We Are Still Sorting out Bugs, If Something Doesn't Display Properly, Try Using Internet Explorer."Our Councils' Gift to Us" - The logo adorning the now popular “sea of red” T-shirts having made public appearance at the December 2008 option tax hearing is an image of a grinchly figure withdrawing money from the pocket of a sleeping taxpayer.UPDATE: Option Tax, Another T.E.A. Party, and the Tax Abatement OrdinanceText Box: Welcome to the Citizens for Common Sense website! If you are looking for specific information not available through this online resource, want to contribute, or get more involved: see the Contact Us page. Text Box: 

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Text Box: St. Joe County and South Bend officials are considering yet another county income tax. Called LOIT (Local Option Income Tax) it is actually a pair of taxes, to be enacted before Aug. 1, for up to 1.25% more of your income! Incredibly, their focus is always on “How can we make up the lost revenue?” rather than “Where can we make cuts?” Do they think we don't remember that they doubled their budgets in the 10 years after they got the last option tax? Two-thirds of the increase was PAYROLL. Yes, new government employees. Why did we need to expand the size of our local governments? The populace they are serving did not increase. These taxes are not justified! They have not addressed take-home cars (dozens of non-police vehicles) which we buy, insure, maintain, and PAY GAS FOR. And why don't they trim the staffs in offices that have inflated dramatically over the last 10 years? On top of this, what about the millions of tax dollars diverted from the general budgets by TIF districts, or the millions of dollars sitting in liquid assets not reported in the general budgets?

Text Box: Another Tea Party! * South Bend * After the phenomenal response to the Tea Parties in South Bend and Mishawaka on tax day, there is an even bigger event scheduled in South Bend for July 1. Speakers, including representatives of Common Sense, will be addressing key legislative issues, taxes, budgets, rights, and current trends. Bring signs! Raise your voice! Be part of a national phenomenon! We CAN make a difference! Wed, July 1, 11-2pm Text Box: Don't Be Left Out! Did you get the Cap and Trade e-mail? And when the Tax Abatement Ordinance took its turns this spring, did you get our urgent updates for which there was no time for a full-blown newsletter mailing? If you didn't, then we do not have your e-mail address, or you need to add us to your list of contacts because it was blocked.

Tax Abatement Ordinance Passes...Text Box: How blatant can the County Democratic Chairman be? With the public liking some elements of the Tax Abatement ordinance but being more concerned that its cumbersome provisions, including union-scale wages, would be a death blow to St. Joe County's future (the Chamber spoke against it, a state redevelopment official spoke against it, as did Citizens for Common Sense), County Democratic Chairman Butch Morgan seemed irrationally determined to see the measure proceed. At the hearing, Common Sense pointed out that at least two County Councilman voting had received 90% of their outside campaign funds (non-family, non-party) over two years from the very construction unions favored by the ordinance. The vote proceeded anyway, with the five Democrats present voting in favor and all three Republicans voting against. A week later, the County Commissioners vetoed the bill, with one of the two Democrats joining the Republican. Said Commissioner Bob Kovach (D), "We should not put our community at a disadvantage.” So the ordinance returned to the Council who needed six votes to override the veto. Attention focused on the Democrat who had been absent from the original vote: Kevin Kubsch. Kubsch was cited in the Tribune as saying he was open to listening and expected tons of phone calls. Unfortunately, Kubsch did not live at his listed address and the phone number he gave was the Council secretary's. The fact that he did not live in his district had been raised by his opponent when he first ran, but the County Democratic Party had never seemed to care. When Kubsch began leaning against the ordinance (confirmed by State Rep. Jackie Walorski who had provided him compelling info about Elkhart vs. St. Joe), suddenly Kubsch's residency became an issue and he resigned. Who resigns right before a key vote!? Kubsch's potential successors, who both supported the ordinance, were then selected with little notice (according to a resident who had intended to run). There are laws about notification. Did Morgan follow them? At their subsequent meeting, the newly constituted County Council voted 6-3 to overturn the veto, and the Tax Abatement Ordinance went into effect. This leaves us wondering: Just why was this ordinance so critical to the County Democratic Party? Why did Kubsch really resign? And did union-scale wages mean so much to somebody that laws may have been broken for them? . . . and St. Joe County Loses .

 
Text Box: CITIZENS FOR COMMON SENSE OPTION TAX MEETING Now is the time for all concerned READ THE ORDINANCE