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Mark Byrne, 43, has resided in Port Huron with his wife, Katie, and son, Thomas, since 2000. He was born in Detroit and has lived in Redford, East Detroit, Detroit (Indian Village), Ecorse and Detroit (Rosedale Park) prior to his move here.

Mark works in Marysville at Intertape Polymer’s Tape manufacturing plant as the Quality Manager. He graduated from the University of Detroit with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1987, and has worked in manufacturing since 1983.

Mark has served on the Port Huron Sister City Committee and Brownfield Redevelopment Commissions. He is currently the chair of the Libertarian Party of St Clair and Sanilac Counties and is candidate for the Port Huron City Council. Click here to see "Mark's views on Port Huron's Future".

I am opposed to the City Manager's Budget.

I would balance the budget with only inflationary water rate increases and further cuts. Most of the current cuts focused on the people doing the services. There are many organization cuts that are needed as well in order to reduce the cost of city government. Please see my statement on this site for more details

I agree Port Huron and the Blue Water area has great potential. It is my opinion that Port Huron is not attracting and is in fact losing many of our best and brightest and that is what is holding Port Huron back from reaching it's potential. The heart of a city is the people it attracts and keeps. Port Huron since implementing the city income tax has made it financially a logical choice for people who plan to or do rise up economically to leave the city.

The logic being that if a family, individual or a small business starts making more money and they stay in Port Huron they will pay a 1% penalty in the form of the city income tax. If they choose to live and work outside Port Huron they do not have to pay that same penalty. While some may argue 1% is not much anyone who is good with money knows every penny counts and that 1% adds up to a lot over a lifetime especially when that 1% is invested towards their retirement each year and grows. At the same time millage rates are higher in Port Huron than in Kimball or Port Huron Township or Fort Gratiot. Many of the same services such as marinas, museums, McMoran and the beaches are still available to those who choose the townships and they save a $1,000 to several thousands by choosing the townships.

Yes Port Huron keeps many of our Best and Brightest because WE choose to pay extra and WE believe in Port Huron's future. Long term the City Council needs to reward those who have chosen to pay extra by working to level the playing field with lower city taxes starting with the city income tax. To achieve this we must lower city expenditures by consolidating or eliminating departments.

In addition to rewarding those who have chosen Port Huron it will also make it financially logical for others to choose to invest their future in Port Huron. Most importantly it will also make Port Huron a good choice for business and jobs.

The short answer is No I would not recommend Pete move to Port Huron unless there were plans in place and a serious commitment to correct the disparity in local Taxes between Port Huron and the surrounding area or he had interest in a particular type of house they could not find elsewhere such as historical homes.

The long answer is more complicated. The Free market has self corrected for the higher taxes in Port Huron by depressing property values in Port Huron. The same house in Port Huron sells for less than it would in Kimball Township so that the total cost of the house should be roughly the same in either case. The problem caused by higher local taxes is that it is the root cause of blight. If a developer want's to buy an existing older home, tear it down and build a new home the cost of tearing down the old home and building the new one will be the same if not higher in Port Huron due to increased regulation and bureaucracy. The selling price of the house in Port Huron however, will need to be dramatically less in order for the total annual cost to be the same for that same house.

This is why old blighted buildings in Port Huron are not being bought by developers and replaced by new housing. The developer gets a much better return on their investment by building in Kimball township and selling the house for 10% to 20% more. The higher local taxes is at least one of the root causes behind urban sprawl and urban blight. Economically it makes no sense to build in Port Huron and that is why there is little to no building going on in Port Huron.

This same issue applies to businesses looking to expand or relocate in the Blue Water area.

I favor across the board tax reductions as soon as we can. One way to speed up the overall tax reductions would be to attract new residents and new businesses to locate in Port Huron.

