City Manager’s attempt to mislead Grove Mayor and Vice Mayor fails
In a meeting held recently in the office of Grove City Manager Bruce Johnson, Johnson attempted to mislead Vice Mayor Marty Follis and Mayor Gary Trippenese about the authority his office had to collect sales taxes from businesses in the city limits of Grove.
Grand Lake Business Journal Publisher Doug Drown requested the meeting to convey the outrage local motel owners had over Johnsons proposed city ordinance for the collection of “Hotel/Motel Room taxes” that would occur if the tax were approved by the voters of Grove in a proposed up-coming motel tax election late this fall.
The publisher of the Business Journal has been a strong advocate of a motel “occupancy tax” and has had meetings with the motel owners in an attempt to smooth over the angry motel operators because of Johnsons’ attempt to promote his authority to collect and assess taxes for motels……
Johnson has asked for authority to audit the motels, and, if he feels it is necessary, to determine the amount of the taxes due, if he doesn’t believe the motel owners reports.
During the meeting, Johnson was then asked by Drown, “When you feel a retailer such as a furniture store in Grove may be skirting an accurate reporting of income to pay sales taxes on, do you plan on auditing their books also?” “No,” said Johnson, “If we did that we would quickly be known as an anti-business town, and stores would start locating outside of Grove City limits, and that would have an adverse impact on our sales tax revenues.”
Business Journal publisher then asked about the city ordinance that authorizes the City of Grove to collect retail sales taxes, and Johnson told the Mayor and Vice Mayor that the City Manager had those same authorities…i.e. to Audit and determine the amount of the tax owed, under existing law.
Vice Mayor Marty Follis and Councilman Mike Davenport at City Council meeting
A short time later, primarily because of Drown’s disbelief that Johnson has such authority to audit and set an amount due for sales taxes for Grove retailers that he did not believe were telling the truth about income, Drown again asked Johnson to confirm that he had this authority in the existing retail sales tax ordinance. Immediately, Vice Mayor Marty Follis jumped Drown by saying “ Doug, are you hard of hearing or not paying attention, you already asked Bruce that, and he answered it.” Johnson again confirmed that the ordinance for sales tax collections had the new authority he was asking for.
Later Drown asked the city to provide a copy of the “Grove Sales Tax Ordinance” and, after review the City Manager has no such authority.
“Any dispute on sales taxes owed the City of Grove is treated as a debt, and normal collection procedures for debt collection under Oklahoma laws apply to collect any monies due,” Drown said.
“Johnson has NO AUTHORITY FOR AUDITING THE BUSINESSES’ BOOKS or THE AUTHORITY FOR HIS DETERMINING WHAT THE TAX SHOULD BE BY ‘EXTERNAL INDICES’ within the “Grove City Sales Tax Ordinance” Drown said. Johnsons attempt get the Mayor and Vice Mayor to believe he had those authorities has failed.
Johnson’s proposed Grove City Hotel Tax Ordinance would give him the authority to audit the books of any motel he feels is not providing an accurate accounting of rooms sold based on his observations “external indices” is the phrase in the proposed ordinance. Johnson says that by “driving by the motel and seeing it is busier than the report implies is justification for this authority.”
The following are excerpts from the Johnson proposed Ordinance for room tax collections.
1) “If a tax return required by this Ordinance is not filed, or if a return when filed is incorrect or insufficient, the amount of tax due shall be assessed by the city manager from such information as may be obtainable and, if necessary, the tax may be estimated on the basis of external indices, such as number of rooms, location, scale of rents, comparable rents, types of accommodations and services, number of employees, or other factors”.
2) “The Power of the City Manager includes “the ability to prescribe methods for determining the taxable and nontaxable rents.”
3) “City Manger has the authority to assess, reassess, determine, revise and readjust the amount of taxes imposed by this Ordinance.
4) “To subpoena and require the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents to secure information pertinent to the performance and the enforcement of this Ordinance and to examine them in relation thereto.”
Grove Mayor Gary Trippenese
Grove Ward lll City Councilman Larry Parham, (right)
Again, City Manger Bruce Johnson has none of the authorities in collection of retail sales taxes that he claimed he had, and his effort to get the Mayor and Vice Mayor to believe he had these authorities was unfortunate at best.
Click here for a pdf of the Johnson proposed “Hotel – Motel Sales Tax Ordinance.”PROPOSED ORDINANCE FOR CITY OF GROVE HOTEL- MOTEL SALES TAX-2
Click here for a pdf of the Grove City Ordinance for collection of Sales TaxGrove Retail Sales Tax & Collection Ordinance
Keep shining the light of truth, GLBJ!
