Officials hope shifting tax burden will benefit city - Sentinel...

Limited highway access, high utility costs and a dual tax rate that charges businesses more than homeowners, are factors that discourage economic growth in Fitchburg, according to Ward 1 City Councilor David Clark.

[resident]

guess it is time to sell and move out of this f in city if you can sell

[sickofitall]

resident wrote:

guess it is time to sell and move out of this f in city if you can sell

my house is on the market as of tomorrow..........wish me luck! I can't wait to get out of this bad situation. I was speaking with an officer in littleton and he said that first of all his name was captain chaos and that when i told him i lived in fitchburg he said "oh the new lowell" yup they have succeeded both of them to give us that honorable mention !

[sickofitall]

bedroom community, everyone wishes! when you car gets vandalized and intruders show up 3 times in 10 days and have made you late for work no one will move here either to use this as a commuter town you can't get out on time to go to work. spray paint and break ins and dealing with the FPD before you leave for work.

[Good]

sickofitall wrote:

<quoted text>
my house is on the market as of tomorrow..........wish me luck! I can't wait to get out of this bad situation. I was speaking with an officer in littleton and he said that first of all his name was captain chaos and that when i told him i lived in fitchburg he said "oh the new lowell" yup they have succeeded both of them to give us that honorable mention !

You were probably speaking with your bro from Littleton on your mobile phone at a police detail when looking in the hole and watching real men do some real work while you ignored taxpayers as they drove past cursing the whiners at the FPD. Good luck, goodbye and good riddance.

[fitch]

fitchburg needs to do some more cutting not raising our taxes. can't wait to move out of this hell hole. stupid welfare city

[lincoln street]

funny how none of these cucksockers on the council mentioned this BEFORE the elections

[Leslie]

Mine went on the market this past friday. Lived
here for decades but I can't take it any more.
City Government has NO CLUE. They may attract
new business's (Don't hold your breath) but more
homes will become vacant as people flee. These
to will sell, but some won't, ending up as
non-revenue entities.
It's sad. I loved this City, now I can't wait
to leave it. The never-ending saga of a City
Council that in essense fights the Mayor, argues
the stupid and then laments that it's always some-
one elses fault. They've spent their way into this
widening hole, there's no end in sight and they'll
continue to spend. After all it's someone else's
money. I've said it before and will say it here
again, each and every City Councillor who's served
for three years or more, should resign.
Disgusted

[JIm]

High utility costs, high crime, complete mismanagement in city hall, it's no wonder everyone is trying to get out. Good Luck though, who would even think of buying in Fitchburg

[Stamos]

THIS IS WHY i BELEIVE RAISING TAXES IS ACTUALLY A GOOD THING FOR OUR COUNTRY:
conservatives are dead wrong about taxes. Taxes are not bad.

Taxes are good.

The argument for taxes is a very straightforward one: if government is on balance a very positive force in society, then taxes are good. If what we have seen in other articles on this site is true – that government programs help us all in myriad ways everyday, that most government programs are working effectively to solve our societal problems, and that government is the only way to promote important values like justice and economic security – then the taxes needed to support these government activities should be seen as a positive good. To put it another way, you can’t support the things the government does – like caring for the elderly, establishing justice, providing public education, fighting terrorism, and protecting the environment – and still maintain that the taxes that support those things are bad. Taxes are the lifeblood of government and so if government is basically good, then so are taxes.

So instead of seeing paying taxes as analogous to being mugged by the government, we ought to think of these payments more like the tithing that many people do in their churches and synagogues. Most people see these regular donations as a charitable contribution to the good works being done by these religious organizations – and they certainly don’t resent these contributions. But if the government is also an institution dedicated in large part to doing good works – to promoting the public interest – then we should not resent our taxes contributing to those governmental activities. In fact, we should feel good about all the good our tax dollars are doing – just as we feel good about the all the good our religious donations do. Of course it could be argued that there is a big difference here – that giving money to churches is voluntary and we are required to pay taxes. But in practice, many religious organizations require members who can afford it to contribute regularly – payments that are really more like mandatory dues than purely voluntary donations. In any case, the point is that contributing toward an organization that is promoting the public good should not be seen as a bad thing.

But of course anti-government conservatives have been very successful at “framing” taxes in a negative way. As linguist George Lakoff has explained, part of their strategy has involved a careful choice of the words they use to talk about taxes.

[Lunenburg]

Wong is like Nero..playing the violin as Rome burns... You tools are getting JUST what you deserve.

[Lunenburg Fan Club]

Gosh, you always have great "stuff"!

[JUST WONDERING]

hmmmmmmm MORE TAXES......may increase less NEW homeowners in Fitchburg as well as make CURRENT homeowners MOVE..........what a great freaking idea....... R U KIDDING!!!!!!! pay more but expect less....Great solution....increase my taxes..........

[Intresting]

Don't the people that vote on this stuff represent people and not businesses? Is this what the voters want? Is this actual representation.

