Mainecoons Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 Citizens of Ajijic, how about a onetime special assessment of say 5000 pesos per household and for repairs and upgrades. Taxes are very low now. Well, we already got hit with a 30 percent property tax increase in one year on top of yearly increases that have been double or triple the rate of inflation. I really think we've paid enough to start seeing some of the services return that we had 7 years ago when property taxes were truly minimal. However, if you'd like to go over to Chapala and give them some extra money I'm sure they'd take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 why does anyone think that the more taxes they pay, the more service they will get? doesnt work like that here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 Does not work like that anywhere. We paid a whole lot of taxes in California, lived way out in the country on a dirt road, had garbage pick up on the main road once a week and that was it. When some criminal came around we had our dogs and guns, the sheriff arrived an hour later. Here we have garbage service twice a week , the police has never taken 1h to show up , the firemen never showed up when there was a fire accross the street but that is about it as far as services were concerned.. I forget we had our own wel and septic here we have city water and sewage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 wrong. where im from, the good neighborhoods have high taxes because the houses are more expensive. they get the best of the best. the crappy areas are not cleaned or paved well. dont know your deal but it sounds like mexico. thats why people live in fracs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well we live on the Napa Sonoma border way up in the mountains and it was hardly what you would called a shabby neighborhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well we live on the Napa Sonoma border way up in the mountains and it was hardly what you would called a shabby neighborhood. CA has sky high taxes all over, based on property value, not on level of services provided. I lived in the country and your dead body would be cold by the time the law arrived after your call. Power outages could be measured in days, not hours. I live in Centro Ajijic and can't complain about much: garbage service 6 days a week. Prompt attention to power outages. My beetchin' is about the streets with wheel-swallowing potholes, mostly. This year, taxes went up, but it's the worst one yet for repairing the streets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 I guess Bennie has never been in the country in California... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intercasa Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 There are potholes and a poor image on my street and I am on one of the prime locations in Chapala, it is a disgrace. Police response time is quick as they are 2 blocks away. They tore up the plaza and Gonzalez Gallo but cant fix HUGE holes in the street, I had to fix some years ago so my clients wouldnt fall in or damage their cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 in the US wealthy areas are emaculate & well kept. since the USA is huge, i cant speak for every part of the land. i know in LA it was like that as well. spencer is right, its a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monessen Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 A neighbor died this past year in his home. The Red Cross was called (3 1/2 blocks away) because the family wasn't yet aware that the person was dead so it would have been an emergency call for a fall. The Chapala Police arrived first (25 minutes after the call to the Red Cross) and the ambulance arrived 30 minutes after the call. I was quite surprised at the length of time it took for an emergency call for a home just blocks away from both services. If the person had required CPR it would have been a mess waiting. Meanwhile a few of us were left at the house trying to calm the family. The Red Cross isn't part of the tax equation but the police are. I figure that if I get burgled and phone the police--also near my house--the police will find me after the event. Who knows what shape I would be in. Still, I would never leave Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 you never call police in mexico when someone falls or dies. what are you thinking?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanMexicali Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 The Red Cross isn't part of the tax equation but the police are. I figure that if I get burgled and phone the police--also near my house--the police will find me after the event. Who knows what shape I would be in. Still, I would never leave Mexico. Municipalities in Jalisco and other states usually get police protection paid for by the state secretaries of civil protection [secretaria de Protección Civil] and property taxes pay for things like potable water delivered to the área, not distribution, drainage and sewage processing etc.. Also helps with debt payments the municipalities have to make and some administration and some public works costs. Many major public works are paid for by government loans and state and federal allotments/tax sharing etc.. Schools are most often paid for by SEP. [secretaria de Educación Publica]. The municipalites have many things that property tax systems pay for NOB but are paid here in Mexico by other systems not similar and I think policing is one of them. I could be wrong about this in villages or in small towns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumeau1 Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 What would AJIJIC gain by becoming a municipality ? Or should I rephrase it, what would the residents