TAXPAYER CHAMPION WINS ELECTION

Yes, it can be done. So often, I hear from dejected whiners that nobody can do anything to change school board attitudes to include listening to input from beleaguered taxpayers. One of the ways to overcome this obstacle is to run for a school board seat yourself. That is precisely what Jim Enright did, when he ran a 2nd time for a seat on the Omaha Public School Board and won. In District 6, he knocked out a 30+ year incumbent who not only rubber stamped whatever the administration wanted done but also had a bad habit of telling taxpayer watchdogs who spoke at public school board hearings to “Shutup.” Now, taxpayers summarily ignored by OP$ school board members will have a champion on the board, not only to listen to taxpayer suggestions but also to champion our cause with his fellow board members. Jim is a solid fiscal conservative. He overcame huge odds to win his seat, and there certainly will be some resentment from other board members who normally enjoy a clubby fiscal liberal atmosphere at meetings. So, I urge taxpayers to begin attending OP$ board meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month at the Taj Mahal, I mean, TAC Bldg., at 32nd & Cuming Street, at 7:30 PM. Jim Enright will support us taxpayers, so we must support him and his initiatives at board meetings!

HELP LOWER OUR PROPERTY TAXES

Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom will hold another in its series of Property Tax Town Hall meetings on Wed. Aug. 20, 6:30 PM, at Millard Library at 132nd & Westwood Lane, Omaha. A Power Point presentation will show people how to contact their state senators and lobby them to reform the property valuation and tax systems in Nebraska to give tax relief to its citizens. Please come and bring friends & neighbors, because the only way to lower our property taxes is to convince our state senators to reform the property valuation and tax laws. At this meeting, you can get packets that will show you how to contact and lobby your state senator. Only if property taxpayers diligently lobby before the 2009 Unicameral session starts will we see property tax relief next year. You can meet 2-3 conservative state senators and legislative candidates at this meeting, so please come!

Nebraska Vehicle Owners Gouged by the Taxers.

Many Nebraskans realize that our state motor vehicle taxes and fees are higher than those in adjacent states. Therefore, thousands of taxpayers save tax money by registering their vehicles in these border states. In reaction, the state revenue department in cooperation with the NE State Patrol is investigating these tax evaders and mailed letters to over 10,000, advising them to register their vehicles and pay owed vehicle taxes in Nebraska. Because of the differing databases in adjacent states, some people who now register their vehicles lawfully in Nebraska received these threatening letters and must contact the State Patrol to clear their names. This process resembles the failure of the Prohibition laws, which similarly hounded otherwise lawful citizens. Instead, state senators should reform our vehicle tax system, lowering taxes and fees to make it less enticing to title and register vehicles in adjoining states. Then, our government coffers could recoup millions in yearly sales taxes, vehicle taxes, and fees.

Nebraskans in 2006 paid a 5.5% sales tax on vehicles, compared to 5% in Iowa, 4.9% in Kansas, 4.225% in Missouri, 3% in Wyoming and South Dakota, and 2.9% in Colorado.[1] In 2006, NE vehicle annual registration fees stood at $415.50, compared to $300.38 in Wyoming, $269.50 in Colorado, $227.59 in Kansas, $204 in Iowa, $62 in South Dakota, and $54.75 in Missouri. Nebraska stood second highest nationally in total registration costs. Total registration and state and local fuel tax costs placed Nebraska 3rd in the nation.[2] Our vehicle tax has a progressive rate schedule, so price inflation has a heavier effect on tax receipts because of bracket creep. As of 2006, the state sales tax on vehicles has increased faster than our state economy and faster than other services and products covered by the sales tax. From 1998 to 2006, vehicle taxes and fees together have increased faster than inflation and our state economy. This tax burden only offers incentives for Nebraskans to register and title their vehicles in adjacent states.

THE SOLUTION. To reform our state vehicle tax system and make it more equitable to taxpayers, we must lobby our state senators to pass legislation to allow counties to levy local registration taxes. Year #1 of vehicle ownership would accrue a tax of 1.5% of manufacturer suggested retail price, 1.2% in year #2, .9% in year #3, .6% in year #4, and .3% in year #5 and thereafter, the minimum tax set at $5.
[1] A Comparison of Selected Tax Rates in the District of Columbia with those in the 50 States, Table 25.
[2] Idaho Transportation Dept., Economics & Research Section, pp.4-6.

See our NTF issue papers on costs of registering vehicles in Nebraska and our outrageous state gas tax. Email us through our website at www.netaxpayers.org.

NEW BASEBALL STADIUM WILL STRIKE OUT TAXPAYERS

Omaha taxpayers already bent over from the heavy yoke of property taxation will face an additional property tax hike burden, if Mayor Fahey convinces the City Council to vote YES on funding and other mechanisms to begin construction of an unneeded new baseball stadium downtown. Though the Mayor and his Big Business supporters try to scare Omahans that the NCAA will move the College World Series to another locality, if we do not support the Mayor's initiative, the NCAA publicly has stated that it will readily accept a renovation of Rosenblatt Stadium, if the city government offers such alternative. Nevertheless, Mayor Fahey insists that the majority of Omahans genuinely opposing his plan are a mere noisy minority rabble. Read the bullet points below for information you need to lobby your councilman to vote NO on stadium funding:

· The Mayor carefully appointed a study committee of several community leaders, most of whom are his acquaintances, to take a “fresh and unbiased” view of the situation, but he included no taxpayer watchdogs!

