By LINDA LOBECK,Staff Writer

 

IRON MOUNTAIN — A proposal on the November ballot will ask voters whether they want to stop the city from collecting portions of tax revenue in the city’s Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) district.

This proposal was placed on the ballot after petitions were submitted by the Iron Mountain Taxpayer’s Committee.

Recently, the city has heard from both the offices of the Governor and Attorney General that the proposal, although approved to be on the ballot, is in violation of state law.

The taxpayer’s group was in the process of collecting the necessary petitions when the Iron Mountain Council approved the tax share agreement with TIFA on July 3.

This agreement concerned the capture of tax money from a portion of the amount levied for the Police and Fire Pension Fund.

According to Iron Mountain Mayor Ken Tousignant, the city received letters from Attorney General Mike Cox’s office that the language of the proposal is contrary to state law.

“If it was to pass, the city would have to sue itself to remove it. The city’s charter would then be in violation of state law. It is a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money and a potential mess. We encourage the voters to vote no in November,” Tousignant said.

Once the petitions were approved by the Attorney General, the process could not be stopped. The charter amendment proposal will go forward and be placed on the ballot, he noted.

The letter received by the city from the Attorney General is a part of the whole petition ballot initiative. The language for the petition had to be approved by both the Attorney General and Governor’s offices.

What the proposal is asking the voters is to amend the city charter. The action by the council in July already eliminates the need for this action. And if it would pass, the city would be forced to sue itself, Tousignant added.

“I feel that an amendment to the charter should only be made if it is serious business and not for something like this,” he said. “It should never be specific. It is irresponsible to do this and a waste of money. We have already heard that it was legal to capture taxes the way we have been doing for years. So this amendment proposal is a moot point.”

In initiating the petitions, the taxpayer’s group felt that TIFA’s income should come from within its boundaries.

The committee learned that the TIFA capture since 1990 represented all the money captured because of the existence of the police and firemen pension fund levy.

Most of the money was captured outside the TIFA district.

The agreement with TIFA had first been brought before the council in April, but the council had tabled action and wanted to wait until the budgeting was complete.

Linda Lobeck’s e-mail address is llobeck@ironmountaindailynews.com.