Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru, Mikazaru, Mazaru, nee Janet Joakim, Janic Barton, Fred Chirigotis, Harold Tobey, and Jimmy Crocker, amazed the folks at Barnstable's Open Meeting of the Voters by their display of unrivaled vacuity..♠

CLICK ON IMAGE OF MIZARU, KIDAZARU, AND IWAZARU, SANS THEIR TWO BUDDIES, TO ENLARGE


As I left Knight's Auditorium I felt as if I just spent two hours watching an island of monkeys.

Much of the meeting involved discourse between blood-sucking Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce members/staff, interfacing with the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil ass monkeys on stage.

Most of them could care less how $3.65 regular gasoline, $4.46 a gallon heating oil, and 40% price hikes on just about everything in the supermarket are affecting the standard and scale of living of local homeowners.

Janet Joakim said the reason she voted against the split tax rate, that passed 80% - 20% in her precinct, was because sic “Most of the homes in her precinct were assessed at $350,000, and she thought the referendums were either/or options.

She then cited the anemic 1.15 – 1 split tax rate the council adopted in 2005, and said she voted against the split tax rate because the $25 saving didn’t amount to a hill of beans, and a draconian burden on a Hyannis business-owner relative.

The average home in Barnstable is assessed at $505,000, and the split tax rate would knock forty cents off the tax rate resulting in an annual savings to average homeowners of $202.

Maybe Joakim, who the other day had a $45 bad check languishing on a local merchant's Wall of Shame bulletin board for 3 ½ years, feels $202 is chump change,

but to lots of other folks, $808 in avoided property taxes over four years (Joakim’s term of office) will fill an empty heating oil tank at today's prices.

Last night’s Meeting of the Voters convinced me there’s a full-blown conspiracy betweem Hyannis Chamber of Commerce members, the town council, Assessor, and the Board of Assessors.

For example the Town Council passed out information at the meeting with lots of charts and statements of fact about past and current property tax data much of which totally erroneous or deceptive.

Last night the Assessor iterated his objective position on the split tax rate, but his work product doesn’t support his claim.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

The chart below compares the average single family home to the average commercial property since 2001.

Because of extreme variability’s in commercial property values, averaging tax bills is inane, but effective,

if the motivation is to deceive.

For example the Cape Cod Mall is assessed at $111 million, while most commercial properties are assessed at less than $400,000.

The Cape Cod mall was responsible for 9.4% of the total commercial class levy in 2007.

Barnstable councilors want you to believe the level of commercial and residential property taxes increased proportionately since the new millennium began, but in reality the

residential levy increased $21.4 million,

or 40%.

While the commercial levy

decreased $300,000,

for a 5% tax cut.

Residential properties inflated $10.8 BILLION or 259% during the new millennium, while commercial property value increased $524 MILLION, or 89%, and the commercial tax rate dropped 57%.

Home values inflated at a 170% greater rate than commercial properties causing the commercial tax rate to plummet $7.23 (from $12.80 to $5.57) giving a tremendous advantage to commercial property owners whose assessments increased marginally.

Please click on the image below to enlarge…






The Town council's handout at the Meeting of the Voters states the assessed value of the Cape Cod Mall increased 73.3% from 2001 and 2007.

The report fails to note the fact that while the mall’s assessment increased, the 2007 tax bill was

• $201,555 less than it was in 2000
• (the 2000 tax rate was $12.80,
• and the mall's tax bill; $820,000
• ($12.80 X $64,091).

In 2007 the commercial tax rate was

• $5.57
• and the Mall’s tax bill was $618,810
• ($111,092 X $5.57)
• or $201,555 LESS than it was seven years ago. 

The pamphlet also  didn’t report the major renovation undertake in 2002 that included a 225,000 square foot increase of retail space.

Typically the remodeling that doubled the living space of a home would result in a precipitous increase in the property tax, not a 25% cut in taxes like the Cape Cod Mall.

Fred Chirigotis said the business community is sick and in bad shape, but all I see are more and more business coming to town.

You almost need to beat the newcomers away with a stick.

