakota Promise” and reading his remarks on the Business Congress, it seems he views out-migration as a causal problem and not the symptom effect of other issues – namely business tax climate and personal tax burden.

Like many ideas that have attempted to address out-migration in recent years, the Promise Plan accepts the premise that the only way to keep young people in the state is through handouts and new programs – in simple terms “free stuff.” This is a flawed premise, and not at all what young people are asking for.

Young people leave this state because, while they do get a relatively inexpensive education compared to other states, they still finish school with massive amounts of debt and need to find good-paying jobs to make a living and pay the bills. When the average debt load of a college graduate is a little over $23,000, the choice is to stick around and earn less, or go somewhere to earn more.

Beyond the salary issues, graduates want to be able to actually use the education they paid $23,000 for and be in a career field that the taxpayers of North Dakota subsidized them to be educated in. The state lacks a proper economic mix of jobs to match graduates education and skill set. If you can’t work in the field of your choice, many times you must leave the state to do so.

Certainly, there is a certain percentage of young people that just want to get out, and there is nothing that will stop them.

Among the causes of out-migration is that North Dakota ranks 33rd in terms of Business Friendly Tax Policy while our neighbors in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota all rank in the Top 10. It does not take an economist or accountant to show that these numbers just don’t add up to positive things for the state of North Dakota.

If legislators are truly concerned about this issue they will support measures that will allow more young North Dakotans to be able to stay in the state by creating their own jobs. The Legislature should seriously consider eliminating both the individual income tax in the state of North Dakota. This will allow us to be more competitive with South Dakota which long ago abolished income taxes and has seen population growth and tax revenue growth via the sales tax ever since.

The goal of the state of North Dakota should be to create ways for more of its people to create jobs for themselves and other North Dakotans. Tuition handouts and more government programs that try to manipulate the free market will not make that happen.

Group to push for tax reform

Bismarck Tribune - April 5th, 2007

A new player in the property tax debate emerged Wednesday with the formation of group known as Citizens for Property Tax Reform.

Constructed from a partnership of established lobbying organizations and grassroots groups, the groups’ main aim is to create long-term property tax reform. Robert Harms, president of a member group known as Citizens for Responsible Government, said the new organization will push for reform on both the state and local levels.

“The message is that property tax rebates or relief must come with property tax reform that ensures that property taxes don’t just continue to go up,” he said.

In addition to Harms’ group, Citizens for Property Tax Reform is made up of the Land Owners Association of North Dakota, Americans for Prosperity, North Dakota Association of Realtors, North Dakota Policy Council, National Federation of Independent Businesses, North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, North Dakota Hospitality Association, North Dakotans for Change and the North Dakota Farm Bureau.

Harms said the partnership is “volunteer based” and not funded by any specific entity.

The groups’ formation comes as the Legislature is debating numerous proposals to give North Dakotans a break in their local property taxes.

The most prominent measure would use state money to offer 10 percent rebate checks to homeowners and 5 percent rebate checks to business and farm owners. It has become controversial because of a proposal by the state House that would cap how much local entities could raise their property taxes.

Harms said his group, which favors restricting how much local governments can raise taxes, is not too late to affect the debate.

Mark Johnson, executive director of the North Dakota Association of Counties, questioned the use of such a group.

He said people can simply elect a local government that shares their values on taxes instead of joining a group that will be lobbying the Legislature to make local decisions.

“It’s not needed, because that’s what you elect local officials for,” Johnson said.

A Conservative Universal Health Care Proposal

From Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK)

Dr. Coburn’s Prescription for a Healthy America

Have you ever wondered why is it that in America, patients can not choose their own doctor?  Why, in the land of the free, do government bureaucrats, insurance companies and employers make your health care decisions instead of you?  Why do health insurance costs increase faster than your income?  Why are prescription drugs prices cheaper in every other country when the medical research is often funded with U.S tax dollars?  And why does the U.S. spend over $2 trillion annually on health care, more than any other nation, and 45 million Americans do not have access to health insurance?

