Mich. City Begs Tax-Exempt Organizations for Donations to Cover Debt
- Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:09am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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Mount Clemens, Michigan sits just 25 miles Northeast of Detroit. Like its big sister, it has a problem: debt. Desperate, the city is now begging tax-exempt organizations to donate to its general fund, which covers fire services, streetlights, and roads.
Mount Clemens Mayor Barb Dempsey made the request in a letter to 35 such groups this week. According to the New York Times, Dempsey said the town of 17,000 has already made cuts, such as disbanding its police department. But still, it’s facing a budget deficit of $960,000 that she says will reach $1.5 million next year.
“As the County seat and land base of many religious properties, hospitals, schools, and non-profit charitable organizations, one of the most challenging dilemmas the City faces in trying to balance its budget each year is that 42% of the property in Mount Clemens is tax exempt,” Dempsey writes in the letter. “These properties receive the same services as the tax paying properties which places a tremendous burden upon the 58% of property owners that pay taxes.”
“The 42%,” the Times says, includes 26 churches, a hospital, and several schools. That’s taken its toll on the 4.2-square-mile city, which, as the letter says, is also the headquarters of Macomb County, the third largest in Michigan.
If all that property were not exempt, Dempsey told the Times, the properties would pay at least $1.2 million, enough to erase the deficit.
The letter hopes to make up for some of that lost revenue by asking, not telling. “We figured it can’t hurt to send out letters,” Dempsey told the Times. “If you don’t ask, you never know.” She’s hoping it works. Hamtramck, a Detroit suburb, just asked the state for permission to file for bankruptcy, something no Michigan government has ever done before.
For now, at least one group is stepping up to the collection plate: First Presbyterian Church of Mount Clemens. The church gave $1,000 five years ago when the city considered a similar request. Pending approval from the church board, it will do it again.
“If we can help the city in a time of need we definitely should do that,” First Presb. Rev. Bill Davis told the Times. “We need the city, and the city needs us. If we can help financially, I think that’s right.”
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Comments (52)
flying dolphin
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 3:12pmAs the County seat and land base of many religious properties, hospitals, schools, and non-profit charitable organizations, one of the most challenging dilemmas the City faces in trying to balance its budget each year is that 42% of the property in Mount Clemens is tax exempt,” Dempsey writes in the letter. “These properties receive the same services as the tax paying properties which places a tremendous burden upon the 58% of property owners that pay taxes.”
This sounds just like the 48% of taxpayers that don’t pay any income tax. They receive the same services (or more) as the people that pay income tax. This places a tremendous burden on the 52% of people that do pay taxes. Does anyone besides me see the irony in this??????
Report Post »bookofwisdom
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 2:04pmMakes me wonder how much the Mayor and City Manager make every month. Probably a big chunk of change there that could be or should be a lot less. May God Bless.
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 11:43amtax churches, there should not be non-profit exclusions from ANY tax code
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 11:41amget rid of the unions and moooooslum welfare trash and they would not need to BEG!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »chaifa
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 11:03amgrandholm caused this mess…grandholm and her cronies can clean it up…you chased or destroyed the majority of tax paying, job producing private sector businesses out…now…you either get with the program of lower taxes across the board…smaller government, etc…or like california print your own currency ‘IOU’s’…bwaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaa….
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:41amHey, Mitch e gain. Why don’t you go to the UNIONS and ask for help. I am sure they will give up their benefits. Just and idea. It never hurts to ask. But if the non-profit organizations do help you out. Then what are you going to do next year. Maybe if you find the problem and correct it. Then the problem will go away on it own.
Report Post »Derfel Cadarn
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:33amThere should be no tax exempt anything, if one pays they all pay I am tired of propping up other peoples superstitions. Let them pay like the rest of us if they don`y like it ,leave.
Report Post »LtdGovt
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 3:50pmHey Derfel,
Report Post »Got Jesus? Sounds like you need a dose of “superstition”. Praying for ya! But I will say this, I do believe that churches should pay administrative fees since they don’t pay taxes. Despite some high profile cases most churches operate off of a shoestring budget that would leave many business owners looking to lock their doors for lack of capital. The good churches provide a lot of help to the community as they should and, in truth, they should be the “social safety net” instead of the government. However, you have a government who is forcing more and more people on to it’s welfare roles burdening true not for profits to the nth degree. I don’t want to insult you, Derfel. Like it or not, Jesus is the real deal and not a “superstition.” Might I suggest you get the book, “More than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell. Take care, man.
WILLIAM E.
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:29amVote more dumocrats into your state & you’ll get there faster !!!
Report Post »H2OBoardem
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:10amThis is just too simple to fix. Cut your spending and charge administrative services fees to tax exempt properties. This is little different from the recent story of the guy who watched his house burn and the fire department didn‘t respond because he was outside the tax district and hadn’t paid the service fees. No taxes means admin fees – at a much higher rate than taxes. Non-payment of fees means no services. Cut off water and sewer. No fire or police coverage, etc.
