Mahoning Valley Forum

FYI


Additional information forthcoming

Oh well.  If Jim had incorporated as a non profit organization and obtained tax exempt status the building would have been exempt from property taxes.  I believe that what he did there was more along the lines of a non profit literary club of sorts. 

Since the banks are simply foreclosing only on the building, what's to keep him from relocating his business in a smaller shop that he could lease. The big question is this: obviously his revinue stream is smaller than his liabilities. A smaller shop at the Wards Building would be more fitting.

Jim Villani, owner of the business and an Occupy Youngstown member, failed to pay his property taxes from 2007 to 2009, an amount he said was $4,088.67. The Mahoning County treasurer sold a tax lien on his business to American Tax Funding, a Florida company that buys liens.

From the news release

QuoteMr. Villani insists that the methods employed by American Tax Funding are contrary to conventional fair trade practices in the debt industry.  ATF failed to notify the defendant of the debt before foreclosing; ATF failed to offer a buyout; ATF failed to offer a payment schedule that defendant could meet; and ATF failed to acknowledge that a $9,000.00 payment constituted a sincere effort by defendant to meet his obligation.

Some "Corporations Are People Too" don't have to pay property taxes like the rest of us

Example from the last city council meeting
Ordinance 6

Board Of Control to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement with Taylor-Winfield Technologies, Inc. and McDonald Industries Development, LLC, and Haybrook Warren, LLC, for a ten (10) year, seventy-five percent (75%) abatement of real property taxes resulting from the project located at 3200 Innovation Place, City Lot #62014; PP#53-186-0-022.00-0.

Property taxes should be ruled unconstitutional, since they are a prohibition against ownership of real property in America.  There are other ways of funding schools and public services that are more equitable and that do not destroy a founding principle of this country.

I am sure the Occupy Youngstown people will be protesting the "evil" lienholder and not Jim, when the situation was entirely in Jim's hands to prevent.  Instead of protesting, why don't the Occupy people all pony up and pay off the lien?

That's right Jay tell companies that wish to locate here and bring much needed jobs that they will get no benefits whatsoever ... they must purchase the land to build on ... and most of all, they must all pay property tax. Better no jobs than jobs at companies that do not have to pay property taxes. We all know that companies, both big and small are necessairly evil and must be strictly controlled by we the people.

But wait a minute ... one of these evil corporations recently gave the Youngstown schools a million dollars worth of equipment and supplies FREE and vowed to do the same next year.

How much is Occupy Youngstown doing for Youngstown in terms of jobs that pay a good wage?

I can only say that I recently finished reading a book that was printed by the PigIron.....

Some of you have probably heard of or read it yourselves, Ragman Ragman.......

I bet everyone I know would want a 75% property tax abatement for 10 years.

Give Property Tax Abatements To Everyone!!!

No offense but that is foolish. Look, these businesses are bringing jobs to Youngstown, the Occupy Youngstown crowd brings nothing, and they won't even help their own members. We are on the verge of seeing Youngstown making a major recovery that no one said would ever happen, but it is, and we're the talk of the nation. The Occupy Youngstown crowd would throw that down the drain, failing to realize that if that happened their beloved Lemon Grove would be driven out of business along with all the other eateries downtown because folks wouldn't have the cash to spend on dining out. That is a fact that too many refuse to believe!

By the way, the eateries that you love to promote are not the salvation of the city ... far from it. Neither are the arts. ONLY REAL JOBS in real businesses such as the ones you hold in disdain will put Youngstown back on the map and draw more companies here.

It was once said that manufacturing jobs are a thing of the past, and these companies are proving the notion wrong, and as they succeed, more companies seeing them succeed here will want to take advantage of our workforce.

Once we have folks working at real jobs and receiving a decent wage, then the slop shop eateries will benefit by increased business, and not before then.

The rest of the story that was ignored:

"They are doing the construction, they are making an investment, and that's a way to begin and again, some of those subsidies are what helped bring that in and that's what built that and attracted that," said 4th Ward Councilman Mike Ray. "We're netting far more by giving these incentives."

Taylor Winfield Technologies plans to consolidate its two Valley locations, one in Youngstown and one in the Brookfield-Hubbard area, into one building with a $1.9 million addition to the Salt Springs Road location. Blake Rhein, vice president of sales and marketing, said the move sets them up for future growth and corporate owners are very pleased with Youngstown


Council also approved a measure allowing the city to apply for a $500,000 state grant aimed at helping V & M Star. The money would be used to renovate a building where V & M plans to invest $2.5 million for a maintenance facility. While development is always welcomed, Ray said it is equally important to maintain a variety of industries.

these co that you, towntalk you mentioned are part of the fracking industry. these co were coming to ytown with/out any kind of business incentives. i was told mike rae works for the coal industry in the pittsburg, pa. area. so convenient for his co to have a rep looking out for their interests. mmmmm..........conflict of interst?????

