I received this as a comment on another thread with a request to discuss the issue and a request for me to look into it.
"Michelle. I know this thread is regarding the School Board's shortfall with communication, but I have another issue that I would like to discuss. Is it legal for a School Board member to be delinquent in her taxes and be on the School Board? According to the City of Oshkosh's website Amy Weinsheim has unpaid taxes. How can Mrs. Weinsheim keep voting to raise my taxes and I have to pay them, while she raises taxes and doesn't pay hers? Shame on Amy Weinsheim for not paying her taxes! I would like to know if she can serve on the School Board with delinquent taxes. Can you please look into this please? Thanks Michelle and keep fighting the "business as usual" School Board. I hope you get elected the next time you run!!! "
To answer the questions raised, I looked into verification through the city assessor's office. What I found was not only a verification, but a couple of Q&A that might indicate a few other things. It is true according to the city assessor's website. The Weinsheims appear to owe $142.22 for 2004. They have paid all of their taxes for 2005 and owe $82.76 for 2006. Not much, but still delinquent. In looking up all BOE members it would seem the Weinsheim's are the only ones.
Maybe they didn't know. Is it possible for someone to not know their assessment went up and thus their tax bill? Not according to the city assessor's office. "Will I be notified if there is a change in my assessment? Wisconsin law requires that whenever an assessment changes, the owner must be notified."
In looking at the BOE policies, being delinquent in your property taxes does not preclude one from being on the BOE. However, I did find it interesting to note a couple of policies. Policy 161, Board of Education Code of Conduct; Policy 150, Board Powers and Duties. Feel free to check any of the other policies and draw your own conclusions.
The short answer is that there is no law or policy I found that prevents her from serving on the School Board. To further answer your concern, I welcome Amy to post a reply so that the entire community benefits from knowing why someone who has consistently commented that we should be taxing to our legal limit has not fulfilled her obligation to the community by paying her own taxes. I am sure it is merely an oversight that may have been corrected since it was posted on the city website. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt until she explains.
I would also recommend you call her and express your concern. Her number can be found on the OASD website unless it has changed with her rumored move to the Town of Algoma.
[Didn't Mrs. Bowen comment about there not being movement from the north side to the west? As a matter of fact, hasn't Mrs. Weinsheim made similar comments?]
Friday, September 14, 2007
Diligent Public Servant or Delinquent Public Disgrace
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15 comments:
Ironic that a tax and spend liberal can't/won't even pay their own taxes. Tax to the max and then don't pay your portion.
Hey Amy, the teachers need a raise from year to year, won't you help pay???
Recall anyone?!?!
Actually a call to the city assessor's office will tell you that the taxes not only have been paid but were paid for some time. I notice you didn't mention about your good friend Dennis McHugh for his taxes, that according to the assessor's web site are also unpaid. Might it be that the Weinsheims had just as good a reason as your friend? You're a hypocrite. (Love the t-shirt from the meeting the other night. Very telling of your true personality.)
Actually, my T-shirt was a protest of the current way in which the OASD is communicating with the public. For those who were not at the last BOE meeting (my shirt was difficult to read on TV), my shirt had the quote "I'm not ignoring you. You just aren't important." Kind of what the OASD tells the community every day in every way.
I'm glad the Weinsheims have paid their taxes. I didn't feel the need to call the assessor as I am not a journalist, not even a pretend one. They don't seem to be the types to shirk their responsibilities but I have been wrong about Mrs. Weinsheim's sensibilities before, having any that is. Maybe they out to call the assessor and request their information be updated. I would have to say it is still interesting that, though the info may be out of date since the sale of their home on Merritt, their 2004 taxes were not paid in full for almost 3 years.
As for Mr. McHugh, this discussion was sparked by a request about a School Board Member. It has been quite some time since Mr. McHugh was on the School Board. If you want to discuss the City Council, feel free to email Kent, Tony Palmeri, or Brian Bain. All have blogs about city issues.
As for your unfounded and ridiculous accusation of hypocrisy, didn't I state that we should give the Weinsheims the benefit of the doubt? Yes, I believe I did. I think you have me confused with someone else, or perhaps you have confused me with yourself. Had any other BOE member not paid their taxes, I would have posted the information to be fair. No one asked about the city government or any other for that matter. Apparently we all know this is predominantly a blog about school district issues. Now you know as well.
Thanks for your interest nonetheless.
oops, that should read ought to call the assessor, not "out" to call.
Sorry for the typo.
M
Michelle, Some people would find your citation for speeding more threatening, harmful, and inconsiderate to children than a late bill.
You are better than this kind of posting. Stick to the issues.