Report Post »Gunfighter
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:43amAs the story says the got rid of their police dept. so does that mean the citizens have no protection from bad guys? Gee I guess that good old 2nd Amendment is coming in handy right about now.
Report Post »BRAVEHEART
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:25amProperty taxes in any form are a crime against the people. Holding someone’s property hostage to permit city, county or any other governments to engage in the excessive spending they have proven over and over to be addicted to is criminal. People need to wake up and make these idiots operate according to constitutional law. Stealin lying and cheating wheather its local state or federal is still a crime against the citizens of America!!!!
Report Post »traderdan
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:21amwhat I read into that story wasn’t just asking for a handout for a mismanaged budget but also note that it was mentioned – if only those organizations weren’t tax exempt it could cover the debt
Report Post »hempstead1944
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:15amThey did it to themselves….unions, corruption, Democrat politicians….no one should feel sorry for this state or its cities….they couldn’t even find an American govenor for the state….had to get a retread from Canada. No sympathy here.
Report Post »Jethro212
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:58amWhy is it Democrats ALWAYS see it as not enough taxes collected? Seriously, they must be a real hoot in real life, “this sucks there is only 20 dollars in checking, oh well guess I will whine to mom and dad for more cash.” The conversation is never about, how can I MAKE more money, its never about how I spent my cash on 5 dollar coffees and such. No, its about people sacrificing, not them, to fund, their STUPID ideas and ponzi schemes.
If they like Socialism so freaking much, why don’t they try to immigrate back to Europe? Oh wait for it, they more than likely could NOT get citizenship due to not being a beneficial member to the Country they intend to move to!
Oh the irony.
Report Post »WireWizard
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:39amI have often wondered why churches have tax exempt status. All you have to do is invent a church and avoid taxes.
Report Post »jedi.kep
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:38amThose churches better not give a dime. Once they do, then erasing the tax exempt status will be easy pickens. Do not give your overspending city one dime. Force them to balance their budgets, turn off the lights where needed and let the roads goto pot if necessary. The government has been looking for a hand out for way too long.
Report Post »canuck44
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:25amThe Not for Profits, Churches etc should just be sent a bill for fire protection services, police, sewer and any other public service they use. If they don’t pay, service is removed. These are basically parasitic organizations that expect all citizens to pay for their ongoing existence.
Report Post »Will be fun to watch if they refuse and the local gangs suddenly find they have a haven to sell drugs and dump bodies out of reach from the local cops. The State will soon tire of getting these calls. There will be no point of having a fire alarm service as none will be answering on the other end.
sodun
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:23amWait a minute…I thought Michigan was one of those high and mighty PROGRESSIVE tax and spend states? So know the godless heathen is begging the godly for a hand out.
Report Post »wodiej
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:10amMany churches are hardly non-profit. How many “ministers” have we seen go down in flames over mishandling church donations or simply spending extravagantly? They should be monitored and if their revenue exceeds a certain threshold, they should be taxed like the rest of us. Flat tax is the best way. Many people pay nothing and still get a huge tax refund.
Report Post »teahugger
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:24amI personally prefer the fair tax. That way even the people who fuel the black markets are taxed, and no one is penalized (taxed) for production and earnings (income taxes discourage both). but a flat tax is the next best thing and MUCH preferable to what we have now.
Report Post »jaybo379
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:04amPROBLEM SOLVED: Return the MI. DEQ back to the Army Corps of Engineers where it belongs.According to Governor Granholm this would save the tax payers approx. $3,000,000.00
Report Post »a year, encourage new businesses to the state and spur a building boom. Plus, rid the state of this corrupt organization.
DMD
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:49amChurches should be taxed. Who hasn’t seen them campaign for a canadate?
Report Post »hempstead1944
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:17amCertainly the case in “Black Chrurches”
Report Post »Rock_Thrower
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:49amI have not seen them. Is your church the one Obama use to go to?
Report Post »dcwu
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 12:54pmUS Constitution
Amendment I (1791)
Congress shall make no law RESPECTING an establishment of religion, ….
This means Congress has no power to make a national church [and tax us to support it like the Church of England].
It doesn‘t mean Congress can’t tax Churches, or otherwise DISRESPECT them.
And it does not limit the powers of the Executive and Judicial branches, just Congress.
True charity is individual. Collective charity is theft [forced contribution, redistribution, communism].
Report Post »Frostbyte
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:58pmDCWU
It would help if you would learn the 1770′s meaning of the words used by the founders instead of assigning modern (much changed) meanings to them. The term “respecting” as used in these documents means “relating to”. As in Congress shall make no law “relating to” religion…
More importantly, the Constitution was designed to place severe limits on the powers of the Federal government, and does not have the power to place restrictions on the States. The Federal government can not tax or otherwise restrict (yeah right!) religion, but the States are free to do as they wish. If Michigan or its cities decide to tax the hell out of the religion of peace, or of the brothers, they are Constitutionally free to do so, if they are suicidal.
