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ARTICLE
COURTESY OF:
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Published
October 27, 2010 |
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The
Truth-O-Meter Says:
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Says
PolitiFact says Amendment 4 "will force counties and cities
across Florida to raise taxes and fees."
Citizens
for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy on Sunday, October 17th,
2010 in a newspaper ad. |
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Anti-Amendment
4 group cites PolitiFact in newspaper ad |
The group opposing
Amendment 4, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy,
placed a full page ad in the Oct. 17, 2010, Orlando Sentinel
urging voters to vote no on the amendment based on information
from, well, us.
The full page ad ran with the headline "What does Amendment 4
really mean for Florida?"
Included in the ad was an allegation that listed PolitiFact as the
source. The ad says Amendment 4 "will force counties and
cities across Florida to raise taxes and fees." The footnote
attached to the claim points back to a PolitiFact Florida article
from March 16, 2010.
We love the publicity and notoriety that comes with being quoted
in a full page advertisement running in one of the state's largest
newspapers.
But we love being quoted accurately more.
In this case, we weren't.
First, in case you don't know, here's some background on Amendment
4.
Amendment 4 was placed on the November ballot after Hometown
Democracy was able to collect 676,811 petition signatures
statewide, more than the state requirement to get a constitutional
amendment on the ballot. The proposal is summarized as follows on
the election ballot: "Establishes that before a local
government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or amend a
comprehensive land use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall
be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by
referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency,
consideration by the governing body and notice." |
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Essentially the proposal would allow voters to
decide on changes to local land use plans, rather than having the
decision rest in the hands of city councils, county commissions or
appointed local planning agencies.
Supporters argue that the measure will give more power to
local residents by allowing them to make decisions regarding
development plans in their communities. Opponents argue Amendment
4 will stall existing projects and drive away prospective
developers from investing money in Florida.
We've rated several claims on both sides of Amendment 4, which you
can see here.
The claim we're analyzing in this case stems from a statement we
examined in the spring. Back in March, Citizens for Lower Taxes
and a Stronger Economy claimed that the tiny Pinellas community of
St. Pete Beach had terrible experiences with its own version of
Amendment 4, resulting in "seemingly endless lawsuits (that)
decimated the city's legal budget and forced the city to raise the
property tax rate."
We found two half truths in the statement back then.
1). We didn't agree that Amendment 4 and St. Pete Beach's version
of hometown democracy were the same thing. Here's what we wrote
about the comparison then:
"A group of St. Pete Beach residents, unhappy with the
direction of their city government, successfully wrestled certain
land use decisions out of the hands of elected leaders. The
movement produced a backlash from both the government and
pro-development forces, who then mounted their own political
campaign to wrestle power back. The power struggle has continued
for close to four years.
"That's a different storyline than what is envisioned under
Amendment 4, where voters would act as a check on the decisions of
local government. The amendment itself isn't designed to go around
government the way the situation in St. Pete Beach played out. And
it has nothing to do with citizens proposing amendments to the
local comprehensive plan, like what has happened in St. Pete
Beach. Now, are the same lawsuits and political maneuvering
possible? Absolutely. And maybe that's enough to make the analogy
valid.
"But voters should be wary in blindly believing that St. Pete
Beach's experiences would be duplicated statewide should Amendment
4 pass."
2). We didn't think St. Pete Beach's hometown democracy rule
generated lawsuits that forced the city to raise its property tax
rate. Declining property values, more than anything else, forced
the tax rate increase in 2009. Here's what we wrote then:
"Yes, there were lawsuits, but they weren't the only costs
mentioned for the city legal department (during budget talks).
Yes, the city slightly raised its rate in 2009 -- although the net
result still was a decrease on most homeowners because of sharply
falling property values. But the discussion at a town meeting
indicates that the decision was motivated by several factors, most
notably the decline in property values, as well as legal
fees."
Our
ruling
Let's look at what Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy
said again in its ad. Citing PolitiFact, it said Amendment 4
"will force counties and cities across Florida to raise taxes
and fees."
Well, we can speak unequivocally about this one. PolitiFact
Florida never said that what happened in St. Pete Beach's case
will happen in cities and counties across Florida if Amendment 4
is approved. We never said it in any other Truth-O-Meter items
either. And even ignoring that, PolitiFact Florida never said
St. Pete Beach's local hometown democracy rules forced the city to
raise its tax rate.
No doubt about it: Pants on Fire! (And no
footnote required).
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UPDATE:
Ryan Houck, a spokesman for UPDATE: Ryan Houck, a
spokesman for Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy,
said the line in the Sentinel ad was mistakenly sourced
to PolitiFact. "Over the course of this campaign, we’ve
generated literally thousands of documents containing accurate
claims and citations — we’ve always prided ourselves on an
attention to detail and a focus on the facts," he said.
"However, sometimes mistakes happen and I’m sorry to say
that one has happened here." Houck said that the ad should
have referenced Florida TaxWatch as the source for the ad’s
claim., said the line in the Sentinel ad was mistakenly
sourced to PolitiFact. "Over the course of this campaign,
we’ve generated literally thousands of documents containing
accurate claims and citations — we’ve always prided ourselves
on an attention to detail and a focus on the facts," he said.
"However, sometimes mistakes happen and I’m sorry to say
that one has happened here." Houck said that the ad should
have referenced Florida TaxWatch as the source for the ad’s
claim. |
COMMENT:
Literally
all the documents
produced by the pathetic group named "Citizens for Lower Taxes and a
Stronger Economy" are nothing but lies and scare tactics. In
my opinion that
group generated literally thousands of documents containing inaccurate
claims and citations, paid for partially from companies that received
stimulus money at taxpayers' expense. It
seems like they've always prided themselves on an attention to detail and
a focus on the lies and misleading “facts”
they were spreading.
This
is actually just another example of Ryan Houck's modus
operandi -- only this time he got caught with the hands in the cookie
jar!
I think I have figured out why so many of our elected officials like the
"facts" spread by Ryan Houck and his ilk. Considering
the many lies that
were spread in this year's election campaign,
these politicians are familiar with spreading lies and they
don't mind what they are saying as long as it attracts some voters!
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