By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS - "I'll cut right to the chase," Sen. Ron Jelinek's spokesman Chris Siebenmark told the Cass County Board of Commissioners Thursday.
Legislation moving up the collection date for county property taxes stalled after the Michigan House of Representatives voted Wednesday.
The board was shut without a tally when it appeared to be falling short of the 55 votes necessary.
The Senate passed the bill last week with Jelinek, R-Three Oaks, voting yes.
Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm warned that unless the date county property taxes are paid gets shifted, the entire budget for the 2004-2005 fiscal year starting Oct. 1 could be in jeopardized.
The tax shift would save the state from having to give counties $182 million, making it a key piece in balancing the $39.7 billion state budget.
Defeated by the House was a measure substituted for the property tax shift that would reduce state payments by 16.4 percent to save $70 million. Only Republicans supported the bill, which lost 79-24.
House Speaker Rick Johnson, R-LeRoy proposed that approach to remind lawmakers of ramifications back home in their districts if they refuse to budge on the property tax shift and force the state to slash $182 million out of next year's spending plan.
Johnson also offered a bill to cut $110 million in payments to other local government units - townships, villages and cities - to make up the rest of the savings, but it didn't come to a vote Sept. 15.
Under the property tax shift agreed upon by Granholm, the Republican-controlled Senate and GOP legislative leaders, property owners would pay a third of their county property tax next summer.
The rest would be due after December bills are issued.
Homeowners would be required to pay two-thirds of their county property tax bill in the summer of 2006 and the remaining third that winter. Beginning in 2007, the entire amount would be collected as summer taxes.
Early tax collection debate turned contentious as reluctant officials and lawmakers portrayed it as a tax increase.
Detroit Democrats expressed concern that earlier tax collections might burden low-income residents if they don't qualify to pay in winter instead of July and lead to more Wayne County foreclosures.
Granholm and Johnson counter that tax bills at least won't be higher.
The idea behind the shift to earlier collection is to spawn a $1.4 billion pool counties can tap beginning in 2005 instead of relying on the state for revenue sharing dollars.