Doug Drown wears hearing aids and is indeed "hard of hearing". However, that was not the reason for Mr. Drown to rephrase the question to Bruce Johnson, not Marty Follis. For Marty Follis to intercede in Mr. Johnson's defense in such a rude manner and blatant personal attack on Mr. Drown was totally uncalled for and entirely out of line. Although it does show that Mr. Follis' loyalties do not lie with the businesses of Grove and the citizens he "represents", but with whatever Mr. Johnson dictates. Do we really want such uncivilized people as leaders of Grove? If it were not for Mr. Drown's diligence, this and other underhanded power grabbing moves by the city manager and his buddies would be unnoticed. Keep up the good work, Doug.
OUTSTANDING………….LADY JUSTICE HAD HER EYES WIDE OPEN TO " B.J." POLITICS.
Stay strong Doug, for as you know " Evil Flourishes when GOOD MEN do nothing "
IS THIS FOR REAL?????
3) “City Manger has the authority to assess, reassess, determine, revise and readjust the amount of taxes imposed by this Ordinance.
If this tax is voted in, this gives THEM the key to the bank.
I am for a motel tax but not like this!!! What is this?
I would think Mr. Follis would be correcting Mr. Johnson, not defending him. Does he not know the law. Good grief he is our vice-mayor. If Bruce Johnson doesn't sense to know thelimits of his powers it's time for him to step down. The Council should all have enough sense to see that and they sure should have enough guts to fire him. They hired him & they can fire him!
Hear, Hear!!
hmm This along with paying the rent for the Chamber is not setting well with me. That's strike 2.
Thanks Doug. If I ever liked a tax it would be a hotel/motel tax. Not this hotel/motel tax. This tax as structured will not pass.
I think this would be a good time for the City to divorce itself from the Chamber.
The Council has blown a great opportunity to increase City revenues for projects such as streets.
Thanks Doug. If I ever liked a tax it would be a hotel/motel tax. Not this hotel/motel tax. This tax as structured will not pass.
I think this would be a good time for the City to divorce itself from the Chamber.
The Council has blown a great opportunity to increase City revenues for projects such as streets.
John, it is unfortunate that the chamber has sold it's soul to the city for $25,000 in subsidies. As you know, I attend and video every meeting of the Grove City Council, and the only meetings the Chamber attends are those where their subsidy is up for discussion, or a new room tax is being considered, and we all know Bruce Johnson has promised that $95,000 to the Chamber. We effectively have no "Voice of Business" in Grove, no business group watching what government does, and the fact that the chamber was very much aware of the "Johnson Tax proposal to collect room taxes " and never made a comment! This last Jail tax vote was defeated by "Get America Back" which you lead, and the business community should be thankful. When the Grand Lake Business Journal asked Lisa Friden what the Chamber's position was on the new "jail tax proposal" Lisa told me the Chamber board would be considering it at their next board meeting, which was scheduled the day after the election. The Grove "private" Chamber of Commerce only becomes active when there is an opportunity to make or get more money! It is important also to mention, that the Business Journal is being critical of the Grove Chamber's policies, not the people who volunteer at the Chamber.. We know these business leaders personally, and feel they are receiving poor advise from their staff on what the Grove Chamber of Commerce should represent.
I know Mr. Follis and my personal opinion is that you should get the facts straight before putting an article like this out to our community. All this does is make you look bad for putting such garbage in your articles. I am unsubscribing immediately. Thanks for nothing.
I am now sure because it has to be approved by site admins that my comment will never make it to the site. One sided I would say.
Shannon, we welcome all points of view, yours included. Mr Follis is good man, and wants the best for Grove. However, since this is his first experience as a Councilor, it is clear he needs to think for himself, which was not the case in this meeting.
I know Mr. Follis also and when he is right he is right but when he is wrong he is wrong. The pitfalls of public life. Marty is involved in a lot of Grove politics and therefore what he does & says affects the community. If the local papers do not cover it they are not doing their job. I for one am grateful that Doug is there reporting.
If you do not agree there is usually a video you may watch on his site to make up your own mind. What more can you ask for? No one else is doing that. I can't go to every meeting but I am truly interested in what is said and done there. You should be also. Don't take it out on the messenger.
Shannon, If you think the facts are not straight, you should clear this up. What are the facts that you have? I would love to hear.