Check out the driver of the Margaret for Gov-mobile

district50ablogspot.com


Former RINO, fraud finally true to his roots.


http://politicsinminnesota.com/blog/2010/07/check-out-the-driver-of-the-margaret-for-gov-mobile

district50ablog.blogspot.com

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Donna Schmitt - Candidate for Columbia Heights City Council

Here is my latest blog.  http://donnaschmitt4citycouncil.com

ENJOY!

Donna Schmitt

Candidate for Columbia Heights City Council


For a couple of years the City of Columbia Heights has been purchasing older homes, paying to have them demolished, and then sitting on the vacant property in anticipation of selling that property when values have gone back up.  Many times the cost for these purchases and demolition ends up costing the city around $50,000 to $60,000.  The idea is to remove from sales homes that are hazardous to live in.

The concept is commendable but maybe it is not necessarily the best one.  Some of the problems are:  1) You have now eliminated that property from the tax rolls so less income for the city. 2) Now this property is becoming a debt to the city because it has to be maintained on a seasonal basis.  3) These properties that have been taken off the tax rolls mean the rest of us will have our property taxes go up because the city's budget has not decreased.

I proposed another plan at the city council meeting on Monday night.  Why not take that $50,000 to $60,000 and offer a $10,000 to $20,000 grant to a purchaser to rehab that home.  That way you keep the home on the tax rolls, the home is fixed up to current code and it helps the neighbors by upgrading the home's value.  By offering up to a $20,000 grant you take that same $50-$60 thousand dollars and have fixed up 3-6 homes rather than torn down a single home.  You also are allowing a family a way to purchase an affordable home and yet providing a way to make sure it is a 'safe' home.

There could be several stipulations on that grant.  You could make sure that the rehab is done in a timely manner.  One way to do this is to decrease the grant if the rehab is not completed within 4-6 months.  You can also offer a larger incentive if this is an owner rehab vs. a property flip.   But I would also recommend a smaller grant, possibly $10,000 offered to someone that rehabs a home and sells it to someone else just because it still is accomplishing the same purpose, refurbishing homes and making the safe for families.  This also could be offered to groups such as Habitat to help them with projects in the city.

With a $10,000 to $20,000 grant the purchaser could even pay to have that home demolished and build a new home on that property.  But the difference is that all of this is done while still providing property tax income to the city and eliminates the need for the city to maintain that property over the years.

For anyone that has watched DIY, HGTV or faithfully watched 'This Old House' over the years you know that anything can be rehabbed.  To say that a house is not fixable is not being realistic.  Can anyone fix up a home?  No!  Are there times you need to call in an expert?  Yes!  With this type of grant you are providing more incentive for the purchaser to get it done quickly and getting that home back into a livable condition, and keeping it on the tax rolls.  It is a win-win situation for the city and for the purchaser.

There are other home improvement programs offered but all of these have limited funds and are usually grabbed up quickly.  This would be a great idea to sell to realtors and get them to help market this idea in our city.  This would be just another incentive and would work especially for those homes that are in foreclosure.

This is the time for the city to re-evaluate it's demolition goals.   The City of Columbia Heights has set aside funds for demolition over the next couple of years.   We need to make sure that we are getting the best value for our dollar and a home improvement incentive grant could be what we need to improve our home values rather than what is currently in place.

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In Defense of Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary by Tim Utz

News, June 25, 2010
In Defense of Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary:
I must clarify my political, philosophical, and party affiliations that
differ from Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary. I am not endorsing nor am I
providing any political favor toward Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary. My
intention is to work with Senator Gina Bauman in 2011 after her victory
against Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary on November 2, 2010.

In the last days of the 2009 Minnesota State Legislature and the subsequent
weeks, Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary found himself embroiled in the
"amendment gate" scandal in St. Paul. It appears that Senator Satveer S.
Chaudhary placed a last minute amendment to the omnibus DNR bill that had a
direct impact on waterfront property that Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary owns
in northern Minnesota. As a result of this attempt, DFL leaders in Senate
District 50 held a town hall type of meeting with Senator Satveer S.
Chaudhary; a senate ethics committee held a meeting in St. Paul with Senator
Satveer S. Chaudhary; and the DFL party has considered rescinding Senator
Satveer S. Chaudhary endorsement. To top off the attacks, Barb Goodwin, a
local political activist, decided on the last day to file in the 2010
elections to run for Senate District 50 against Senator Satveer S.
Chaudhary. An August primary runoff is now scheduled.

The defense I make is not for our Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary's actions in
St. Paul, nor is it that I agree with Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary's
unconstitutional action of submitting an unrelated amendment in committee or
on the House floor. The defense is how extremely rampant this
unconstitutional submission to a bill is at the Capitol. The action to
subvert the constitutional process of review by committees or submitting an
unrelated amendment is commonplace and practiced by both Democrats and
Republicans in the Legislature. Over the years I have personally seen this
practice on the House Floor while in the gallery. Our State Constitution
provides no right of personal privilege of representatives to submit
amendments to unrelated bills. No personal privilege exists in the
legislative process.
The current issue that our Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary is experiencing is
only a small portion of the problems in St. Paul. The leadership in St. Paul
needs wholesale replacement across the board in 2010. "We the People" do
have the power to return government to Constitutional limits on November 2,
2010; the question is "have you had enough yet" to want Constitutional
governance.

Yes, our Senator Satveer S. Chaudhary did make poor choices to target
specific property he owns for personal benefit. The solution is
understanding every legislative bill introduced (3,864 in the last biennium)
impacts every member of the Legislature and citizen in Minnesota. Every bill
should stand alone as mandated in our State Constitution, travel the
regulated review process through committees, and be openly voted on the
House Floor by each representative, not voting for others, but making their
own vote up or down. Law and personal security can only prosper when elected
officials follow our constitutional process as I vow to do when elected to
St. Paul in November 2010.


Timothy Utz
Endorsed Candidate for Minnesota House 50-A in 2010
BPOU Delegate
CD-5 Delegate
Republican Party State Delegate
Republican State Central Delegate
Campaign Committee for Constitutional Republicans
www.timutzforhouse.com
This communication is considered private and not transmittable or
reproduced without written authorization from the candidate.

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