Cardi’s Furniture is moving to the old Tweeter’s building, and Bernie and Phil’s Furniture is coming to the Route 132 area as well.

Circuit City is building a massive store at the old Rogers and Gray and Star City Grill sites, and Stop and Shop is building a bigger mall than the one it now occupies in the industrial park adjacent to Route 132 at Phinney's Lane.

The new CEO of the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce last night said that if the council adopted the split rate (from $5.57 to $8.50), businesses would leave town.

Businesses looking to find a tax rate less than $8.50 in a city with a population over 25,000 is virtually impossible.

CLICK ON IMAGES OF TAX RATES IN 108 MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITIES THAT ADOPTED THE SPLIT TAX RATE AND COMPARE THEM TO BARNSTABLE'S MAXIMUM COMMERCIAL SPLIT TAX RATE OF $8.50;

The average commercial tax rate in the 108 Massachusetts cities and towns that are home to two-thirds of the state’ population (4.5 million) is

• $20.90
• which is 250% more than Barnstable’s projected maximum shift split tax rate of $8.50.

Simon Malls, owns 175 malls throughout the world, including 14 in Massachusetts, including the Cape Cod Mall.

Take a look at simulated tax bills for Simons other Massachusetts properties

assuming they were assessed the same value as the Cape Cod Mall, $111 million;

Burlington Mall ®, Burlington,

• Commercial tax rate; $26.30,
• Homeowner tax rate; $9.60. 
• TAX BILL @ $111 million assessment; $2,255,520,
• or $1,611,720 more than the Cape Cod Mall.

Greendale Mall ® Worcester,

• Commercial tax rate; $26.20,
• Homeowner tax rate; 12.54. 
• TAX BILL @$111 million assessment; $2,908,200,
• OR $2,264,400 MORE THAN Cape Cod Mall..

Copley Place, Boston,

• Commercial tax rate; $25.92,
• Homeowner tax rate; 10.97,
• TAX BILL,@ CCMALL ASSESSMENT; $2,877,120, OR
• $2,233,320 MORE THAN the Cape Cod Mall.

Emerald Square, Attleboro, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; $15.55,
• Homeowner tax rate; 9.44,
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT;  $1,726,050, OR
• $1,082,250 MORE THAN CAPE COD MALL.

South Shore Plaza ®-Braintree,

• Commercial tax rate; $18.97,
• Homeowner tax rate; 8.67,
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $2,105,670, OR
• $1,461,870 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Auburn Mall, Auburn, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 21.83,
• Homeowner tax rate; 10.91
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $2,423,130,
• OR $1,779,330 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Solomon Pond Mall, Marlborough, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 24.58

• Homeowner tax rate; 12.72 
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $1,779,330, OR
• $1,779,330 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL

Northshore Mall, Peabody, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 17.80
• Homeowner tax rate; 8.67. 
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $1,964,700, OR
• $1,320,900 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Liberty Tree Mall, Danvers, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 16.00,
• Homeowner tax rate; 10.40. 
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $1,776,000, OR
• $1,132,200 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Square One Mall, Saugus, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 18.41,
• Homeowner tax rate; 8.76. 
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $2,043,510, OR
• $1,399,710 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Mall at Chestnut Hill, Newton, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 18.46,
• Homeowner tax rate; 9.70. 
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $2,049,060, OR
• $1,405,260 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Atrium Mall, Newton, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; 18.46,
• Homeowner tax rate; 9.70. 
• TAX BILL @ $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT; $2,049,060, OR
• $1,405,260 MORE THAN THE CAPE COD MALL.

Cape Cod Mall, Hyannis, MA,

• Commercial tax rate; $5.80,
• Homeowner tax rate; 6.58. 
• TAX BILL $111 MILLION ASSESSMENT $643,800.

Simon’s other Massachusetts malls have double or more the property tax bills of the Cape Cod Mall.
If the town council adopted the maximum tax shift of 1.5 – 1 the tax rate would increase to $8.50,

• and the mall’s town tax bill would increase to $943,500,
• or $782,550 less than the Simon mall in Attleboro,
• the community with the second lowest tax rate,
• and $1,975,800 less than Simon’s mall in Worcester,
• the city with the highest commercial tax rate.

