I believe the kids call it a shout out.

Or at least they did back in 1991.

Regardless, I would like to give said shout out to Rodney Smith of the Ypsilanti Courier for mentioning me and the blog in this week’s editiorial on the findings and recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee on City Finances. I have to admit it’s a little gratifying to finally see myself referred to in print by something other than “that guy.”

If you know me or have read this stuff for a while, then you know the reason I started this web site was mainly to help me score with the chicks. That goal was never quite fulfilled because women aren’t into guys who say words like “score” and “chicks.” As time has gone by, and I’ve cut down on the slanderous statements, this web site has begun to garner me my fair share of free beer. I never did this for the glory, but now that I’ve tasted it, I want a whole lot more.

The only way you’ll be able to see my mention is to go out and buy a copy of the Courier. They don’t put the really great articles online for the freeloaders to read, but the paper is only two bits so go buy a copy. I must warn you that I’ve already purchased twenty-six copies for my scrapbook, so don’t even bother looking at Cal’s Party Store or the box outside the Tap Room.

I don’t think I’m violating any copyright laws when I tell that he is against rushing this proposal through without a thorough understanding of such a plan’s implications. To further the understanding process, he even went so far as to develop a math model that predicts the revenue the City could generate by experimenting with the variables of City income tax rate and exemption level. His article echoes the suggestion that a 0.8% income tax rate for residents and corporations, a 0.4% income tax rate for non-residents, a $1000 level per exemption, and no property millage rollback that was presented by BRCCF member Ingrid Kock on Tuesday.

I can’t say enough good things about his math model. It takes the information supplied by Plante & Moran and spits out a very accurate revenue picture. A rational person might think a model like his would have been the responsibility of Plante & Moran. A rational person might also expect that City staff should have developed something similar because they have the expertise in assessing and collecting my hard-earned cash. Instead it took a member of the press to set us all straight. If it weren’t for some obscure ordinance on the books that prevented Australians from working for the City of Ypsilanti, he’d be my choice for City Manager. I suppose it’s still a possibilty that he could become the City Manager of East Ypsilanti after we secede; unlike the City of Ypsilanti, however, I would require that all city employees live within the city limits.

An online web version of his model can be found HERE.