-.,.------------- ___DDetrolt
U i ity tax ou come Ii ely 0 go to cour
C
Capilol News Service
Gc2Mnl Frank Kdley' opinioo,
� city of Deroit cootinued
to collect about $ 90 millioo in
utility taxes since the act's ex­
piration, If the old tax is not
retroactovely restored, Detroit
would have to return the $90
million to city taxpayers.
THE TAX REVENUES are
allocated to the Detroit Police
Departme
Legislation that would re­
store the tax retroactively is OIl
the IbJse floor aDd a similar bill
i gOi�o�gh the Senate
FUWICC ;om m. tree,
Rep. Nelson Saundc • D-
LANS G- A retroactive bill
alvagiDg Detroif's city utility­
users tax is being debated in the
Legislature, but its final f e
probably will be decided in
Legisl tors fear mas ive
police layoffs will occur if the 5
percent utility; tax is not
reinstated.
The tax, originally enacted
the City Uility Users Tax Act in
1970, w scheduled to cod OIl
Juoc 30, 1988.
Bra talC Atkncy
A New Talk ShOW!!1
OOT TS •••
he Road TO Success
HOSTED BY
LaVICE HENDRICKS & . DEBORAH KEY
PREMIER SHOWING
Mon., Feb. 26, 1990
7:90 P.M. WGPR Channel 62
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A VERY POSITIVE SHOW
"We only talk about the things
that dreams are made Of
JOb Announcements
Investment mrcrmanon
HOw TO Start Your Own BUSiness
Educational opportunities
oney saving TIPS For Home owner J
New csreers for the 1990's
FOR STUDIO AUD E CE TICKETS
C L 1-5105
Make Monday'S at 7:00 P.M. A Night To Watch
"Footprints ... The Road TO Success"
Detroit, member of the HJuse
. Taxation Committee and presi­
dent of the Legislative Black
Caucus, said the loss of revenue
would be dev tatipg to the city .
"It means severe cuts . n
police, which are ultimate
going result in cuts in other city
services, beca e some of those
police will obviously 'have to be
restored" Saunders said.
Taxpayers concerned with
utility tax issues brought the
case to court and on Feb. 2
Waune County Circuit Court
Judge Marvin R. Stempien
rejected Kellley' decision aDd
ruled the cxPration date invalid
DETROIT MAYO
COLEMAN Young visted
��ing in mid- February to
discuss strategy" with the
Legislature OIl a retroactive tax,
which would allow Detroit to
keep the moaey it collected
since July 1, 1988.
This year the expected
revenue from the tax is $60 mil-
lion. _
Some peopl� however, feel
the Legislature will not have the
fmal say OIl the issue.
Gary Wolfram, an economics
professor at Hillsdale College
and former senior economist to
the Senate Republicans, said a
retroactive tax might be uncon­
stitutional and should be worded
�fully. .
"This bil should be passed
with certain public policy
decisions in mind," Wolfram
said • It should not be passed by
saying we need to continue to
collect this money for police of­
ficers and therefore we are
going to pass the bill."
WOL RAM CO-
TE DED THE bill could be
challenged under the 1978
Headlee Amendment, which
. prevents the levying of taxes
, without a referendum.
Legislators said the tax d cS
not need a vote because the tax
was in effect when the amend­
mentwas passed and that they
don't have the power to call a
referendum.
: ...•.•....... � .
i Patterson !
! Real Estate i
• •
: 313/883-1100 ;
• Consu nt& •
., :
• Inv t •
: .
..........• . :
Th lehlg n
Citizen w leome
letter from.
reader. S nd to:
ichlgan Citizen
P.O. Box 03560
Highland PK, I
48203
e realizes the
have many
but that a
needed to
when you
in these tax
say you can't
ore, but the
• Wolfram
act is gone,
t Headlee
"'·WECANPA
ahead and collect tax, wait
for the court ision court
decision happens, � they
10 e,·. Wolfram aid. ·Who
kn ? Maybe rule against
retroactivity; may they rule
against the whole thing. Now
you've got a S400 .. OIl prob-
ICJD."
Legilators who avor the bill'
cootend the tax i ary and
not likely to be ertumed in
court.
ccording to the Judge
Stempien's opinio , the Legis­
lature is taking th only action
possible, Saunders aid
• I think that it ill certainly
be argued in the c because
someone will bri it to court,
but I don't thi there i a
likelihood of it bein overturned
in court," Saunders . d,
College bound . gh school
graduates are inv ted to par­
ticipate in the 1990 Essay Con­
test and Scholarship Program
sponsored by Grand
Metropolitan, Inc. and the a­
tional Urban League.
fifteen $1000 scholar; hips
will be award d in the 15th An­
nual Grandmet ati nal Urban
League competition,
Entrants mu t c mplete a 500
- 1000 word essay based on the
following:
"In September 1989, Presi­
dent George Bush and group of
the country's Governors held an
Education Summit. As a result
of that ummit, the National
Governor's Association,
teachers, parents, school offi­
cials and others are developing
recommendations for n tio al
education goals. If you had If­
teen minutes to talk with the
President and Governor , ho
would you describe your i
for national education goal
to improve education." I
Estimates must be
postmarked no later than mid­
nigh April 13, 1990 and mailed
to Education Director, Detroit
Urban League, 8411 Eo: Forest,
Detroit, MI 48214. For special
contest rules, contact lisa Fuller I
at 571-5600.
7
edea
for low-in ome
students
SE • D DE OW, R-
Port Huron and s nsor of the
TIP legislation, sai he hopes
the program will pr . de youths
with an incentive to finish high
school.
·We know a lot of low-in­
come kids drop ou of school.
We want _ to change th t," De­
Gro said.
D row said the tate needs
to target students, at the ixtb­
S!'adC level, or early in junior
high 001, where they still may
be . dering going to college.
-Youjust can't modify a ·d',
. dea bo college age 16 or
17 - you have to start earlier •
he said. '
But because the program
began less than two year ago
�e students taking dvantage of
It now are recent high school
graduates. Whether it orks
an incentive I for younger stu­
dents won't be known for a few
years.
YET, DEGROW IS confi­
dent students wili ta e ad-
vantage of the program. -
"The more students the bet­
ter," he id."] hope have
thousands; tens of thousands in
t�e near future. The' goal is to
get as many students graduating
from college as possible,"
Officials at area community
colleges feel the program is very
beneficial.
"It's a very good program.
Students who normally
wouldn't have a chance to go to
colleg get to," said Lori Sniff
as istant director of financiai
aid at Northwestern Michigan
College.
N rthwestern has about 25
students u ing the pr gram this
ye r, a even-student increa e
v rl t year.
CV.R E TLY, AB T
2, student are takin ad­
vantage of the program
statewide, said Alan Durkey,
director of the financi I and
medical assistance division f
the Department of Social Ser­
vices.
And as more youths become
aware the program exists, that
number is expected to increase
. '
Durkey said.
The program runs on $2 mil­
lion per year, budget expected
to st y the same for 1991.
The three four-year colleges
participating are Lake Superior
State University, Northern
Michigan University and Ferris
State University. Vocational in­
stitutes include Lewis College
of Business in Detroit, the Pon­
tiac Business Institute and the
Institute of Merchandi ing and
Design in Lansin .'