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Post by raphael on Jul 28, 2011 22:56:37 GMT -5
I remember reading someone say that taxes would go up for everyone. Anyone know of any studies of what happened when the Nashville area did this? Yay or nay and why or why not? To be honest I don't have a clue yet.
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Post by cvhs67 on Aug 1, 2011 19:38:12 GMT -5
Screw him! I like Collegedale NOT being part of Chattanooga.
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Post by elgusano on Aug 1, 2011 23:36:09 GMT -5
The county is required to provide government, but the city is not, so county residents are screwed. After unification, the county will be controlled by people who are really happy spending the money of other people.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 2, 2011 8:43:11 GMT -5
It's bound to happen eventually. At some point it's ridiculous to have two governments but I'm automatically suspicious of anything championed by the current mayor. His track record to date is less than stellar.
Also, I seem to recall a bunch of savings that were supposed to come from the merging of the city and county school systems that never came to pass so I can't seehow this would be any different. In all likelihood, we would wind up paying for both governments with a single tax bill instead of two.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 2, 2011 9:10:42 GMT -5
a) I can't see the "powers" of the city relinquishing any of their control over what they have to a possibly hostile "non-city"county electorate. b) I can't see the black community going for this either, considering their voting power could be severely diluted by the mostly white voting block of the "non-city" county. c) Like CVHS, I am happy with the way things are in my little corner of Harrison.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 2, 2011 9:17:21 GMT -5
I'd be happy too if I were getting subsidized services courtesy of the city taxpayers.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 2, 2011 9:55:22 GMT -5
What services do I get that I don't pay for?
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Post by Fredo on Aug 2, 2011 11:12:44 GMT -5
What services do I get that I don't pay for? None, but you do get services that I pay for but do not receive. The Sheriff doesn't patrol my neighborhood. The county doesn't pave my street or fix my streetlights. I don't send my kid to public schools but I still pay. Essentially, I pay $3k per year to the county for services that only county residents benefit from. I get zilch.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 2, 2011 12:15:58 GMT -5
You live in the county. As long as you live in the county you pay county taxes. If you don't like paying "double", move from the city. As long as you city dwellers want extra stuff, like street lights, a different police force, fire protection, etc., you will have to pay extra. If the Mayor (and you) are tired of being a city, dissolve the city charter and be done with the notion of being a city.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 2, 2011 13:01:17 GMT -5
Taxes for which I get zero services. Instead, I subsidize the people who want all of the conveniences of the city at half the cost. Personally, I think we should annex everything in the county and be done with it.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 2, 2011 14:21:27 GMT -5
Let's see, "conveniences of the city at half the cost":
Fire protection. Nope. Pay extra for that. Garbage service. Nope. Pay extra for that. Sewer service. Not available even if I wanted it. Street lights. Nope. Pay for the one in the circle on my street. Sidewalks. Nope. Shall I go on?
There are plenty of taxes that we all pay that we feel we get no benefit from. From city up to county up to state up to national.
Like some wise person on this thread said earlier, EVEN IF we were were joined, nothing would get cheaper. And you think your taxes are high now, annex the whole county and see how much it costs to install sewers to every home in the county and give what you consider amenities to every one in the county. It would be better and cheaper overall for the city to give up its charter and let the county take over everything. I am not totally opposed to a metro government. I just want a vote in whether or not it happens. And I would also insist that anyone and everyone currently sitting as either Mayor or commissioner, both city and county, would have to immediately resign and run for office anew.
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Aug 2, 2011 19:59:16 GMT -5
So what happens to the other cities inside the county? I know that ER and RB are incorporated. Soddy too, right? Collegedale as well? oh, and Signal & Lookout are cities ..
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Post by elgusano on Aug 2, 2011 22:54:18 GMT -5
Since more than half the population in Hamilton County lives inside the city of Chattanooga, the city of Chattanooga will realize their dream of annexing all of Hamilton County by proxy. They've been trying for year to do that and have failed at every turn because of the law.
But the law says that the county has to provide services. If the city of Chattanooga dissolves, Hamilton County takes over, but will be controlled by those who currently live in Chattanooga.
Every county resident will be living life like it's Chattanooga. Chattanooga has been trying to get others to pay their bills for years.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 3, 2011 6:21:55 GMT -5
That's absolutely ridiculous. City residents pay for both our own upkeep and a portion of those n the county.
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Post by elgusano on Aug 3, 2011 7:30:11 GMT -5
That's reality, not what they want.
Or at least what they claim they want.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 3, 2011 8:48:40 GMT -5
That doesn't even make sense. The city wants nothing more than to grow it's tax base before some of the smaller cities in the county gobble up the available land first.
The road to your Somali paradise is increasingly divergant from logic.
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Post by Diremaker on Aug 4, 2011 5:01:29 GMT -5
Simple. Declare everything inside the city limits Chattanooga County. Separate the two entirely and be done with it.
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Post by cvhs67 on Aug 4, 2011 8:44:36 GMT -5
So what happens to the other cities inside the county? I know that ER and RB are incorporated. Soddy too, right? Collegedale as well? oh, and Signal & Lookout are cities .. Collegedale incorporated in 1968.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 4, 2011 9:35:47 GMT -5
Simple. Declare everything inside the city limits Chattanooga County. Separate the two entirely and be done with it. Not so simple. That would require a petition to the state legislature to secede from the county and establish a new county of "Chattanooga". I doubt the legislature would even consider it. The simplest approach would be for the city to abandon its charter and by default, the county would have to take over everything. I doubt the city residents would go for that.
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Post by wheels on Aug 4, 2011 12:00:04 GMT -5
i heard mayor littlefield on the radio yesterday. he said if joining the county and city fails, the next thing they'll look at is more annexation. almost sounded like a threat.
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Post by elgusano on Aug 5, 2011 1:33:22 GMT -5
Funnily, "growing their tax base" and "getting others to pay their bills" sound awfully similar.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 5, 2011 9:05:32 GMT -5
Funnily, "growing their tax base" and "getting others to pay their bills" sound awfully similar. Everything sounds like that to you. Growing the tax base of the city means adding more citizens, providing more services and making the city a better draw for business who want to relocate. You might see commies and union types behind every bush but that doesn't mean they're really there.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 5, 2011 12:49:42 GMT -5
What about us citizens that don't want to be a part of your city? Some of us are happy with our level of services. Should we be forced to join your city against our will? Shouldn't we have a say in our destiny?
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Post by Fredo on Aug 5, 2011 13:46:11 GMT -5
What about us citizens that don't want to be a part of your city? Some of us are happy with our level of services. Should we be forced to join your city against our will? Shouldn't we have a say in our destiny? When annexed, you can vote with your feet. You can't expect to be surrounded by the city and have all of the conveniences at half the tax rate.
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Post by manlyman on Aug 5, 2011 15:45:26 GMT -5
Why should I have to move every time some goober city official gets greedy and thinks that hijacking a few more citizens is the answer to all the city's budget woes. I am not surrounded by the city, I live past the boundary of the city. I live outside the city. I work outside the city. I do 50% of my shopping outside the city. And when I do shop inside the city, I pay your sales taxes. As far as the "conveniences" you keep referring to, you haven't identified anything that I get that I don't pay for. The city has more "conveniences, yes. And you pay for the extras. You don't have to have your own police dept. If you didn't, the county would step in and take over. But the city has said, "We want our own police, we are willing to pay and we want the county to stay out of our jurisdiction unless invited". The same goes for fire protection, garbage service, etc.
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