cheeky boy Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 With all due respect to cheeky boy, I can't support his idea of all-island rating simply because the rates in Douglas are excessive I am not disputing the fact thet the corpy waste a fortune, but its probably fair to say that most of the other 33 odd councils, commissioners, burial authorites etc do the same. That is another matter My point was that Douglas fills up every day with commuters who make use of all the facilites in the town which we Douglas ratepayers alone pay for The domestic rating system was concived at a time when the population was largely static whereas today we travel all over the Island so my proposal for a local services tax payable by all persons of working age would be a fairer way of paying for the facilities we all use It would also iron out the inconsistencies of single householders paying proportionatly more rates than multi occpancy homes It is far from a perfect solution but a fairer one than at present Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triskelion Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 With all due respect to cheeky boy, I can't support his idea of all-island rating simply because the rates in Douglas are excessive I am not disputing the fact thet the corpy waste a fortune, but its probably fair to say that most of the other 33 odd councils, commissioners, burial authorites etc do the same. That is another matter My point was that Douglas fills up every day with commuters who make use of all the facilites in the town which we Douglas ratepayers alone pay for The domestic rating system was concived at a time when the population was largely static whereas today we travel all over the Island so my proposal for a local services tax payable by all persons of working age would be a fairer way of paying for the facilities we all use It would also iron out the inconsistencies of single householders paying proportionatly more rates than multi occpancy homes It is far from a perfect solution but a fairer one than at present I'm certainly not a supporter of the current local government structure, but coming at your argument from another direction, don't all thse commuters benefit Douglas through spending in the shops? Douglas has, partly thanks to these commuters, become the only really viable retail area on the Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 It may have been unfair to specifically mention but I also think it is not the best example to set if you an individual who appears to have political ambition as from the views on here many seem to consider that once elected even those who went in unblemished are soon corrupted and start acting as if they are above the law/rest of us. I do not consider myself above the law and I certainly do not consider myself above anyone else What I do object to are laws that are unjust, or in the case of the DOT adding campervans to thier list of proscribed vehicles just because Tynwald upheld my complaint, laws which are abused by authorities Look what has happened in the UK with local authorities using speed cameras and parking wardens as a revenue raiser rather than to keep the roads safe Challenging the law is a neccassary part of living in a democracy. If you prefer to just blindly accept everyting then perhaps an Islamic republic might be a better place to live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bawden Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 All Island rate eh?....mmm, well when my wife and I lived out at Sartfell we paid £100 a year and no water rates (own water supply), we had no street lights thank goodness, our rubbish was collected in a bin at the bottom of the hill at Barregarrow and we didn't really live that close to Kirk Michael...now that we live in Douglas we pay an extortionate amount of combined rates of approx. £1000...I don't particualarly feel that I use anything in Douglas that I didn't use before, the street lights in my road are on all feckin night cos it's a road which houses Solicitirs, ex-mayors, doctors etc..and there is a road sweeper comes up and down the road twice a feckin day, wtf??....with all this in mkind I still believe an all island rate is unfair, the rates system ought to be looked at as it appears outdated and obsolete in it's present form but an all island rate is not the solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I'm certainly not a supporter of the current local government structure, but coming at your argument from another direction, don't all thse commuters benefit Douglas through spending in the shops? Douglas has, partly thanks to these commuters, become the only really viable retail area on the Island. That is true but it doesn't make Douglas ratepayers any wealthier, in fact Douglas householders as a whole are likely to be poorer than those in the countryside As an example, how many of the two hundred odd lawyers working in Douglas live in the town ? Not many Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Challenging the law is a neccassary part of living in a democracy. If you prefer to just blindly accept everyting then perhaps an Islamic republic might be a better place to live Agreed, but I do not think not obeying a law be in speeding, parking, shop lifting, robbery or whatever is challenging it. It is purely not complying. Challenging in m opinion is actively trying to get the law changed which may be by petition, lobbying, challenging in law, publicly demonstrating etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 That is true but it doesn't make Douglas ratepayers any wealthier, in fact Douglas householders as a whole are likely to be poorer than those in the countryside As an example, how many of the two hundred odd lawyers working in Douglas live in the town ? Not many Probably not but how much do their firms pay in rates, how much do their staff pay in car parking fees which is something that makes the corporation a profit, how much do they pay in taxes which support the government whose offices are mainly in Douglas and presumably pay rates, how much do they spend in Douglas supporting busineess which all pay rates etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagman Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Do they also have feats of strength? No, but I think the ancient viking tradition of whoever has the biggest moustache gets to rule is still observed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagman Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Nine people use their ancient right to air their grievances to the Isle of Man government during Tynwald Day. Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/8139539.stm Why is Tynwald day now refered to as a festival? - and why do they make this historically interesting event as deathly dull as possible, I doubt the Vikings were ever this boring.I think we should harken back to a true local Viking tradition - someone acts as King for the day and if a grievance is upheld the person responsible has their eyes poked out and their balls cut off. If they are going to keep calling this a festival maybe we should try and make the event better - maybe tie it into the music festival, and the Viking festival proper - maybe even bring the Fun Fair over (put it in Jurby). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesultanofsheight Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 With respect to illegal parking what about G4S aka Securicor. They provide parking officers for the DOT but park illegally every day eg: outside IOM Bank Athol Street. While your at G4S how much are Douglas ratepayers paying for the G4S lurkers in their yellow vests to look at the back of the town hall with their hands in their pockets all day? I've walked past a few times this week and seen the same lurkers looking at the temporary barriers at the back of the old fire station doing absolutely jack sh*t other than have a fag or stand with their hands in their pockets. Are we now also sub-contracting corporation idleness to third parties because their workers are too idle to pretend to be idle anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 My point was that Douglas fills up every day with commuters who make use of all the facilites in the town which we Douglas ratepayers alone pay for They also buy burgers while they're there. I don't particularly object to an all-Island rate, however, there would need to be reform of local government. I mean why should I pay for Christian's flourescent army to protect the Bee Gees, or the Chairman of Castletown's Commissioners' letter writing campaign, or for Ramsey to Say No, when I can't even vote them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanxfella Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 My point was that Douglas fills up every day with commuters who make use of all the facilites in the town which we Douglas ratepayers alone pay for They also buy burgers while they're there. I don't particularly object to an all-Island rate, however, there would need to be reform of local government. I mean why should I pay for Christian's flourescent army to protect the Bee Gees, or the Chairman of Castletown's Commissioners' letter writing campaign, or for Ramsey to Say No, when I can't even vote them out. Don't forget Braddan. All you need is a successful heavy handed legal assault by an angry gnome to triple the rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Toad Of Toad Hall Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 With respect to illegal parking what about G4S aka Securicor. They provide parking officers for the DOT but park illegally every day eg: outside IOM Bank Athol Street. Next time you get a ticket ask the DOT why the enforcers of penalty tickets are one of the worst offenders. I used to work for them and i never got a ticket on double yellow lines or pavement parking. Yes and they usually half park on the pavement too- these guys need to be stopped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voice of Reason Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 All Island rate eh?....mmm, well when my wife and I lived out at Sartfell we paid £100 a year and no water rates (own water supply), we had no street lights thank goodness, our rubbish was collected in a bin at the bottom of the hill at Barregarrow and we didn't really live that close to Kirk Michael...now that we live in Douglas we pay an extortionate amount of combined rates of approx. £1000...I don't particualarly feel that I use anything in Douglas that I didn't use before, the street lights in my road are on all feckin night cos it's a road which houses Solicitirs, ex-mayors, doctors etc..and there is a road sweeper comes up and down the road twice a feckin day, wtf??....with all this in mkind I still believe an all island rate is unfair, the rates system ought to be looked at as it appears outdated and obsolete in it's present form but an all island rate is not the solution. Well if you don't like it piss off back to the sticks then. There's a bus in the morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Roo Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 All Island rate eh?....mmm, well when my wife and I lived out at Sartfell we paid £100 a year and no water rates (own water supply), we had no street lights thank goodness, our rubbish was collected in a bin at the bottom of the hill at Barregarrow and we didn't really live that close to Kirk Michael...now that we live in Douglas we pay an extortionate amount of combined rates of approx. £1000...I don't particualarly feel that I use anything in Douglas that I didn't use before, the street lights in my road are on all feckin night cos it's a road which houses Solicitirs, ex-mayors, doctors etc..and there is a road sweeper comes up and down the road twice a feckin day, wtf??....with all this in mkind I still believe an all island rate is unfair, the rates system ought to be looked at as it appears outdated and obsolete in it's present form but an all island rate is not the solution. We also pay in excess of a £1ooo rate bill, but where as you have lights all night ours go off at 1am (not quite street lighting, more slight glow), no road or pavement sweeper, just dirty roads and pavements, but our bin does get emptied every week and we of course have running water. I do not believe our rates bill is fair as my friend who lives across the road pays £500. If we had an all Island rate i guess my rates would go down, or at least i would hope so!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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