mo' money, mo' money, mo' money...a public service announcement

New Expanded Homestead Exemption - Cuyahoga County Auditor -- Here's the link to Frank Russo's site, where people over 65 can go to qualify for the Homestead Exemption. This past July 2nd, the income restrictions were lifted from the exemption requirements at the state level, and now all propertyowners over 65, or disabled, can qualify for the savings on the first $25,000 of valuation, which the site says amounts to around $400 apiece. The link here says that the eligible households are "expected to grow from 220,000 to an estimated 750,000." I wonder if that's in this county alone? I wonder whether, if you multiply $400 times the remainder of 750,000-220,000 and get a result of $212,000,000 per year, whether this is an accurate depiction of a shortfall, and for whom?

Whatever the numeric interpretation, make sure you take care of those you know who might qualify. Here's the paperwork. Here's where to find a permanent parcel number. Please, try to make sure everybody maximizes this opportunity right now, because all paperwork must be in not later than October 1st.

In a separate and totally unrelated incident, two of three Cuyahoga County Commissioners, Hagan and DiMora, crowed over the fact that they had vanquished the initiative to put the issue of the sales-tax increase on the ballot and would be raising that tax by 1/4%, by a vote among three instead of 460,000, this coming October 1st.

The increase intends to garner nearly $1,000,000 per week for the next 20 years, for a total of just under a billion dollars. The resolution says it will go to the general fund. Nothing more. You may not have heard much about this from the mainstream media these past few weeks, but that's the way the resolution read, and continues to read. (We came to you as friends, to warn you...)

In another story a few Saturdays ago, Mike O' Malley spoke of the $1 billion decrease in property tax valuation in this county, which, by rough math, came to $16,000,000 per year.

And yet again, Jill Miller Zimon pointed us to the Center for Community Solutions comment that sales tax revenues, as of last April, had decreased for 25 consecutive months. I really have no idea of how much that is, and I would like to know.

And finally, in another unrelated story, we the marketing group hung out the first two of a plethora of +banners. As the story goes on to say, "The banners include one of the campaign's slogans--'We've got it all. Together.'--along with the campaign Web site--www.clevelandplus.com."

We've got it all. Together....We've got it, altogether....We've got it all together....

Do tell.

Are we having fun, yet?