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News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Trash talk

Philadelphians live in one of the most highly taxes cities in the nation, but even they have managed to escape a "fee" that Fort Wayne residents must pay:

Mayor Nutter yesterday trashed the controversial sanitation fee that his administration had been considering to help close a massive budget shortfall.

[. . .]

The idea of generating revenue through a trash fee was first floated several weeks ago by Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities Rina Cutler.

Cutler first said that the city was considering a $5 flat rate per household. Then last week, she said that due to negative feedback over the flat rate, the city was considering a small household fee based on income coupled with a weekly per-bag charge.

One story noted that "opponents say it is absurd to charge a fee for such an essential service," which sort of misses the point. People are already paying for it through their taxes, even if it isn't individualized as a specific fee. Politicians like to make a distinction between a general tax, or money collected from everyone that can be spent on anything; and a fee, a specific amount charged for and spent on a specific task. But sometimes it's a distinction without much of a difference. One thing that makes a fee attractive to politicians and harmful to those paying it is that it is removed from the normal voting procedures that must accompany tax increases. If they want to raise a fee, they just go ahead and do it.

I still think Fort Wayne's institution of the "trash fee" without a corresponding reduction is one of the greatest stealth tax increase I've ever seen, at least on the local level. Paul Helmke, who was mayor at the time, should get a special award for political sleight-of-hand.

Comments

Bob G.
Mon, 03/09/2009 - 9:02am

Leo:
And I left my hometown of Philly to come HERE...!?!

Seriously, you people have it damn good (here) w/ taxes and don't know it!
(stealth taxation aside)
I hated that "city wage tax" - about 3x the STATE tax out of your paycheck (ouch).
No stealth there...just in your face "gimme".

They've grown such a "bumper crop" of welfare lazy-asses there, it's little wonder the city is in such TURMOIL.
The "new" Philly is fast becoming the surrounding burbs and counties.

Add to that the fact that the CITY (and state) OWES the Philly POLICE over $6 MILLION in past due wages and retirment payouts.
(wonder how much Ft. Wayne will owe IT'S police in a few years?)

And it "ain't gettin' any better" there one bit.

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