Town Assessor, Jeff Rudziak, who said he is neutral on the split tax rate prepared the information of the 12—page town council informational handout.

On Page 5 Rudziak postulates that the “Cape Cod Mall Town Tax in F/Y2001 was $754,992 that increased to $936,325 in F/Y 2007, an increase of 24%.






That statement, meant to deceive voters into thinking commercial property taxes increased proportionate to those of homeowner’s is either a flat-ass lie or the mall got a quarter million dollar tax cut between 2007 and 2008,

• because this year’s Cape Cod Tax Bill was $684,344,
• a 20% TAX CUT. 

CLICK ON ASSESSOR'S ON LINE VERSION OF THIS YEAR'S PROPERTY TAX BILL, AND COMPARE THE TOWN TAX TO THE TAX LISTED IN HIS HAND-OUT.

RUDZIAK'S ERROR IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE HE REPORTED A 24% TAX INCREASE,

• WHEN IN REALITY THE MALL RECEIVED A 20% TAX CUT.

In the image below Rudziak reports that the Cape Cod Mall Values in F/Y2001 were

• $64,091,900 that
• increased 73.3% to
• $111,097,300 in 2007.

CLICK ON IMAGE OF TO ENLARGE

Rudziak, attempts to deceive voters into thinking commercial values increased proportionate to home values.

Actually the mall's property tax bill dropped $200,000 over the seven year period because the tax rate dropped from $12.80 to $5.57.

Rudziak defended the $111 million assessment even though the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds recorded the sale of the mall at $159 million by saying $40 million oversight was due to “good will” or “blue sky.”

Nothing could be more ridiculous. 

Do you go to the mall because of it's called the Cape Cod Mall, or do you intend to shop at Sears, Macy’s, Best Buy, or Barnes and Noble, and other stores.?

Personal property, land and buildings are taxable, but blue sky or good will aren't.

That’s exactly why the single tax rate doesn’t work fairly,

and why the legislature twenty-five years ago enacted the split tax rate option;

so as to maintain the tax effort between the classes.

Since 2000 the residential levy increased $24 million, or 40%, while the commercial levy DECREASED by $295,000 or minus 5%.

No matter how much lipstick Janet Joakim, Janice Barton, Hank Farnham, James Tinsely, Harold Tobey, Jimmy Crocker, James Munafo, or Fred Chirigotis put on the pig,

it’ll still walk, smell, and oink like a pig.

Comments

[Hey sultan, you's still the man.]

"Sultan of Statistics" you deliver solid on your numbers but your memory for the works verbatim can clearly improve. Vice President Fred Chirigotis confirmed the importance of "giving the appearance" of supporting a sound economic base in his commentary on his split-tax vote. As usual, wayward reasoning. It's all about "keeping up appearances", yeah? I guess so.

More money in the hands of tax-payers means more diposable income in the hands of businesses. Year round residents shop year round. Smart business owners count on crazy dumb blonde spending habits to keep them in business in the off season. Go "figure"!

[stockowner in latex/bought into an amazon rainforest when I still had a chance!]

Without a wimper? Sultan are you sure? President Joakim is already whining for you to close down your website! Pretty please! Extort her by offering a small fee, and have her write out a check! Well you just go burn rubber, girl!

[Turning To A Life of Crime]

I've had it. I am just going to steal everything I can from this town. Next time I go to the clerk's office, I am taking the pen. I will fill a garbage bag with the rules from town meeting so I can burn them for heat next winter. My kid needs a new swing. How big are the tires on Joakim's car?

[John Julius]

Talk about a 'dog and pony show'......... I could not believe HOW MANY cronies showed up for this 'meeting'. The room was packed with the chamber of commerce and business people from every corner. Are these people this AFRAID that their taxes might go up a tiny bit, just to be IN LINE with where their taxes SHOULD BE?! How many times do I have to ask this?

