Jeremy Ryan Proposes a Better Burlington
The following letter to the editor was published in the Burlington Free Press on February 7, 2006.
We need a more open and honest city government that people will trust. The city needs to seek more public input on its actions and proceed slowly and carefully with big decisions. I believe the tax burden within the city and the state is far too high and needs to be lowered. To do this we need to cut excessive regulations, over-spending and take back more local control over city finances and schools. We need to work to keep our tax dollars in the city. Allow parents, teachers and students to decide what’s best for our schools and get the politicians out of the way. The city should not be engaging in new projects that result in increased taxes. Now is not the time to take on additional burdens.
Many people I know, myself included, have tightened their personal budgets and I believe the city must do so as well. We need to find and eliminate waste from the city government budget and make the departments more efficient. Furthermore, the city should restrict the city’s spending increases to inflation and population increases. Any increases beyond this should require a super-majority vote of 2/3 to 4/5 by the voters. The city should focus on the basics, such as roads, police, fire and water treatment and run these departments efficiently while maintaining a high level of service. The city should reduce excessive regulation to help bring back business, jobs and housing that’s affordable to Burlington.
Vote for Jeremy Ryan for City Council.
JEREMY RYAN
Burlington
The writer is a candidate for Ward 7 City Council.
Jeremy Ryan Opposes Local Option Sales Tax
The following letter to the editor was published in the Burlington Free Press on January 9, 2006.
Burlington sales tax back on the ballot
The City Council has proposed the local option sales tax question to be on the ballot again. It’s basically the same proposal as last year, a 1 percent extra sales tax within Burlington, except there is no promise of property tax relief. The council acknowledged that it will be a tough sell as it failed last time and with the recent reappraisal and increased tax burden on homeowners and renters, the voters will not want additional tax burdens.
The proposed sales tax would provide an estimated $2.6 million in revenue; $780,000 (30 percent) of the revenue plus $220,000 in administrative fees would go to the state. This sounds like a lot of our money to be sending to the state. Wouldn’t we be better off keeping the money here in Burlington by allowing people to spend more on goods and services, which benefits our local communities?
The mayor suggested that the city needs to make budget cuts this year to help sell the idea of the sales tax. It sounds to me that once the sales tax is accepted, all bets would be off and we would see increased property taxes in the future along with possible sales tax increases. Therefore, I would not support the sales tax because I simply do not trust the city with extra taxing power.
The city needs to make some very difficult budget cuts to balance our city’s budget without further burdening the people of Burlington. Vote for Jeremy Ryan for City Council. For more information call 865-0111 or go online: www.jeremyryan.org.
JEREMY RYAN
Burlington
The writer is a candidate for Ward 7 City Council
Jeremy Ryan Announces Run for Burlington City Council
Jeremy Ryan announced he is running for city council here in ward 7 of Burlington. He chose to run because he would like to help make some much needed changes to how the city government does business. He wants to help improve the quality of life for Burlington residents by pushing for lower taxes and affordable housing. By cutting excessive regulations and state control, he believes our city would be far better off. He will fight for taxpayer rights and local control over our finances and our schools. He is a strong believer in protecting your property rights and personal freedoms.
Jeremy Ryan supports the following:
– Lower taxes and voter control over city budget.
– Open and honest government.
– Local control over schools and government.
– Affordable housing by lowering taxes and regulations.
You can read more on his positions, his biography and blog by going to his campaign web site at: https://www.jeremyryan.org.
Contact:
Jeremy Ryan, candidate
Jeremy Ryan for City Council
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802-865-0111
Fax: 309-406-3143
https://www.jeremyryan.org
jeremyryan@jeremyryan.org
Burlington Libertarian Party Urges Burlington to Not Pursue Rent Control
The stated purpose of the new rent control resolution proposed by councilors Fiermonte, P-Ward 3 and Ashe, P-Ward 3 is to help fix high rents. While the resolution was written with good intentions, the practice of rent control does not work. The problem is based on simple economics. The supply is less than the demand and you do not fix the supply by attacking it.