The answer is simple.  Unlike every other aspect of American life, there is no free market in health care.  Well intentioned, but shortsighted laws passed decades ago removed patients from their own health care decisions.

While you can buy the car of your choice, watch the TV show you want, and comparison shop for every other product between manufacturers and sellers, you don’t have this same option about your own health care.

If you are unhappy with your health insurance policy, what are your options?  Most Americans do not select their own health plan.  As a result, you can not hire or fire your insurer.  You are trapped in a plan provided by your employer or the government or have no coverage at all.

A government run health care program would only compound the existing problem.  Washington, D.C., bureaucrats would have the ultimate decision over every health care decision.  Going to the doctor would resemble a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Shouldn’t shopping for health care, rather, resemble a visit to a department store where the custumer is the priority?  You are greeted with a smile, offered bargains, clerks offer assistance, you have the opportunity to compare products and prices, and if there is a long wait at check out, a new line might be opened because your business is appreciated and your time is valued.  Because one store must compete with others and the products they sell compete with similar merchandise, costs remain competitive and the customer can pick the best product for the amount of money they are willing or can afford to spend.  If you are dissatisfied with a product you purchased, you can return it for a full refund or exchange it for something that better meets your needs.

This is the health care system envisioned by the Universal Health Care Choice and Access Act.  Patients have the control to make their own decisions and can select from competing health care plans and providers.

The tax breaks that corporations and employers now receive when they provide health insurance to employees will be redirected to patients for them to use to buy their own health care insurance.  The control over government-run health care programs would now be entrusted to the patients covered by these programs rather than government bureaucrats.  Access to universal affordable health care for all Americans would be guaranteed.  Rather than patients appealing denials of care or waiting to see a health care provider, insurance companies and doctors would now compete for patients.

A PDF with the details of the plan is available here.

A Failed First Half At The North Dakota Legislature

Bismarck Tribune - April 2nd, 2007

If a democrat governor would have proposed a 24% increase in spending as Governor John Hoeven did, Republicans would be all over the tax and spend fiscal policy. But somewhere along the line something strange happened. The Republican legislature decided to make Hoeven look conservative by going even further on spending. As of crossover, the legislature had managed to pass enough new spending to turn that surplus into a potential deficit if each chamber chose to pass the other’s approved legislation.

Even more ludicrous is the fact that this same Republican controlled legislature has yet to pass meaningful tax relief for its citizens. Sure, the House has passed so-called “property tax relief” which is nothing more than an income tax redistribution scheme that most certainly will be challenged on its constitutionality. It does not extend relief to the 30% of North Dakotans who do not own property. It does allows property owners who do not pay income tax in North Dakota to be granted property tax relief using funds generated by those who do pay income tax in the state. Finally, and worse of all, to sustain the state funded property tax relief, the income tax will probably be raised at some point.

In summary, the “property tax relief” package the governor is pushing, and the legislature is so eager to pass, is nothing more than a subsidy to those who can afford property on the backs of those who do not or can not. Ironically, the best tax plan to address the property tax issue was a Democrat tax credit that included those who do not own property, but contributed to the surplus, in the relief (SB 2291).

But when it came to meaningful tax relief that will not end up costing the taxpayers more a few cycles from now, our elected representatives have failed miserably. A Republican majority, holding 61 of 94 seats in the State House, failed to achieve a constitutional majority to pass a meager 20-basis-point income tax rate reduction (HB 1170).

Not only has the Republican majority failed to pass real tax relief; it even blocked the repeal of age discrimination on the tax exempt status of retired military personnel pay (HB 1418). Republicans that voted against this tax cut for military vets claim it was because it did not go far enough. If that really is the case, this group of naïve elected officials chose to “forsake the good, for the perfect.” Good policy should be approved or simply amended to make it better, not opposed because it does not do enough.

The Republican majority also made a policy statement on how it views college graduates. By voting against HB 1518, they stated to the public that interest generated from student debt is nothing more than just another revenue stream – just like any other tax. The bill would have reinvested interest from student loans, in college scholarship funds. It is unfortunate that Republicans have decided that taxing the young people of this state is more important than making it easier for them to afford to actually stay here.