Would you want some old stumbling, bumbling "Joe Labash" who couldn't get from here to there without someone leading him and uses a large funnel for a hearing aid leading us?

I have but one guiding principal and that is to see Youngstown prospering, growing once again, and become great again, and if that means stomping on toes to get there, so be it. Once we get there, businesses will be clammering to locate here, and yes, that will include retail trade downtown, and not just eateries and beer gardens.

i too want the mah valley to prosper like it did before black monday. i do not want the middle class foot the bill for the rich nor the lazy poor. i want everyone pay their fair taxes in the resettling the mah valley.

There's that phrase again...... What exactly is Fair taxes?

Excuse me, but quote me if I'm wrong, but big business and the rich do pay taxes, maby not as much as you would like to see them pay, but no one has yet absolutely defined the exact amount that they should pay in percentage of their gross income ... 25% ... 50% ... 75% ... 100%. We could of course nationalize all businesses, but that would force us to alter our whole system of government, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that because it would mean that government would set wages and benefits, and if experiences in other countries is any example, they could have workers being paid minimum wages with few if any benefits.

Pig Iron Press has been in business what ... 30 odd years. You'd think that if it had a firm business plan, that it would be a viable business, but how many books has it published over those years in house? It's suppose to be a publisher.

You can't make money holding free poetry readings.

At one time they published a magazine that was really good but where is it today?

They added a copy service that can't compete with the UPS Store, and most folks have printers that can scan and copy, so the demand for copying is very limited. Businesses go to copy services that do balk copying, packaging and mailing, and more supermarkets are offering copy services.

a fair tax is equivalent that shows no one or business pays less then its fair share of its income. i have a problem businesses recieve tax abatements that do no live up to its agreements then disappears in thin air and never repays the cities or government identy that gave these tax brks.

While I agree that there were many outfits that rolled into town, got bags full of money then skipped town, but lets say for arguments sake that the county billed V&M $2 million in property tax per quarter ... the city slapped them with an equally huge income tax ... just how long would they stay here?  While we're at it perhaps the state could slap them with a huge tax bill, while the feds strip all the corporations of all their deductions and slap them with a 80% flat tax, no, because everyone of those greedy bums are evil, lets slap them with a 95% tax on gross income, and all those leaches that play the stock markets should also be taxed 95% on their gross income.

Lets also bring in some Chinese government experts to teach us how to deal with those criminal capitolists.

towntalk bill everyone fairly, i did not say flogg them with outrageous taxes. these corps are complaining they do not have enough men andwomen to fill thejobs they have to offer then pay your property taxes in which those dollars will flow into the coffers on the local school districts thus giving them the resourses to offer the needed classes that will teach generation xyz skills that will make them employable for such co as vm star, a win win situation.

I live in the home which was built by the Frankle Bros. Cigar co.  Ohio Land Management is the most experienced and has the most ongoing TAX CERT. foreclosures and forfietures in the county courthouse than any entity (even the $300,000 per year Lien Forward).  How can we help Villani save the Frankle bros. bldg. on Phelps, anyone know him and a number?

PIG IRON PRESS
26 North Phelps Street, Youngstown, OH 44503
(330) 747-6932

iwasthere  :) I agree. Unfortunately there are some problems that are inescapable. Hundreds of other cities are also searching for companies to locate there and they are willing to come into Youngstown and try to steal away companies located here, especially successful ones. This activity is not done on the cheap, and companies know it.

On the personal side, the only city I have any interest in is Youngstown. I tolerate the other communities in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, but as for any other community outside these two counties in the United States outside of my home town, I couldn't care less. They could survive or fail without my interest.

What I'd like to see is an extremely aggressive department in City Hall that is willing to get out there and raid other communities in an effort to bring more companies here even if they have to lie, cheat or steal to do it, until every inch of vacant land is filled.

Success in this area would not only bring companies here, but working people with them leading to a population growth and all the benefits that go with it.

ytownshrimp his business and personal ph no is in the book. towntalk i agree we must have qualified economic development person is qualified in this manner. the ones we have in the city hall should have retired centuries ago.