of AJIJIC gain from it becoming a municipality ? A bigger DOT on the map ? A new city hall ? Streets paved with gold ? More taxes for the residents ? Would it be an advantage or a disadvantage ? Would someone who knows !!! Please explain Thank you ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 I think if you read the posts on this thread from knowledgeable people you can conclude the question of one village seceding from the Chapala municipio is moot. There's a bigger problem in this municipality than just one village getting short sheeted. The Chapala government has somehow managed to become one of only 11 municipios in Jalisco whose debt service spending exceeds spending on "services." This dubious distinction has been achieved just since we came here a little over 7 years ago and despite the fact that relative to most other municipios outside of GDL, Chapala has a very rich tax base which has seen tax rate increases far outstripping inflation. Basically every community here is getting stiffed by the Chapala government, some more than others. All of the money they get from taxes, fees, revenue sharing, etc. seems to produce very little in the way of basic services for anyone. Some get good trash service and some do not. Do you all remember that whole business when many of the trash trucks were broken down and some were trying to collect money for new tires? The question everyone needs to ask is why? Where did all that money go? Where did the money go for the sweetheart parking meter deal that left Chapala receiving a paltry 10 percent of the revenues? Where is the money going from all those tax increases? What did all that debt buy? I find it interesting that myself and others who raise these questions get accused of "whining" and "politics" by folks who I suspect wouldn't hesitate to complain loudly about a private business that took their money and gave little in return. For these folks it seems it is OK for government to take your money and not deliver the services and on top of that we are somehow remiss in not volunteering for still more tax increases to get the services that were being delivered here just 7 short years ago when taxes, percentage wise, were a great deal lower. In my opinion, whether you buy goods or services from private businesses or government it is reasonable and prudent to expect to receive what you are paying for. Recognizing that government everywhere is less than efficient, I feel the situation in this municipality has gone way beyond what is usual. This is not Ajijic's problem it is the problem of everyone who lives in the Chapala municipio. We are all in the same boat here. Citizens who have a say in things need to come together and solve this problem. The rest of us can only encourage from the sidelines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 Mainecoons, you hit the nail right on the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumeau1 Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 Thank you Mainecoons ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryB Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 Exactly, while our tax rates are low, there is no evidence or accountability of where the money goes. The little work that has been done is usually based on grant (state/federal ) funding paying 3/4 of the work, which is never completed in full. That is why so many want out, mexican and foreign. The current administration cut all the villages except Chapala beyond the bone as an austerity measure to pay down the debt and six months before their end they raised their debt limit. Why and where did it go? There are never answers. Will the next administration be any different? Javier Degollado met with the expats before his election and various expat groups to show his respect and regard. Will he follow through? Will we pressure him to follow through? If we lay down an accept whatever comes our way we'll get exactly what we deserve, nothing. Ajijic will continue to be used as the cash cow! Who wouldn't do the same thing if they were in the position to get away with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monessen Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 I just wanted to clarify for bennie2 that I did not call the police. The family made a phone call(s) after they thought the man fell. I was only thinking about how to gently guide the family to understand that their husband / dad / grandfather was dead after they found him on the floor. I am ashamed to say that my limited Spanish would have been useless on any phone call . I was told by another Mexican neighbor that when you notify Cruz Roja the police are notified and arrive with them. I have no idea if that is true or not. It did happen this time, though. I'm sorry if I caused you some confusion on my post. Meanwhile...back to the original poster's question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex45920 Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Just got back from a ride up to the lonches stand in Tepehua. As we drove through the dark and teeming streets, around the eight-foot-wide potholes and past the alleys piled high with garbage, I thought of the discussion on this forum. For those of you here who think that Ajijic is somehow short shrifted by the local government, let me suggest you take a similar drive through Tepehua so you can get a more realistic view of what a neglected community actually looks like around here. But let me suggest you take that drive during the day...because there is no police response time to measure during the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex45920 Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 delete dupe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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