As a conservative, this session has been a total disappointment. The failure to enact real tax relief for all taxpayers, the refusal to cut taxes for military vets, and the immoral government policy of profiting from the debt of its own citizens all lead to a questioning of what the Republican label even means at this point. And to top it all off, the legislative majority leadership even wrote an editorial bragging about “increased funding at record levels across the board.”

As Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana stated of the national party in the Spring of 2006: “It’s one thing to drift off course…It’s quite another thing to continue that course when half the crew and passengers are pointing out that nothing looks familiar … not to mention the tens of millions of Americans lining the shoreline screaming, “You’re going the wrong way!” In a word, we’re no longer adrift. We might’ve been when we started but now “off course” is the accepted course.”

We will see if legislators “right the ship” on their own here in North Dakota in the next two months, or if that task will be left to the voters in November 2008.

Youngberg Just Plain Wrong

Grand Forks Herald - April 1st, 2007

I have written far, far too many letters criticizing the Republican Legislature and Republican Governor recently – in doing so I have broken Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment - “thou shall not speakth ill of fellow Republicans.” Six months ago I would have never dreamed that with less than a month left in the legislative session I would be defending, be it indirectly, a Democrat. But as Ronald Reagan said in 1962 – “I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me” – it seems something similar, but in reverse is happening now.

On Thursday, March 22nd the Herald ran a letter by Jerry Youngberg, Chairman of District 42 Republicans, in which Chairman Youngberg refuted some figures in a letter by Representative Chris Griffin in the March 9th Herald – as well as sprinkling in a few personal attacks for good measure. I’d like to set the record straight, and again, I take no pleasure by bringing forward facts that help a Democrat – but they are still facts.

First, Chairman Youngberg claims “…it is common for legislative spending to be above the governor’s budget at crossover before duplicate expenditures are removed and priorities are fully set.” This is 100% true, however, what the good Republican fails to mention is that only 4 Legislative Budgets since 1967 (20 sessions) have cut the Executive Budget Recommendation (EBR) by more than one percent and only seven times within 1% of the EBR. As far as crossover figures go, my data as provided by the Legislative Council only goes back to the 1989 session, but the largest “crossover deficit” in that time was actually last session at negative $38,356,995. This session the “crossover deficit” was at negative $369,817,178 – hardly a drop in the bucket. (Please note that as of March 20th the “crossover deficit” was only negative $295,352,686.)

Chairman Youngberg then brings up this so-called tax relief that Republicans are pushing - “He [Griffin] didn’t back the bill approved by the majority of House members…which guarantees a 10 percent reduction in residential property taxes.” This property tax relief does not go to the taxpayers themselves. It goes to counties who are to give it back in the form of a discount on their tax statement. For those who don’t know the truth, there is no guarantee that property taxes will go down after this rebate – but that doesn’t make for a good column.

Chairman Youngberg quips “Oh, and the provision Griffin called “unconstitutional” has been removed from the bill.” This too is true, the provision that Griffin called unconstitutional was removed five full days after Griffin’s letter ran in the Herald.

Chairman Youngberg and Representative Griffin both failed to mention the other unconstitutional provision – the state rebating a tax it never collected in the first place. Let’s just sweep that under the rug for a while.

Throughout his letter, Chairman Youngberg brings up Representative Griffin’s “youth and inexperience” numerous times. The good chairman should consider the ramifications of these comments to his own elected “young and inexperienced” legislators from his district, Representative Stacey Dahl and Senator Nick Hacker. (Both of which deserve to be given a second term by the way.)

Senator Hacker already must deal with the heat within the Republican Party caused by his involvement in “hog housing” the WSI bill. While Senate Leadership should never have allowed or promoted his involvement in the “hog housing” in the first place; having the Chairman of the same district calling out other young legislators is not a wise political move.

In closing, I would suggest that Chairman Youngberg look at the data of how the Legislature has behaved in the past compared to what they are doing this session. The numbers show in black and white that something is missing this session – fiscal conservatism. As a Conservative - I applaud any other Conservative, Liberal, Democrat, or Republican to point that truth out.