In 2007, ALMOST EVERY BUSINESS in Barnstable paid the SAME OR LESS IN TAXES than they did back in 1994! Yes, that is pure fact! And there is not ONE business person who can ever deny this! So this is all a simple matter of fairness, and when it comes to BUSINESSES and HOMEOWNERS in this town, fairness is like COD........ THERE AIN'T NONE! Not an ounce of fairness.

I said it on Tuesday night......Back in 2005 an "Assessment Committee was formulated to do a study of the split tax, the issue of fairness, or lack of and the TEN members on that committee worked for almost a year. When the dust settled, the VOTE was SEVEN TO THREE to STRONGLY RECOMMEND that the SPLIT TAX BE IMPLEMENTED. Well guess what happened here in Happyville? Our ILLUSTRIOUS clowns on the council tossed the recommendation in the trash can.........gee, what a surprise.

Now let's see. WHO was on that committee? Hank MR BUSINESS MAN himself, Greg Milne, who CARES for the PEOPLE and does what is RIGHT for the people. ANd there was John Lattice, Tony Pettetier, Dom Gautreau, Joe Dugas, Lynn Poyant, John Abodeely, Al DeFlorio and Gail Nightengail..........

Now take a good look at those names. Lynn Poyant is a bigtime townie. So is Gail Nightengale. And as for Hank Farnham, all he cares about is ANY person in business. Hank could care LESS about ANY residential homeowner! As I cannot recall WHO voted for what all I can do is guess. And MY best guess is that the THREE who voted against the split tax were Mr. Bigshot Hank himself, Gail Nightengale and Lynn Poyant.

In ANY OTHER Cape Cod town IF there was a SEVEN TO THREE reccommendation to do something, it would be DONE! But NOT in this town! This town is RUN and CONTROLLED by the BUSINESS folks. And that was evident on Tuesday night. Gee, I wonder how much money they lost HAVING to be there just to watch Gary Lopez and I come to simply ask a few questions.........Keep up the good work Gary. They are clearly afraid of you!

Well hopefully soon someone will form a BARNSTABLE TAXPAYER'S ASSOCIATION and gather up three or four hundred people to fight this mad corruption where the business folk continue to NOT PAY even close to their fair share! The day WILL come, trust me.

In the meantime, keep your eye on the charter commission because as far as I can tell, none of them seem to rrealize that our charter IS badly broken as well as our 12 or 13 councilors too. It is putrid. Tonight there is a charter commission at town hall. SHOW UP and be heard. Let them KNOW that we DO NEED a new charter. Or just stay home and watch this madness go on...... We all get what we deserve.

[George Upton]

OMG! Did anybody read about the building inspector who got busted with a case full of stolen coins? The town only has five inspectors. This guy, John LaBoeuf, went to jail for breaking and entering, and did additional time for trying to escape! Page 3 of the Employment Application for Town of Barnstable says that a CORI check will be done on all prospective employees for “certain positions”, but a conviction will not necessarily be a bar to employment. I wanna be a Barnstable Building Inspector when I get sprung!

[John Julius]

Good point on the CORI check........ oops. GEE, I WONDER WHO missed that one...... more importantly, a BUILDING INSPECTOR?! Do those inspectors NOT go into the homes of people in our general public, or did I miss something?!

No offense but here we go again.......... just ANOTHER glaring example of more INCOMPETENCE here in Happyville! Mr. Klimm? Hello? John? Are you there, John?

And did you all notice that it was the TOWN ASST Manager Tom Lynch who made the statement to the press? How many times have I said that John Klimm is a great politician. John almost NEVER sticks his nose out in PUBLIC... ONLY every once a year when he comes out to do his dog & pony B.S on HOW GREAT things are in his STATE OF THE TOWN messsage. Sometimes he thinks he is JFK the way he stands there and does his grandstand speeches..........

No offense John Klimm but you ain't no Obama! So stop trying to act like them....... THAT is about the ONLY time I ever see our APPOINTED Town Manager come out and speak, about anything! Look back when the water in Hyannis was found to be contaminated. WHO spoke? It was Mark Ells, NOT the Town Manager.......

