Just watching queenie on the last committee meeting two weeks ago talking about the high interest rate on delinquent taxes.

But what a load of SH*T she is doling out.


She says "homeowners fall on hard times."       


ROFLMAO



For the MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS in PROFIT that Marcella makes, increasing every year according to that biz journals, and how they are one of the top profit making appliance stors in the country, I DEFY ANYONE to explain how with the millions in proifits and having gotten a fancy new building at taxpayer expense and Marcella is totally 100% exempt from paying taxes on his new building, so HOW, CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN HOW Marcella would have "fallen on hard times?????


Former Councilman Joe Allen (praised by this board's cheerleader for the wild spending of taxpayer money on downtown) gets a lavish pension and benefits from the state, and has his place here in the city and is wealthy enough to have a winter home in Florida, I guess he "fell on hard times?"   Well, he needs to sell is winter home in Florida.


Metroplex favored architect Frank Gilmore and the his wife with her wealthy pay as a real estate agent and sitting on the board of assessment, the pair STOLE from the taxpayers by ILLEGALLY having two STAR exemptions because they have two houses, with all the lavish galas they go to, etc, someone is going to have the NERVE to say that they "fell on hard times" and should get a reduced interest amount?   DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH.



And then King Phillips taxpayer funded TV station, his employee there who films the city council meeting, gets an interest free mortgage from the taxpayers and no time frame to repay the mortgage, and he hasn't paid a penny in taxes in all the years he owned the house, he remodeled his house but McC's cronies such as Mary Mary on the board of assessment grant him a huge reduction on his assessment down to $18,000 (while other people do a little remodeling and their assessments go up) this guy has an unlivable house and he remodels it largely at taxpayer expense, then does not pay a penny in taxes in all the years he has owned it, I guess he has "fallen on hard times."    




Queenie and the rest of the dems are totally CLUELESS.   The only thing defined as "hard times" is that the city dems and their buddies at the county and Metroplex have chosen to make the homeowners pay all the taxes of the downtown properties and that is an incredibly crushing burden on the homeowners, most of whom have total household incomes of less than $40,000 a year.   If the dems did not make the people in the city pay for downtown taxes, then the tax bills would be substantially lower.   The county has often said if they didn't have to have a county nursing home, they could eliminate county taxes, but it is the DEMs who decided to build a fancy schmancy UNNEEDED palace.   They could eliminate the home, privatize it, and save the taxpayers a fortune.   The school district could out that swimming pool and assorted fluff classes (classes other than reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, history, science, health, computers, and gym) and that will reduce taxes.


The city dems have IMPOSED by FORCE the financial hard times upon the homeowners in the city.


Anyone with intelligence and common sense would know that as the city exempts more wealthy developers downtown, that causes an increase in taxes on the homeowners.  When taxes go up, many can't pay and people lose their homes when the city forecloses.  When the city forecloses because the homeowners can't afford to pay the taxes of the downtown rich, then the city becomes the owner of these houses and the houses need maintenance things, even such as mowing and shoveling and that costs money, so the taxes on the rest of the homeowners go up, while at the same time the city is giving out more tax exemptions to downtown; the two combined cause taxes to go up more.  And all these taxes going up is causing massive reduction to property values so homeowners (and commercial owners too) rightfully grieve their assessments.   And they win grievances and when owners win the reductions (as they should) that is less taxes that need to be made up by hiking taxes on everyone.   Think of that downtown property that was assessed at $1.6 million and it was reduced to under $300,000.   The city (county and school districts as well) does NOT reduce spending by the amount of taxes that are lost by virtue of $1.3 million reduction in assessment, but rather increases the taxes of everyone else in the city.   And so, you see, it is the city leaders who, by their wild spending on downtown and exempting those rich owners from paying taxes that is the reason for the "hard times" that most homeowners experience

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Second - you and your ilk defended the deadbeats and absentee owners who haven't paid their property taxes and thus forcing everyone else to pay more     

Let's see here

Political crony Marcella (all the taxpayer handouts) and doesn't pay taxes at the properties on Crane St.  Then brother Jimmy the absentee owner who owns many rental properties, doesn't pay taxes.

Political crony and plex favored Mr Gilmore and his wife, she the mouthpiece for the city real estate business and member of the board of assessment

Former councilman Joe Allen and his lavish state pension on top of social security, income so high he doesn't even qualify for STAR Enhanced.

Taxpayer funded King Philip's camera boy getting a house cheap, getting the assessment reduced after fixing a house paid for by an interest free mortgage from the taxpayers and hasn't paid a penny of taxes.


If we look further, we can surely find more political cronies who are tax deadbeats,   thus forcing everyone else to pay more

the interest on unpaid taxes is 'carpet bagger extortion'......

