While watching town meeting today many downtown merchants spoke about their opposition to the proposed 1% local options tax because it will send people to NH (as if those of us on the border towns don’t shop there already). I was very disappointed to hear little to no discussion about how NOT approving this tax continues to hammer those of us who pay property taxes in Brattleboro.
Downtown merchants shifted their focus to out-of-state visitors long ago. We have very few stores that provide necessities anymore: a drug store, a hardware store, an Elliot Street convenience store, the Co-op. The bike stores, specialty/gift stores, and even Sam’s non-clothing sections target specific hobbies or are for discretionary items.
Food purchased to be prepared at home is exempt from sales tax and Brattleboro has a tax exemption for the first $100 spent on clothing, so the argument that this tax amounts to perpetuating income inequality also holds little water. Brattleboro’s lower income earners are not the group keeping the downtown businesses alive; they’re already not shopping downtown.
I was not in favor of using $200,000 from the unassigned fund for tax relief because, as pointed out, this would have amounted to saving $40 annually in taxes on a property valued at $200,000. That’s less than $4/month.
While I acknowledge it’s not the only answer, at least the proposed tax would have been applied to all who
shop, equally. Homeowners, renters, locals, visitors, people who live elsewhere but work/shop downtown. While also not providing much in tax relief, it would have been an on-going mechanism to defray property taxes, not a one-time “let’s make ’em feel good” deal. We’re talking a $1 increase per $100 in purchased goods.
What’s really going to hurt downtown are things like the following:
1)
When VY workers take their specialized skills and substantial salaries to another state, not just another town in Vermont;
2)
When visitors stop coming to Brattleboro because it looks seedy, our sidewalks are crumbling under our feet, and people no longer feel safe because of our growing drug culture;
3)
When more and more homes go up for sale because homeowners can no longer afford to live here;
4)
When town doesn’t just have empty storefronts, but empty homes due to 1 and 3 above, which will mean not only fewer people to shop but less revenue generated by property taxes as home values eventually fall.
The downtown merchants think they have problems now? Unless we begin to address the causes rather than the symptoms, Brattleboro will have limited appeal as a place to live or shop.
Taxes Can't Save Disaster by Design
“Downtown merchants shifted their focus to out-of-state visitors long ago”
This is so true.. and I’ve been in the area for my entire life watching this happen.. marketing and catering to out of state visitors has been done for all the wrong reasons, and most of it has been done by those who have relocated to Brattleboro and perpetuated the notion of the “One and Only” to a point of ruin. This town is not for locals and hasn’t been for a very long time.
The state of Vermont itself started this decline years ago. The construction of I-91 was one of the worst things that has ever happened to this state. Add to that the fact that (if this is still true?) the out of state “second” homeowner was given a REDUCTION in property taxes.. to encourage, I suppose, an increase in tourist (and second homeowner) dollars which has been a community carcinogen.
I don’t know how many other people have been doing this, and don’t even care to check into whether or not the reduced rate property tax is still being used, but the home I bought in this town, which had been lived in by year-round residents (until their subsequent deaths), was being taxed at the reduced rate until I bought it; when instantly the taxes went up. The difference was simple; I was honest.. but, the people who had spent their remaining lives here had rigged themselves a New Hampshire address (with the assistance of their daughter who lives there), registered their car in New Hampshire, and enjoyed their scam until they passed. How much of this type of fraud and evasion exists, I wouldn’t know.
I for one am not interested in keeping sidewalks from crumbling when I don’t walk upon them. I don’t give a crap about the potholes when for the past 14 years, I had no car. And I am truly not interested in making any attempt to “shop local” when the shopping is geared for the tourist dollar and the marketing of this town continues to bring more of the same greedy, short sighted, fast buck, huge mark-up, illusionary “community” and the majority of jobs are low-paying, and service oriented to the very group the town is clamoring to attract.
The out of state and second homeowner isn’t going to miss or complain about adding one dollar to every hundred spent.. but it’s still a misguided approach and won’t solve a damned thing .. it’s broken and the fix isn’t to keep on breaking it. I’m SO glad the tax didn’t pass! For one thing, the idea of it being temporary is only illusion; by the time the tax would sunset, believe me, at this rate there’d be a hundred more examples of shortages and reasons to keep it going, especially if the town can’t admit that the tourist/second homeowner won’t float the boat.