See folks, this is about ACCOUNTABILITY, and in this town, there is NONE! Period. And maybe one day the blind clueless town council will wake up and see this!

In the meantime, SOMEONE should be HELD ACCOUNTABLE on this big BOO BOO on hiring someone with a serious issue on his or her background!

Imagine if the town hired a child molester to be a janitor...... THEN whose ass would be on the line?! Like it or not, it ALL comes down to accountability and IF THIS TOWN HAD A MAYOR, SOMEONE WOULD be held accountable. But MY predicition is that this will be swept under the rug, as usual!

Anyone out here think any differently?

Just ANOTHER reason WHY we NEED a NEW CHARTER and an ELECTED MAYOR! I would bet my house on it that a MAYOR would act far differently than our appointed MANAGER!

Reference to Barnstable as Happyville? I was thinking Barnstable's All-America City was about to be renamed "Diddler City" or "Cronyland".Happyville, another "appropriate" alternative. Why don't we establish an ad hoc/ad hominem attack committee and politely argue for another seven years about a new name for our "No Place for Hate" Community? It's time we hate-mongers to show a little respect for the "politically correct"! What is the "acceptable" term for a hostage held in Barnstable? A tax-payer you douche!

[bored on a rainy day]

Leave Klimmie ("Poindexter") out of this please! All women with the power liberally granted to Joakim deserve a henchman and a fall-guy. Somebody has to take the political hit for Janet "you've got to be joking" Joakim. Time to play political hangman. Can you guess the letters in CORRUPTIO_?

Anybody witness Alan R. Burt's official temper-tantrum at the Assembly of Delegates yesterday. This guy doesn't understand money doesn't grow on trees despite his insistence that the homeless should live in them. His wife suggested that despite the down real estate revenues and the claim that their is no revenue available for this purpose, that they could not deny her husband this money. Essentially, she let us know that her husband is the most powerful man in Barnstable.

[J J]

Like I said, this is about ACCOUNTABILITY and there is NONE in this town! NONE. NONE from the council. NONE from the Town Manager. None anywhere! The town is full of filth and corruption and everyone KNOWs it!

How do we fix it? Only the VOTERS can fix it. Get rid of the HACKS who keep getting elected........... and get a NEW charter. UNTIL and UNLESS that happens, nothing will change, but trust me, SOONER or later more crooked bastards in this filthy town WILL get their due. It's only a matter of time.......... Wait.

Barton, Joakim and especially Deb Converse were not present to advocate for disbursement of money. Money that was "not generated" because of a loss and shortfall in property tax revenue!

Barton, Converse and Joakim intended to be at yesterday's human services/assembly of delegates meeting. They couldn't. Joakim's and Converse's cars collided after they pulled out of Donegal onto Lumberts and Falmouth Road. Their cars crashed at the intersection. Barton was at the State House trying to lobby for promised traffic light.

[Insider]

I just learned that Joakim was told in no uncertain terms to cut the crap on her hate blogging. Town attorney and Town Manager have been taking a lot of heat for the consequences of Joakims stupidity by way of her blog. She now claims that she is not going to look at anymore blogs, but wants Gary to shut down the COG. I give her three days max. Bets, anyone?

[John Julius]

No way Gary is going to shut down COG as long as all this filth and corruption continues to go on here! Just think if Gary lived in Yarmouth. Or Sandwich. Mashpee. OR Orleans, or Dennis. Or Bourne. Or any other Cape Town. Gary would maybe be able to do a story A MONTH, or maybe one every couple weeks. BECAUSE in OTHER Cape towns their corruption is FAR minimal. Look at Falmouth. THEIR town is WELL run by a Manager/Administrator who is ALL about accountability. And so is Yarmouth. I know their town administrator and he is honest and very ACCOUNTABLE!

So as long as we have this moronic bunch of councilors and this appointed useless Town Manager, have no fear. GARY WILL HAVE A FULL TIME JOB of exposing all thie filthy corruption..... and then some!

KEEP up the great work Gary! People appreciate this!