Quoted Text

CARPETBAGGERS
In general, the term “carpetbagger” refers to a traveler who arrives in a new region with only a satchel (or carpetbag) of possessions, and who attempts to profit from or gain control over his new surroundings, often against the will or consent of the original inhabitants. After 1865, a number of northerners moved to the South to purchase land, lease plantations or partner with down-and-out planters in the hopes of making money from cotton. At first they were welcomed, as southerners saw the need for northern capital and investment to get the devastated region back on its feet. They later became an object of much scorn, as many southerners saw them as low-class and opportunistic newcomers seeking to get rich on their misfortune.

In reality, most Reconstruction-era carpetbaggers were well-educated members of the middle class; they worked as teachers, merchants, journalists or other types of businessmen, or at the Freedman’s Bureau, an organization created by Congress to provide aid for newly liberated black Americans. Many were former Union soldiers. In addition to economic motives, a good number of carpetbaggers saw themselves as reformers and wanted to shape the postwar South in the image of the North, which they considered to be a more advanced society. Though some carpetbaggers undoubtedly lived up to their reputation as corrupt opportunists, many were motivated by a genuine desire for reform and concern for the civil and political rights of freed blacks.

Quoted from mikechristine1

If we look further, we can surely find more political cronies who are tax deadbeats,   thus forcing everyone else to pay more

so don't pay taxes!! it is really just that simple

Quoted from bumblethru

so don't pay taxes!! it is really just that simple

How?

Your idea about everyone in the city stop paying taxes is definitely a creative idea.   It would be nice if some grassroots group of people could get that idea going, get everyone to promise they won't pay to send a message.  

However, can you please explain HOW this avoidance of paying taxes could actually happen

1.       The overwhelming majority of people buying a house IN Schenectady city are lower income people.  Home prices are lower (and falling).  So that makes it attractive for lower income people to consider buying homes.   Most of the programs in the city where people may buy homes are dealing with people who have poor credit histories and these programs are first helping and teaching people to fix their credit and then requiring them to participate in programs on living on a budget, etc.   So, the overwhelming vast majority of people buying a house IN the city are people who cannot make conventional down payments.   So most home buyers in the city are getting FHA and other government backed mortgages.   These mortgages MANDATE that taxes be escrowed.   Can you tell us how the buyers can avoid paying escrow when it's mandated?

2.       Government backed mortgages and even most mortgages require taxes to be escrowed.  So if your mortgage payment is $1,000 and $400 of it goes toward the escrow for the taxes, and you send in a monthly payment of $600 (to exclude the taxes),  I guess, bumble, you think that the bank is going to accept that?   When you get so far behind, the bank WILL foreclose on you.  Can you tell me how the homeowner comes out ahead at that point?

3.       Most mortgages require taxes to be escrowed.   Now tell us bumble, please tell us all what happens when you call or write  your bank or mortgage company and you say to them, "hi, I am mad that I have to pay the taxes on all the new downtown buildings.  I demand that you do not pay send the tax payment to the city of X or the X school district."   Can you tell us what the bank or mortgage company's response will be?

4.       If all of the small percentage of homeowners who has a paid off mortgage or your taxes are not escrowed, and this group of people does not pay their taxes, tell us bumble what happens when your $5,000 tax bill increased to $9,000 because of the high interest?     Is the city going to forgive the interest?

5.       Since probably 90% of the homeowners in the city are mandated to have taxes escrowed, please tell us bumble what message will be sent to the city when a mere 10% of the people refuse to pay taxes under protest?    

taxes are escrowed ONLY if they are FHA or VA loans.
i'm quite sure that there are plenty in the city that do not escrow their taxes.....we know MANY!!!
Anyone can drum up some excuse on why it wouldn't work....but the truth is....

....no one has the brains or balls to do it!!!

Quoted from bumblethru

taxes are escrowed ONLY if they are FHA or VA loans.
i'm quite sure that there are plenty in the city that do not escrow their taxes.....we know MANY!!!
Anyone can drum up some excuse on why it wouldn't work....but the truth is....

....no one has the brains or balls to do it!!!

Actually bumble, the truth is that the VA does NOT require escrow.

FHA mortgages DO require escrow, the vast majority of people with mortgages in the city have FHA mortgages, so please explain HOW they will avoid paying taxes.  (people who have the financial means to get a conventional mortgage with 20% down do NOT buy IN the city, they look outside the city because they can afford something more and they have the brains to buying a house in a city where your home value falls.


And lastly, MOST mortgages, even those not government backed DO require taxes to be escrowed.  In fact, many banks mandate not just escrow but escrow with a two month cushion as allowed under RESPA.



So tell us bumble, what happens when the city adds the interest onto the unpaid tax bill?