People have got to learn that the Constitution was only designed to limit the scope of Federal power!
Report Post »juliems3
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:48amInteresting?! This what happens when you now have more not-for-profit organizations than for-profit and tax paying entities in your county and state. Gov’t & non-profits are the only thing that now thrive in Michigan. Not everyone can be tax-exempt! Do we like charity and gov’t being our new capitalism? The only new skill aquired here is everyone becoming experts at asking for handouts and it doesn’t solve a thing. Good grief…
Report Post »missionarydad
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:05amSo in other words they didn’t get their Obama money from his stash.
Report Post »juliems3
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:50amYes, they did get their stash that is the whole point. Burnt right through it I am sure. Michigan has lost its way to such a degree they wouldn’t know how to create a business or a job if their life depended on it…and now it does depend on it!
Many charities and Gov’t are now mirror images of each other. The churches are the least of the problem. Go check out all of the other numerous “charities” that have popped up over the last decade or so…..beware……
“Satan always sends error into the world in pairs that are opposites. His great hope is that you will get so upset about one of his errors, that you’ll react into the opposite one, and he’s got you.” — C.S. Lewis
Report Post »HKS
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:41amWow, this is ironic, just yesterday I was looking over the list of tax exempt organizations and was dumbfounded at how big it is. If you haven’t seen it look it up. Most of the organizations are political in nature and are promoting somebodies agenda. Like Soros and his three or four hundred and he is not the only one. What we have is a tax shelter umbrella for rich fools promoting something. If a congressman wants to be a hero and save the country, write a bill that imposes a flat tax with no exemptions. That would even out the tax burden to all and take away the rich misfits tax shelters. Might even close up most of the commies criminal and promotional organizations.
Report Post »juliems3
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:53amYou are so correct! Non-profits are completely out of hand and many are anything but about charity…Glenn needs to do a whole investigation and segment on this. And renew the definition of CHARITY. :)
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:00amSounds like a very reasonable idea and also like DWH320′s idea. Unions have lived long past their usefulness.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:42amStrange thing that will happen when something like this is proposed, some people will say “oh you can’t punish them all, some are good” and that is probably true. Problem is you can’t tell the difference. It’s sorta like the scanners and pat downs at the airport. The bad might be one one thousands of a percent but everyone gets scanned and violated.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:44amYeah, and guess who gives out these tax exempt status? If they don‘t give them out then they can’t get it.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:49am@HKS
I work at a non-profit food bank, a very small one here in Phoenix that is on par to aid 22500+ people this year alone. I will agree with you that most non-profit groups should be taxed or even eliminated, especially the political motivated ones. Some guidelines as to who to have as a true non-profit, with books audited say every three or six months by a neutral third party entity, and who is not a true non profit helping at the community (say a food bank) and national levels (Red Cross).
The ideas of many blaze bloggers have merit; we need indeed to find out those that would work out the best.
Report Post »dwh320
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:40amGo bankrupt then cancel ALL union contracts. Drop city workers pay 5% and place them all on Obamacare. Let’s see if the union members loves progressive ideas then.
Report Post »jerryod1627
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:07amAmen!
Report Post »hempstead1944
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:16amTwenty five percent…..at least
Report Post »copper
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 5:47pmHoorah! Common Sense! or should I say UNcommoon sense!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on November 22, 2010 at 12:23amThey should do that to ALL of Michigan … after being born there and living in Michigan for decades … I left.
Report Post »guyperram
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:23amSo go bankrupt. You do not have a tax receipt problem, you have a spending problem. Stop spending and balance your budget. The smae nonsense applies to the Feds.
Report Post »Shurmus
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:34amIt seems so simple, doesn’t it? Kinda like term limits…just makes so much sense that they can’t seem to see it…weird.
http://www.slugbuddies.com
Report Post »SHTFMilitia.com
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 7:38amYup spending issue..
If you are prepared You may Survive,
Report Post »http://www.shtfmilitia.com
Dustyluv
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 8:04amI love it…The Government begging! I hope this becomes a massive problem and they have to shut down Unions and Cities and sell them off to private investors. Although I couldn’t imagine wanting anything from the Detroit area in a bankruptcy sale…What a useless place on Earth.
Keep begging. I just pray no one gives you a nickle! Starve the beast!!
Report Post »M31Sailor
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 9:58amlove to know how much of this debt is in unfunded mandates from the feds and the state gov’t.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 21, 2010 at 10:44amSimple equation:
Funds availible = Funds spendable.
No more and no less.
Leave the non-profits alone; they are there for a reason.
Bet the next move will be the revocation of the non-proftit status both state and federal for any of the charity groups who refuse or decline to ‘help’ or ‘make donations’ on behalf of the political elites.
http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm
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