· Consultants to the committee, including HDR, an architectural engineering firm, and HOK, a sports architecture firm, could win huge tax-funded contracts to help construct a new stadium.

· The Mayor refuses to allow a citizen vote, believing it “divisive” to the community. Actually, he fears a huge majority vote to retain Rosenblatt Stadium and distrusts the public. A June, 2007 WH poll found that 81% of respondents wanted the College World Series to remain at Rosenblatt.

· The Mayor pledged that he would not propose a new stadium without a signed 20-year contract from the NCAA to keep the CWS in Omaha, but such contract does not exist.

· The Fahey plan would raise our hotel/motel and car rental taxes highest among the 50 largest convention cities, which then will attract tourists and conventions that would have come to Omaha, depriving Omaha merchants of many consumer dollars spent.

· Anticipated stadium project revenues would pay for revenue bonds issued. If insufficient revenue appears, property taxpayers will have to pay the tab! Omahans would pay increased taxes to build and operate a new facility and additional taxes to demolish Rosenblatt Stadium.

· The Mayor declares that he would use property taxes only as a last resort to fund his stadium. We heard similar pledges from former Mayor Hal Daub, who promised no hike in property taxes to pay costs, but homeowners became yoked with a heavy property tax liability for his convention center/arena.

· To replace $2.4 million in Douglas County keno revenues snatched by our Mayor, the county would raise our property taxes. All Omaha property taxpayers reside in Douglas County and would pay higher taxes.

· A possible parking garage next to a downtown stadium and parking at other sites were not factored into the cost equation.

· The market analysis and resulting financial analysis done by Barrett Sports Group (BSG) was limited in scope, because the study did not conduct general public or corporate surveys or use focus groups. BSG admitted difficulty in identifying comparable markets because of the unique nature of the CWS.

· BSG made significant assumptions related to downtown ballpark operating revenues and expenses. Its study implies the possible need for additional funding sources, such as sales or property taxes.

· BSG admitted basing its work in part on information provided by unrelated sources that it could not assure us as accurate. Because of rapid changes in external factors, actual financial results might vary significantly from estimates presented in its report.

· Case studies prove that such new sports facility has a very small, sometimes a negative effect, on overall economic activity and employment. No recent similar facility earns a reasonable return on investment. No such facility has become self-financing regarding impact on net tax revenues. Stadium vicinity spending by consumers only displaces spending that would have happened elsewhere.

· The Mayor cannot guarantee that revenue gained from naming rights, advertising, seat taxes, and leases would pay off 20-yr. general revenue bonds used for stadium construction.

It is imperative that you call, email, or write a letter to your Omaha city councilman today, because special interests already are applying hard pressure to them!
OMAHA CITY COUNCIL EMAIL ADDRESSES
District 1: Jim Suttle 444-5527 jsuttle@ci.omaha.ne.us
District 2: Frank Brown 444-5524 fbrown@ci.omaha.ne.us
District 3: James Vokal 444-5525 jvokal@ci.omaha.ne.us
District 4: Garry Gernandt 444-5522 ggernandt@ci.omaha.ne.us
District 5: Dan Welch 444-5528 dwelch@ci.omaha.ne.us
District 6: Franklin Thompson 444-5523 fthompson@ci.omaha.ne.us
District 7: Chuck Sigerson 444-5526 csigerson@ci.omaha.ne.us
Address mail to: Councilman __________________________
Rm. LC-l
Omaha Civic Center
1819 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE. 68l83-0100

We must reach more citizens! Help us distribute fliers in your neighborhood. Email netaxpayers@cox.net to assist in this effort!

Protect Our Petition Rights in Nebraska

Everyone who values his or her petition rights in our state immediately should contact their state senator to vote NO on LB 39. In recent years, it has become difficult, almost impossible, to wage a successful initiative petition campaign because of additional requirements placed on petition groups by the Legislature. We must contend with a nebulous single subject petition requirement and a doubling of the number of petition signatures. A proposed constitutional amendment cannot go to voters by initiative petition more often than once in 3 years.
Paying petitioners by the signature offers incentive for them to collect a maximum number of signatures, as a commission would offer incentives for employees in a private business. Those who complain about the supposed aggressiveness of petition circulators ignore use of physical obstructive tactics by petition opponents towards circulators exercising their constitutional privilege. Under LB 39, some but not all circulators would have their names, addresses, and phone numbers included in campaign reports. This information becoming public knowledge would subject these circulators to harassment. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Nebraska cannot force petition campaigns to file monthly reports identifying paid circulators and expenses paid to circulators, acknowledging the vulnerability of circulators to harassment. Passage of LB 39 certainly would subject the legislation to a court challenge. LB 39 would require circulators to be only NE residents of voting age. We believe that learning about the petition process is a valuable educational experience for our youth. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1996 ruled invalid the NE requirement for all petition circulators to be registered voters.
Nebraska has no 2nd House. The original sponsors meant the initiative petition process to give Nebraska citizens a powerful tool to balance the Unicameral, and we are losing this right. Much of the necessity for requesting assistance from out of state entities stems from the current eroding of our petition rights that makes it much more difficult to launch petitions within the State. Our group has attempted in recent years to place several petitions on the ballot, and we have found it increasingly more difficult to do so because of impediments placed in our way. We regard this latest effort by State Sen. Schimek as sheer revenge against those who promoted the Stop Overspending campaign in 2006.
If you need help locating your state senator, email netaxpayers@cox.net, and we can help you.