I have heard some of the businesses both for and against the 1% tax.. and I agree – those who are going across the river have been doing it for a while, anyway. It will make no difference to them. A couple of business owners in town have lobbied for the tax.. the stuff they sell has prices so inflated I doubt very much that any local person buys from them; they don’t need to worry about driving local business away, therefore. One who was against.. Sam’s I recall, complained that the Brattleboro store was weak compared to their out of state partner stores; and in my opinion the reason again is quite simple. The town is greedily chasing tourist bucks and there haven’t been enough of them to bring sales to a comparable level.. and I don’t understand why they’d be afraid to lose business “across the river” when they are also part of the tourist chasing mentality that has brought this town to it’s knees. Although they probably have more local business (and loyal customers) than they may realize, the answer for them is the same as for many others; Stop chasing an illusion and wake up.
Once it became clear (which has been true for a long time now) that the money isn’t going to flow into town as if we were a major New England destination, the focus should have quickly shifted. Instead, full steam ahead with ridiculous ads for “the one and only” in Times Square. This town has gotten exactly what they’ve asked for. A ton of debt and no way to pay for it. The town does win on one front however. I give them a 10 for spending money we don’t have in the midst of economic crisis in this country, then scratching their heads and coming up with a solution as ridiculous as the problem they insist on perpetuating.
I suppose this all will translate to the next genius into more advertising in more locations for longer durations until there is nothing left for anyone to see except a seedy, dirty, crumbling little town with spacious fire and police facilities. That’s good. We’re going to need them.
This quote is easily refuted
“I for one am not interested in keeping sidewalks from crumbling when I don’t walk upon them. I don’t give a crap about the potholes when for the past 14 years, I had no car.”
I have no car, but the condition of the roads concerns me–and should you–as I do need to get from place to place and moreover need goods such as food shipped in from outside. The infrastructure of any community has lots of intangibles alongside the bean-counting element.
I agree - that statement is
I agree – that statement is short sighted and really doesn’t make much sense. Unless someone has a private helicopter at their disposal to transport them to their destinations they will still have to use the roads. I’m assuming that the person posting that statement needs to occasionally leave their home to buy groceries; go to medical appointments, do other necessary errands; perhaps visit friends? How does one do that without driving on the roads (whether in your own car,someone else’s car or by public transportation)? The habit of thinking that because you don’t use a certain service you shouldn’t have to care about it is certainly not – in my opinion, at least- the responsible way to live your life. I don’t have a car either but I have a son who drives and brings my grandchild to visit; I have friends who come to visit from out of town; I have weekly errands and appointments I have to keep -all those things are done on the roads in town.So, yes, I care about the potholes and crumbling sidewalks and poor lighting and the school budget and all those other things that affect every person who lives in any town or city. I care about the well being of this town and of the people who live in it.
"When VY workers . . ."
To quote the Windham Regional Commission brief in the Entergy case:
” Based on our understanding of past plant closures and decommissioning, and information testified to under oath by Entergy VY, the most effective way to mitigate the employment and economic impacts of the closure is prompt decommissioning. The MOU between the state and Entergy VY does not call for prompt decommissioning. It also does not assign responsibility for decommissioning costs jointly and severally to the local corporate entities and the parent corporation, it does not establish a specific standard to which the site will be restored, and it does not provide a guarantee that the Decommissioning Trust Fund (or supplemental Site Restoration Fund) will be sufficient.”
http://psb.vermont.gov/docketsand%20projects/electric/7862
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
Prompt decommissioning is not happening, whether or not a CPG is issued.
The state got what it wished for with VY shutting down and those 300+ VY workers leaving within a year sure as hell aren’t going to work in Brattleboro. For all their talk about getting those workers to stay, I haven’t seen a single proposal actually worth a damn.
Keeping VY Workers
I’ve heard over and over that most of the workers were re-assigned to other nuke and energy plants a while ago. A proposal to keep them here doesn’t make much sense unfortunately.