Also, the article states that our "Wonderful" assessor points out how the residents cost the city more money with their demand for education and other services that the businesses don't need. Just FYI folks, it is the PARENTS a subset of the residents, and their CHILDREN that demand education and the most expensive services in the city. NOT ALL RESIDENTS. WHY DO WE NOT HAVE A PARENTAL TAX RATE (i.e. the annual cost of the schooling of child x the number of children + the other tax funds needed to run a town. Then the rest of us can just pay for the non school related stuff. Just to be fair, those that cannot afford the new parental taxes can go on public assistance. This way everyone's taxes will go down. Parents will make up the difference and only those who actually are in need will get public school financial assistance.(AS you are likely aware, all parents are put on public assistance, no financial criteria, all you have to do is have a kid).

If we argue that all citizens benefit from education (BTW I have never been able to hire a fitbchburg or MA grad who could do 5th grade math, they are not around). Then businesses benefit the most as they need educated employees. We all really know who benefits the most - the individual being educated, they should pay for it, unless they cannot afford it.

Note: I am not from IL, that is just my ISP.

[Mike]

It's unlikely that this will help at all. The negative reaction to the change in the tax allocation means it's not likely to be repeated and may even be reversed next year. This is not going to encourage any business to move here.

What is the marketing plan going to be? "Locate your business in Fitchburg! In compensation for the higher utility rates and lack of convenient road access, our tax rate is only 50% higher than a neighboring city that doesn't have those problems."

[Real World]

Mike wrote:

It's unlikely that this will help at all. The negative reaction to the change in the tax allocation means it's not likely to be repeated and may even be reversed next year. This is not going to encourage any business to move here.
What is the marketing plan going to be? "Locate your business in Fitchburg! In compensation for the higher utility rates and lack of convenient road access, our tax rate is only 50% higher than a neighboring city that doesn't have those problems."

So don't do anything? You have to start somewhere. Fitchburg has had a dual tax rate for years and years. It's time to slowly start shifting back to a single rate. The homeowners will always complain in Fitchburg, whether they get good news or bad, they will complain. It's people like you making ignorant statements that will be the demise of Fitchburg.

[who paid for yours]

Intresting wrote:

Don't the people that vote on this stuff represent people and not businesses? Is this what the voters want? Is this actual representation.
Also, the article states that our "Wonderful" assessor points out how the residents cost the city more money with their demand for education and other services that the businesses don't need. Just FYI folks, it is the PARENTS a subset of the residents, and their CHILDREN that demand education and the most expensive services in the city. NOT ALL RESIDENTS. WHY DO WE NOT HAVE A PARENTAL TAX RATE (i.e. the annual cost of the schooling of child x the number of children + the other tax funds needed to run a town. Then the rest of us can just pay for the non school related stuff. Just to be fair, those that cannot afford the new parental taxes can go on public assistance. This way everyone's taxes will go down. Parents will make up the difference and only those who actually are in need will get public school financial assistance.(AS you are likely aware, all parents are put on public assistance, no financial criteria, all you have to do is have a kid).
If we argue that all citizens benefit from education (BTW I have never been able to hire a fitbchburg or MA grad who could do 5th grade math, they are not around). Then businesses benefit the most as they need educated employees. We all really know who benefits the most - the individual being educated, they should pay for it, unless they cannot afford it.
Note: I am not from IL, that is just my ISP.

I am assuming you went to school, maybe public-who paid for your education? Other taxpayers. If you have children and they are out of school, you likely still have not yet paid back what their education cost.
And sure, let your schools fail and see how your property values do.
If you haven't found an employee that can do 5th grade math, your hiring practices must be as flawed as your logic.

[REoL]

I thought Gangs, Guns, Drugs, Prostitutes, Slums, and no loghts, were what is hurting Fitchburg's growth.

One part of Fitchburg IS growing: deserters.

[Redondo Redundant]

Looks like the only ones who "get it" are Solomito and Clark.

Damn right I'm a deserter and it had nothing to do with a dual or single tax rate. It had all to do with a lack of meaningful services; a fire department that has been slashed, a police department that got bloated, fed on itself and then got slashed and especially a school system that is only concerned with internal politics.

No way was I going to subject my kids being "educated" in that system. A system that caters to future sports stars (legends in their own minds and their coaches minds), and a system that is unable to deal with the problem children of broken homes, heroin dens, and crack houses.

The single best thing that could happen to Fitchburg is it be broken up into multiple parts to be absorbed by neighboring communities.

[i like it]

Redondo Redundant wrote:

Looks like the only ones who "get it" are Solomito and Clark.
Damn right I'm a deserter and it had nothing to do with a dual or single tax rate. It had all to do with a lack of meaningful services; a fire department that has been slashed, a police department that got bloated, fed on itself and then got slashed and especially a school system that is only concerned with internal politics.
No way was I going to subject my kids being "educated" in that system. A system that caters to future sports stars (legends in their own minds and their coaches minds), and a system that is unable to deal with the problem children of broken homes, heroin dens, and crack houses.
The single best thing that could happen to Fitchburg is it be broken up into multiple parts to be absorbed by neighboring communities.

I like that last part, but who will have us?