Throughout the campaign, KCFFR volunteers passed out literature to thousands of households over the metro Grand Rapids area, wrote letters to the editor, and organized on the internet. Targeted precincts in many of the cities voting helped turn out more voters than in May of 2007 (the last Rapid vote) with a significantly higher ‘no’ vote percentage. Despite spending a mere fraction of the Friends of Transit, who received a gift from one donor of $50-80,000, they managed to create a palpable impact expressed best on the Facebook online message board of the Friends of Transit where they described KCFFR’s “prescence (being) felt electronically and we’re getting pummeled.”

Said KCFFR spokesman Eric Larson, “Tuesday was a great night for property owners across Kent County. For the first time, the Rapid lost a millage request. The Silver Line was rightly seen by taxpayers as a redundant service that traveled no faster than their current buses but carried a steep price tag in a bad economy. Clearly, this plan was rejected in very high numbers by the cities of Wyoming, Walker, Grandville, and Kentwood to a lesser degree. Fundamentally, we think it is incumbent upon those city governments to reconsider their role in this ITP taxing authority. Despite their overwhelming opposition, the city of Grand Rapids still almost forced them to pay a tax that Grandville and Walker would get absolutely no benefit from. This is a dangerous path that the ITP board is traveling where these suburban cities are getting taxed without representation.

“KCFFR is pleased with the results but wants to emphasize that our work has only begun. We are not solely an anti-millage group. We will work in the near future on improving governmental accountability and transparency at the Rapid and through the local school districts as well. It is the taxpayers’ right to know where and how the government spends its money and we intend to make that easier over the coming year.”

The organization’s mission is to promote good governance with a rational tax policy and has fought other millages in the past. Its most recent battle was to stop the second failed GRCC millage request in August 2007. KCFFR credited itself partially in the defeat by turning out double the no votes in certain key precincts which helped defeat the millage by a razor thin margin. It also was the only organized opposition in May 2007 to the Rapid’s last millage request in which they advertised against the millage request on the side of one of the ITP’s buses with a “This Pig Stinks” campaign.

“One of the main arguments for this new rapid transit system is that it will move commuters quickly from the suburbs to downtown Grand Rapids but that just is not true,” says KCFFR spokesman, Eric Larson. “According to the ITP’s statistics the new Silver Line will only average less than 22 mph up Division (or 9.8 miles in 27 minutes). The idea that you can put a rapid transit bus on surface streets and save time along a street with so many intersections suggests some poo planning. Usually these transit lines run along freeways or limited access roads so they can move commuters quickly. Worse yet, the current bus line that serves Division Ave. travels 12 miles in 33 minutes (or 21.8 mph) according to the Rapid’s own website meaning it travels as fast as the proposed rapid line. To call this project a $70 million dollar boondoggle is an understatement.”

The group expects to continue its neighborhood campaigning up until next Tuesday’s election and feels optimistic about its chances in defeating the millage.

The organization’s mission is to promote good governance with a rational tax policy and has fought other millages in the past. Its most recent battle was to stop the second failed GRCC millage request in August 2007. KCFFR credited itself partially in the defeat by turning out double the no votes in certain key precincts which helped defeat the millage by a razor thin margin. It also was the only organized opposition in May 2007 to the Rapid’s last millage request in which they advertised against the millage request on the side of one of the ITP’s buses with a “This Pig Stinks” campaign.

“There are many reasons why the millage request is being opposed so strongly this time,” says Eric Larson, spokesman for the group. “Aside from asking for a lot of money during hard economic times, they are presenting a poorly hatched plan that would be a detriment to Division Ave. The plan calls for eliminating half the lanes of traffic during peak commute times which would not only add to congestion but would eliminate parking for some small businesses along the route. Also, it is a route which already has a bus and would travel, according to their numbers, even slower than the current route. Finally, this particular unfair project provides no benefit to three of the cities taxed (Grandville, East Grand Rapids, and Walker) since the line is nowhere near their city borders.”

The group expects to continue its neighborhood campaigning up until next Tuesday’s election and feels optimistic about its chances in defeating the millage.

The organization is the local taxpayers’ rights group that professes to fight for good governance and low taxes. They believe that private enterprise have better and more efficient solutions to solving local problems than using the public purse.

Spokesman Dr. Eric Larson stated a number of reasons for KCFFR’s opposition to the new $70 million tax request from the ITP. “It is very hard to imagine that this tax hike is a serious request from the Rapid. It calls for $70 million over 5 years to build a bus line on Division that is already being serviced by their buses. It will close down half the road during peak traffic hours which will cause widespread congestion and affect parking for a lot of the businesses along the route. Worse yet, this rapid service will average only 16 mph! 

“Not only is this a poorly hatched plan for what it sets out to do but it extracts tax money from the cities of East Grand Rapids, Walker, and Grandville that will not receive any of the benefits. It is simply inconceivable that during a large economic downturn the ITP would consider taking $70 million out of the pockets of taxpayers instead of allowing those citizens to use the money to care for their families and support local businesses.”

The KCFFR has already begun an active campaign by handing out flyers pointing out the wastefulness and unfairness of the millage request. It expects to accomplish most of its goals through word of mouth, grassroots networking, and door to door campaigning. Since the group does not have the deep pockets of the businesses along the proposed route or the ability to freely advertise its position on a publicly owned website (such as the Rapid) it will continue to utilize those other techniques which were effective in its campaign against GRCC in May, 2007.

If you would like to schedule an interview with KCFFR spokesman Eric Larson, please contact him by email (ellarson0@gmail.com) or phone (616-648-3384). Please visit our website at www.itpwatch.org for more information.

ITP Watch is also part of our effort to urge voters to say NO to the tax increase on the ballot Tuesday, May 5th, 2009. This tax increase is proposed to pay for a new “Silver Line” bus system. This Silver Line will choke up traffic on Division from downtown Grand Rapids to 60th street by cutting off two of the four lanes on Division during peak traffic hours. In addition, this tax increase will cost the taxpayers of Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, and Grandville a whopping $70 million. Read more at the ITP Watch web site.