I, for one, am absolutely fine with the vote
The argument that “we’ve already driven business over the river” is made without any numerical proof. I for one live downtown and make every attempt to shop local, but there are certain items that really don’t make sense to buy here, my poverty-line income trumping my idealism.
If the options tax was enacted, Brattleboro would be the only Town (as opposed to City) in the Republic that I know of with an 8% sales tax. NYC is up to 9% and that’s typically the national high. I don’t need to see this town collect a pittance, with a slice going to the State for the pleasure of collecting this revenue stream, while sticking out as the place Not To Shop in New England.
I am rarely in agreement with any Chamber of Commerce, but Brattleboro’s got it right this time in lobbying against the options tax, which probably had a significant effect on the thinking of many of the Reps.
RE: Holland & KA.. Keep it in context, maybe?
When the town of Brattleboro thinks it’s an actually tourist destination that will e v e n t u a l l y bring any significant economic gain to the town as a whole, there is little reason to think concern over roads and sidewalks has anything to do with the local population. I’m really very tired of being asked to “support local business” when those businesses are ordering their stock to suit the likes of the so-called “tourist” . If ever the business owners want to meet local demands, then I’ll shop local.. and when this town puts a bit more than cursory thought to taking care of the pockets of the residents who live here, and less about reckless spending that translates to higher taxes not matter which door they enter thru, then I might care about this town. The majority of people I’ve met in my 14 years who say they “love it” here are from city and other congested urban area’s so what they actually love about being here is the notion that they’ve escaped some ills of a city somewhere else. Many people who have lived here for their lifetimes aren’t as star-struck. I think voter turn out speaks loud and clear – it does to me, anyway. the numbers this last time don’t even relate to disenfranchised .. more, it speaks to just not giving a damn any more. which is quite obviously a category where I now fit. However, I did give it a long and honest try.
It’s not even really worth a conversation here.. when the only response is to nit-pick a single sentence or two. But, it’s a Sunday and I was feeling bored. My mistake. Now, run along and lobby for nice new sidewalks and roads.. and brace yourself for the next tax increase. I for one am done.
My response to your post was
My response to your post was very much “in context”. You stated that you didn’t care about crumbling sidewalks and pot hole ridden roads. I responded that – in my opinion – that lack of caring was not the way most people felt. Usually when someone lives in a place for any length of time- 50 years or 2 years – they make a decision to either care about that place and try to encourage ways to make it better; to speak out when things are going wrong; to actually become a part of the place where they live. Or they decide that nothing that happens in that place – good or bad – has anything to do with them and they don’t want to be bothered by thinking about it or -God forbid – trying to do something other than complain about it. I moved here several years ago having lived in a big city for 35 years. And, yes -I appreciated the slower pace of living in a small town; the friendliness of people; the way that the town came together to help each other when tragedies struck. But I had no illusions that Brattleboro -or any place else – did not come with it’s own set of problems; with it’s share of government agencies who often seemed to not realize exactly what their job was; that high taxes and drugs and unforeseen changes to the town would be challenging to deal with. It’s not Eden by any means. But, it is a place that has many, many people who work hard to fix problems; who use their voices and their energy to do something other than bitterly complain; who try individually and collectively to make this a good place to live albeit not always successfully.
I hope that I never reach a point in my life where I stop caring about the people and issues around me. I hope that I never become so unhappy with my life; so embittered and angry that I stop trying to be a decent human being.
To me -that wouldn’t even be a life. I don’t need to “run along and lobby” for anything. I do my part every day to try to be a better person and I do it without being nasty and condescending to anyone who disagrees with me.
And, please ..let me know how that getting around without actually using the roads works out for you.
You don't get it, do you
Context being the town is marketed as a “tourist” destination; ergo, translate the written words accordingly. And if you are asking me if I’m “embittered” and “angry” then I really have an issue with they way you’re translating words . I am hugely disappointed and short version, very much disgusted. Embittered and angry? Really? If that’s what you read into my words then all I can say is “WOW”. This is a town, don’t forget, that is willing to devote a number of YEARS to deciding a location for a skate park. I begin to think it’s not the issues at hand as much as some people having nothing better to do..
