Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility (KCFFR), a local non-partisan taxpayer’s advocacy group, announced that it is providing some assistance at the request of a Grandville citizen group wishing to give voters in the city the option of leaving The Rapid’s taxing authority. KCFFR has provided the group with technical assistance and campaign advice.
The Interurban Transit Partnership (ITP) or The Rapid, was formed in 2000 by city council votes in the six Kent County cities of East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood, Walker, and Wyoming under Public Act 196 of 1986. The act allows for the formation of transit agencies with an unelected governing board, such as The Rapid. The question of whether to join The Rapid’s taxing district was never placed before the voters. Once a city joins a regional transit agency, it becomes extremely difficult for that city’s leaders to withdraw. These unaccountable transit boards have the power to assess property taxes across all member cities without any subsequent approval from city councils. The voters of Grandville, Walker, Wyoming, and Kentwood have consistently rejected The Rapid’s successive tax increases, yet those voters have been overridden by voters in Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids.
Under Public Act 196 of 1986, there are two means for removing a city from the taxing authority. One is a voluntary dismissal voted on by the city council and approved by the other member cities, along with approval by the transit district’s unelected board. The second method is for citizens of the cities to circulate petitions and place the question before the voters on a November election.
“We have been approached by citizen groups from most of The Rapid’s participating cities and have been providing logistical assistance,” said KCFFR spokesman Eric Larson. “We were happy to help the Grandville group with formulating their petition language to give citizens the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they want to continue to be a part of this unelected taxing authority. The voters in the city of Grandville have been consistently saying that they don’t like the direction of The Rapid, its wasteful spending, or its numerous tax hikes. We’ve been asked for help by citizens who want out of this unfair and undemocratic system. We wish this group luck in obtaining the required number of signatures and hope the voters will have the final say.”
If you are interested in helping with the petition drive, please contact us at info@kcffr.org and we will put you in touch with the coordinators in Grandville.
Learn much more about our efforts to expose wasteful spending at The Rapid by visiting our ITP Watch project web site.
