February 07, 2009

Dorm Room Tax

The worst thing about the Dorm Room Tax idea is that this is something the City of Worcester can not arbitrarily do on their own. The way I understand it that it can only be the State Legislature that can do it, which make sense. Since they are the only ways who could force non-profits to pay a property tax, I would imagine that it would be the State Legislature that could allow Dorm Room Tax.

There is no doubt, however, this will be a topic of conversation at City Council instead of discussing things that they actually have control of:
  1. single residential/commercial tax rate
  2. privatization of city owned assets like the Airport, DCU, Union Station and Green Hill Golf Course
  3. 5,800,000 million HUD loan that is cost to cost us $9,345,000 in lost CDBG funds
  4. Why was $100,000 of unexpended NRSA funds not transferred to a successful program like the facade program, which has no money for the rest of this fiscal year, versus Main South CDC and 93 Grand Street.
  5. City Council take a wage freeze for their pay?
  6. Unfunded pension obligation
  7. How does the City of Worcester support a $7,000,000 million dollar 25 unit low income apartment building at the former City Builders site, that nobody in the neighborhood suports, when the track history to date has resulted in the mess called Cambridge/Hacker Street?

Do you think any of these issues will be discussed.

14 comments:

Paulie's Point of View said...

Wild Will;

you should move back to WooTown and run for City Council

One votahs humble opinion

Anonymous said...

Or discuss the 12% of the city workforce that is out injured on duty status..............could anyone imagine that happening with a private company.

Or how many employees we have making over $100,000.......including the teachers whose $70,000 salaries = an annualized pay of $105,000 to $110,000 depending on how many hours one assumes they actually work in year.

Anonymous said...

oppps put the word verification as my name !!!!!!

Bill Randell said...

Paulie:

I don't see why I can not still run? I will just say that I live on Stark Road, my mom's house.

Our ex State Senator from Worcester, living in Boston, did it for 4 years.

Bill

Paulie's Point of View said...

if that issue was not an indicator on how our leadahs really think about how vibrant this city is..I don't know what is

Anonymous said...

Pualie welcome back.
Sorry to hear of your loss.

God after almost 2 weeks of no postings on your blog I was going to blast you!!!!! Good thing I didnt. I would have felt bad.....yes even jahn has a some feelings LOL

So did the adult beverages flow freeely at Uncle's ceremonies :)

Paulie's Point of View said...

it was a good day....I had an open bar for 25 expected and over 100 showed..not sure if it was the open bar and food or my uncles popularity..my uncle I am sure apreciated the send off

Anonymous said...

SO the state legislature is going to approve a dorm room tax...???

I wonder how many dorm rooms the state owns? Think it will apply to dorm rooms at UMass & state colleges or will they exempt state owned dorms? I can't see the state implementing a tax on it's own dorm rooms which tax will end up in city coffers, esp. with the dire straits the state is in, too.

What about Holy Cross dorms........we going to now tax the Catholic church/religious owned property, too.

What about dorms at Worc Academy....same treatment or will it apply only to colleges.

I wonder if St Vincents has dorms for resident doctors to sleep in, in between their 24 hour residency shifts?

Is the PIP SHelter a dorm...i'd say yes given the fact they let everyone in before 800 pm and then shooo them out at 800 am the next morning?

Councilor Germaine should think before he makes these foolish slapshot propositions that end up bouncing off the protective glass behind the goal and he ends up being called for icing and sent immediately to the penalty box and then to the locker room.

Bill Randell said...

Jahn:

There is no chance this will pass.

Even if it were, it should be discussed in the State Legislature...

If we had nothing else to discuss then this would be fine. As we all know there are about 100 other things that the City Council actually controls that they should be discussing not this.

Bill

Bill Randell said...

If I own a big house off Highland Street and rent rooms to college kids.

Would this be subject to the Germain Dorm tax??

Bill Randell said...

What if I have I allow of friend of mine's kid live at my house and attend a local college. Would I me subject to the college dorm room tax?

What if Paulie rents a floor of his three decker of Chandler Street and they all attend either Worcester State or Clark, would he have to pay a college dorm room tax?

Didn't Councilor Germain recommend a higher tax on non-owner occupied residential properties earlier in his term?

Paulie's Point of View said...

the last time we made FOX News was when CC Rosen proposed a $99 fee on students:>) These guys do not learn from each others misteps..yah think those who are considering college in WooTown may be thinking something else soon

just one more example on how difficult it is to do business in this city

Anonymous said...

The city council should have a theme song for the city... a old one but the truth... Beatles TAX MAN!!! Lets just find another tax or increase a tax.... Once again it is already hard to stay and work here just cut some fat...
kudos to Arnold... great idea close down shop in the city a couple of days... we are taking a hit.. let city employees lose a day or three so we can keep services...

Anonymous said...

Give the city a few more years w/these financail conditions and we'll be just like Chelsea circa 1991..............RECEIVERSHIP.....

SAD PART IS Obrien has to steal time from his already long work week to continually work the city finances when his time would be more productively spent in other areas.

Unions will have to forego raises. You cannot give 2-3 % pay raises annually when inflation is running only 1.5%.it's only a mater of time before that catches up to you.

Most councilors s/b voted out......but all youse guys will pull the lever for many of same pols who put us in this situation from Havana Jim McGovern to the likes of Germaine, Rushton, and others. Ecluding Lukes and maybe one other........they are all bought and paid for by the city employees who are then able to vote themselves money through the political process...........clearly an unsustainable system


BTW way Tim & Deval I just paid my real estate taxes for Febr 1st.........that property tax cut that y'all promised the voters of Massachusetts is exactly where...?????

Worc should just file bankruptcy, void labor agreements, and do away with any pension system.......give em all a 403b plan and be done with it...b/c the next few yrs things will get leaner and leaner as tax collections everywhere drop precipitously ........

Why do beetle crews up in Greenadale need 2 detail cops, yet the city tree crews NEVER need detail cops????? SO much for fairness, equality, parity. Dittos for the city DPW crews vs private contractor crews working in the street of Worc.

Did anyone catch the Bopston Herald yesterday ( saturday)...........spead sheet on city of Boston payrools.........fire and police earnings are over the top.

I wonder how many $100,000+ employees the city has compared to a private company that has approx. 4500 employess like the city does?