So, of course I USE the roads – but the analogy tucked within them was obviously lost on you. So, like I said, it was a boring Sunday.. this is not a discussion and all you’ve managed to do is race off-topic in a rather immediate way. This thread now proudly examples one of the biggest reasons nothing ever goes start to finish in this town without it taking years on end, if ever finished at all. And… who said I didn’t care about people? You know, you make a very big mistake when you take someone’s words and not only generalize them, but go so far as to add things I’ve never said .. and I have done MORE than my share in this town working hard to fix problems, and help people on an individual basis, so you’ve nothing to worry about there. If I didn’t care about “issues around me” then I would have no opinion at all, don’t you think? I have no idea how you manage to draw such wayward conclusions over what was written; how about trying to be more productive then? You’re wasting my time and turning, as many people tend to do, my opinions into a personal attack. Go fling your crap at someone else, or, add something a bit more meaningful to the topic of the 1% tax that failed, thank GOD, to pass. Or are you only good at flinging the personal crap? Oh now I remember why I stopped visiting this site. UGh!
Perhaps it would be easier to
Perhaps it would be easier to ‘translate” your words if they weren’t wrapped up in so much anger and condescension.Perhaps that’s why people react to your posts with a “personal attack” You made a statement – I commented on it and you saw that as a personal attack. That explains a lot. You’re right though, about one thing. This communication is a huge waste of time.
Aww...and here I was missing
Aww…and here I was missing my Bababu!! 🙂
Welcome back, Ken! Yes...Some
Welcome back, Ken! Yes…Some things never change…
thanks Ken
In this sub-thread, I have no problem with the rebuttals you offered somewhat in my name but certainly as your own man.
Saved me a minor headache of dealing with the mind that narrows.
1% is not just downtown merchants
The 1% tax was not geared for just the downtown merchants. We have many businesses throughout Brattleboro that serve locals – drugstores, building supply, hardware, office supply, and many more – that are not downtown and do serve locals. All of these would have faced the 1% local options tax.
Until we find a fair way to raise tax revenue from all of the people who use Brattleboro for work, play, healthcare, shopping, entertainment, banking, etc – or until we find more businesses to build the grand list we are going to be squeezing the property home owners and renters.
All of the towns in Vermont that have opted for a 1% local sales tax are far from New Hampshire.
I’m not sure why all the complaints about downtown. We buy clothes (new and used) downtown. We buy shoes, gifts, toys, food, bread, cooking equipment, picture frames, art supplies, hardware items, tools, musical instruments, music, books, bicycle parts, flowers, and more downtown. I do not consider any of these purchases to be aimed just at tourists. I like shopping close to home. I see friends and I consider a number of the business owners to be friends.
Thanks everyone, for adding your voice
And thanks for setting me straight that the tax wasn’t going to only affect the downtown merchants. Because I live very close to downtown and walk to work downtown, I overly focus on the downtown area.
I would not like to see additional tax burden on anyone. But I am frustrated that homeowners, of which I am one, continue to bear the brunt of shouldering the cost of services, repairs, and improvements, when many more receive the benefits. As a town, we haven’t found an equitable way to cost-share, in my opinion. The answer certainly is not to raise rents, many of which are as out of balance as our tax rate, especially when you add in heating costs. As the owner of a two-family home, I bite my nails when I have to find a new tenant, and I couldn’t afford my home if I didn’t have rental income.
My mother grew up in Brattleboro and I grew up in one of its near-by bedroom communities. For all services, except school, we came here. Brattleboro has been my community for over 40 years and I’ve lived in it for half that. Many good changes have taken place in Brat over the years; however, in the past 10-15, I’ve seen some disturbing patterns emerge.
I don’t have the answers—I wish I did. Economically, Brattleboro is very fragile right now. I hope it gets stronger and thrives. I fear that we don’t have the resources to make that happen, and I worry about—and want us to plan well for—the next 2-3 decades: for myself yes, but even more so, for the generation that will inherit the decisions we make now.
Next, can we talk about a different form of town government? : -)