What happened to the useless questioning blog? I guess that's what happens with these weak in the knee liberals, they fold under the pressure in the end.
While I do not agree with everyone, I think Questioning's blog was not useless. Unfortunately, I do think he/she was bullied into deleting the blog by the nastiness of a few. Having gotten a call about what was on that blog, I have to laugh at those who call my little blog nasty, vindictive, and the product of a vendetta. What I saw there about me was far worse than anything I have even thought about others.
Too bad Questioning didn't just moderate. Sad to see another online personality bullied into leaving the blogosphere.
I'm not sad at all, I think "questioning" is/was a useless piece of garbage.
Oh, by the way, I mean the website and the person hosting it.
The comment above was totally uncalled for. "Questioning" was a lively blog which expressed interesting opinions for the most part. If comments became too wild, well it would hardly be the first time or the first place.
Terms such as "useless piece of garbage" are far more expressive of the one offering it than of "Questioning" or anything to do with that blog. I read most of what had been posted on "Questioning" in the past week or so. To me, in this small fish-bowl of a town, the discussion of the BOE member's taxes seemed rather "cheap" to have been raised in the first place. Sleasy. Lacking class. Yet others did not seem to be bothered.
Moreover, it seems rather an odd leap to assume that anyone associated with this dismal parade of potentially off-base comments is "liberal". Where would anyone ever get that idea? I know for a fact that the board member mentioned, as well as her husband, are Republican. The liberal wing of that party perished nearly forty years ago with Nelson Rockefeller. Perhaps it would be well if folks did not speculate AS IF THEY KNEW on such specific personal matters. I would be surprised if the whole of Oshkosh held more than a half dozen or so real liberals.
12:13, or Sheryl, Questioning, or what ever you want to be called.
Your site was useless. I applaud you for closing it down, now move on to your next stupid, moreover, useless piece of garbage post.
12:13, your comments are 100% on the mark and the fact that Michelle Monte would even approve something like the aforementioned comment makes a very loud statement abou her and proves the point you've just made. Sleazy is right. Then they wonder why people talk about them like they do.
First of all, I didn't approve the comments. Kent and I both moderate this blog. Second, I thought it would be interesting to see what would be the response to said comments. Kent and I had a bet. He said no one who posts here would mind someone expressing their opinion. I said the ones from Questioning's blog are waiting to pounce as soon as anyone posts a negative comment about Questioning. I win the dollar.
You can call me sleazy, sneazy, or even wheazy. I really do not care. I stopped going to certain blogs a while ago because some people hiding behind anonymity, and even one who proudly signs her name, simply get off on bullying and calling names. People like that do not interest me nor do I feel they are of any consequence in my life. Paying attention to such insignificance is a waste of my time.
If you don't like me, get over it and get on with your life. Why waste your time unless you only want attention? If that is all you want, go to Teresa Thiel's blog. She would love to jump all over anything negative to do with me and my family because THAT is the kind of person she is.
And she seemed so sweet during the campaign.
Oh, and for the record, Question did have some nice discussions when people didn't feel the need to turn it into a bashing of personalities instead of a discussion of issues.
You and Kent may both moderate the blog but it has your name on it and since you have not removed the comment it is the same as your having approved it yourself. As to your comment on people pouncing on anything said negative about Questioning's blog, give us a break, Michelle. Even you must be able to see that saying something negative about a blog is quite different and more acceptable than one of your posters saying the blog and the host were worthless pieces of garbage. One second you allow something like that and in an earlier moment you complained about people who are nasty on blogs. Yikes!
Yes, I allowed the comment. I have no reason to defend my decision. Instead of griping about the semantics of blog versus blog owner, I expressed my opinion of the blog. I do not, to my knowledge, know the blog owner in order to make a judgment on the person. Unfortunately others feel they can judge both without personal familiarity, yourself included.
However, I will say this: I will not be bullied into taking down this blog. If I should decide to retire it, that will be entirely my choice and not the result of someone attempting to turn it into their own personal and vulgar sounding board. If you would like an example of the nastiness I am referring to as a comparison to the comment I allowed, someone whom I know personally and who was disgusted by the commentary on "Questioning Everything" emailed me some of the comments. Any time you would like to compare what I post on my blog to what appeared there, let me know. Yikes!
To those "questioning faithfuls", Thanks for your comments. I should have known better and figured that you wouldn't try to post on a moderated blog. Your persistance is more than I expected.
Well, it goes to show that the blogosphere is full of all kinds.
Although I don't necessarily agree with the comment in question, I did want to see what the reaction was going to be. It was a shame to lose a blog that some good conversations took place but the inevitable deterioration pushed it to an end. I guess moderation is the only way to truly control the trolls.
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