To gain support for a tax increase
the city council has created a
"MANUFACTURED CRISIS"

View The TCU Flyer

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Vote Tuesday, August 2nd

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DETROIT NEWS ENDORSES A NO VOTE

http://detnews.com/article/20110728/OPINION01/107280343/Editorial--Wrong-time-for-new-taxes

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Read the facts and remember to
vote “NO” on the 11% tax increase
August 2nd. 

Over the past 18 months, Troy residents have gone to the ballot box twice and soundly defeat five separate tax increase proposals.

Now, the City is attempting a new approach by laddering tax requests as follows:
  • Special August election for a .7 mill tax. Having a special election creates a non-budgeted cost of $90,000, not to mention the cost of potentially higher taxes.
  • Hired a communication consultant for $100,000.
  • Council has planned discussing an additional 1 mill roads tax for the November election after the August vote.
  • Who knows what other millage requests they have in store for us if the above taxes are passed, with the help of a communication consultant to educate us with our tax dollars.

The City’s current budget does not include numerous favorable items which can fund services they threaten to cut:
  • Employee concessions (over $1 million per year).
  • Pension over funding ($12 million in the next five years) due to favorable earnings of the pension fund (see December 31, 2009 actuary report and investment returns for 2010).
  • Favorable residential market valuations which are better than the city’s forecast ($1 million per year of additional tax revenue).
  • “Rainy day” fund balance of $12.3 million as of June 30, 2011 ( see city budget for 2011/2012 page 5). Troy City Council has voted to have yet another tax election.

Please share this information BEFORE your friends vote! 

Troy Citizens United


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Questions to ask Troy City Council

  • Why does the City spend $2.5 million breaking up the Rochester/Big Beaver intersection and adding a fountain while it kills our library?
  • Why does the City have one of the most costly pension benefits in Michigan for some of its employee groups (with a pension formula of 2.8% x final average pay X years of service) when this is 87% higher than that of teachers in most public school districts - where the factor is 1.5% (2.8/1.5 = 1.87 – i.e. 87% higher)?
  • Why has the City not negotiated an hourly pay rate reduction with a single union?
  • Why does the City have one of the highest paid administrators in Michigan?
  • Why does the City have a 401(k) contribution that is so generous – 10% - when the average Company match in the private sector is 3% and many currently receive 0%?
  • Why do City employees only pay an average of $85 per month for health insurance when the average in the private sector is more than twice that?
  • If the County of Oakland is committed to balancing its budget without a millage increase, why can’t Troy do the same?

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What do average households in other cities pay in property taxes?

 Troy $1190 
 Oakland Twp. $1090
 Rochester Hills $1086
 Royal Oak $1074
 Madison Heights $1052

Data per Oakland Country Tax Rates Report - 2009