The resolution urges “a simple but effective method of regulating the annual increase in rents while allowing property owners to recover reasonable costs.” It would require advance notice to tenants of annual rent increases of more than 5 percent and give them the right of a quick appeal to an unspecified board. Landlords would be required to appear before the board to justify the increase.
Enacting the resolution being proposed almost assures a 5% per year increase in rent, not a reduction. Furthermore, rent control will cause reduced investment in existing and new rental housing. The end result will be still higher rents, even less affordable housing and lower quality housing.
What caused the high rents? Excessive regulation, the recent reappraisal, and excessive property taxes are to blame. The regulations make it too hard to build enough units of housing in Burlington. Regulations are the mandates that make the too few permitted units much more expensive, driving up rents. Also, if we are to avoid sprawl, the cities like Burlington have to loosen up regulations to make more honestly affordable units.
The 2002 Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force Report quotes the Burlington Housing Authority staff saying that they wouldn’t own rental property in Burlington because the City makes it so hard for landlords.
The Burlington Libertarian Party urges the city council to reduce the regulation and property taxes in order to make rents more affordable. The city must understand that any attack on landlords is passed on to the tenants.
Contact:
Jeremy Ryan, Chair
Burlington Libertarian Party
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802-865-0111
Fax: 309-406-3143
http://www.burlingtonlp.org
chair@burlingtonlp.org
Burlington Libertarians Elected to NYRA-Vermont Executive Committee
BURLINGTON, VERMONT – May 17th, 2005
Jeremy and Heavenly Ryan of Burlington have been elected to the Vermont chapter of the National Youth Rights Association. Jeremy Ryan was elected Treasurer and Heavenly Ryan was elected Vice President. Jeremy Ryan currently serves as Chair of the Burlington Libertarian Party and owns and operates Advantage Creations, a web design and marketing firm located in Burlington. Heavenly Ryan serves as Vice-Chair of the Burlington Libertarian Party, Vice-Chair of the Vermont Libertarian Party and works with Jeremy at Advantage Creations.
Jeremy and Heavenly will work to help increase of youth rights issues including lowering the drinking age to 18 and lowering the voting age to 16.
Contact:
Jeremy & Heavenly Ryan
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802/865-0111
Fax: 309/406-3143
Web: http://www.burlingtonlp.org
Jeremy’s Email: jeremyryan@advantagecreations.com
Heavenly’s Email: heavenly@jlryan.com
Jay Leff, president
National Youth Rights Association – Vermont Chapter
31 Town Line Road
Grand Isle, VT 05458
Web: http://vt.youthrights.org
Email: jay@youthfordemocracy.org
Burlington Libertarians Elected to Ward 7 Steering Committee.
BURLINGTON, VERMONT – March 16th, 2005
Jeremy and Heavenly Ryan of Burlington have been elected to the NPA’s Ward 4 & 7 Steering Committee. Jeremy Ryan currently serves as Chair of the Burlington Libertarian Party and owns and operates Advantage Creations, a web design and marketing firm located in Burlington. Heavenly Ryan serves as Vice-Chair of the Burlington Libertarian Party and works with Jeremy at Advantage Creations.
Jeremy and Heavenly will work to help increase representation of Ward 7 at future NPA meetings and discussions.
Contact:
Jeremy & Heavenly Ryan
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802/865-0111
Fax: 309/406-3143
Web: http://www.burlingtonlp.org
Jeremy’s Email: jeremyryan@advantagecreations.com
Heavenly’s Email: heavenly@jlryan.com
For the unofficial NPA meeting minutes, please click the following link: http://www.burlingtonlp.org/news/events02.asp?ProdCode=5150121132005
The Burlington Libertarian Party has formed!
BURLINGTON, VERMONT – December 4, 2004
We are proud to announce the formation of Burlington Libertarian Party! Local Burlington issues were discussed and elections were held. The state executive committee held their meeting after the Burlington meeting.
Contact:
Jeremy Ryan, Chair
Burlington Libertarian Party
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont
Phone: 802/865-0111
Fax: 309/406-3143
Web: http://www.burlingtonlp.org
Email: jeremyryan@advantagecreations.com
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