If a new business or household were to be offered a tax base on par with the surrounding area then we would see more people contributing to the overall costs and this will allow for general tax reductions sooner rather than later. This of course will cause some to want to relocate within the city so as to benefit from the lower local taxes they may then qualify for. On the surface that sounds like a bad thing and it might be. I would need to see what the numbers would actually predict as taxable values on many long time residents may still add up to a lower tax rate by staying put rather than moving. In addition if new people are moving into Port Huron many people that move will invest in both the current home before selling it and the new home after they move in as the increasing home values will make investing in their homes a better investment then it has been the last 20 years in Port Huron.

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	Mark Byrne, 43, has resided in Port Huron with his wife, Katie, and son, Thomas, since 2000. He was born in Detroit and has lived in Redford, East Detroit, Detroit (Indian Village), Ecorse and Detroit (Rosedale Park) prior to his move here. Mark works in Marysville at Intertape Polymer’s Tape manufacturing plant as the Quality Manager. He graduated from the University of Detroit with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1987, and has worked in manufacturing since 1983. Mark has served on the Port Huron Sister City Committee and Brownfield Redevelopment Commissions. He is currently the chair of the Libertarian Party of St Clair and Sanilac Counties and is candidate for the Port Huron City Council. Click here to see "Mark's views on Port Huron's Future".
1. The City Manager has proposed water rate increases in each of the next five years, Brian Moeller has stated that he would not support additional water rate increases, what is your position?
I do not support the recent water rate increases and only support inflationary increases in the water rates.
2. If you are opposed to the City Manager's Budget, how would you balance the budget?
I am opposed to the City Manager's Budget. I would balance the budget with only inflationary water rate increases and further cuts. Most of the current cuts focused on the people doing the services. There are many organization cuts that are needed as well in order to reduce the cost of city government. Please see my statement on this site for more details
3. For many years the leaders of Port Huron have extolled the amenities of our city and it's great potential, in your opinion, why hasn't that potential been realized?
I agree Port Huron and the Blue Water area has great potential. It is my opinion that Port Huron is not attracting and is in fact losing many of our best and brightest and that is what is holding Port Huron back from reaching it's potential. The heart of a city is the people it attracts and keeps. Port Huron since implementing the city income tax has made it financially a logical choice for people who plan to or do rise up economically to leave the city. The logic being that if a family, individual or a small business starts making more money and they stay in Port Huron they will pay a 1% penalty in the form of the city income tax. If they choose to live and work outside Port Huron they do not have to pay that same penalty. While some may argue 1% is not much anyone who is good with money knows every penny counts and that 1% adds up to a lot over a lifetime especially when that 1% is invested towards their retirement each year and grows. At the same time millage rates are higher in Port Huron than in Kimball or Port Huron Township or Fort Gratiot. Many of the same services such as marinas, museums, McMoran and the beaches are still available to those who choose the townships and they save a $1,000 to several thousands by choosing the townships. Yes Port Huron keeps many of our Best and Brightest because WE choose to pay extra and WE believe in Port Huron's future. Long term the City Council needs to reward those who have chosen to pay extra by working to level the playing field with lower city taxes starting with the city income tax. To achieve this we must lower city expenditures by consolidating or eliminating departments. In addition to rewarding those who have chosen Port Huron it will also make it financially logical for others to choose to invest their future in Port Huron. Most importantly it will also make Port Huron a good choice for business and jobs.
4. Several of the challengers for council seats have expressed hesitation at being specific about budget issues, stating that the budget published on the city web page is not the real one, and that they are not "privy" to specific information that would shape their opinion. In the interest of having an open and transparent government, shouldn't the budget that is published be the real one?
Absolutely. The boss meaning the taxpayers have the right to know every detail including all salaries.
5. Candidate Al Wright found that the full detailed budget can be available to citizens if they pay approximately $200.00 plus time expenses for printing. Would you favor having the full budget available on the city's web page, or that the city would make it available on a CD disk for $1.00?
Absolutely. The Boss has a right to see all the details. I would prefer Port Huron Citizens have access to the CD at cost and that non-residents perhaps have either less access or pay more.
6. If Pete was your son, would you advise him to purchase in the city of Port Huron? If so, why? If not, what can be done to make Port Huron a more financially attractive place to live?
The short answer is No I would not recommend Pete move to Port Huron unless there were plans in place and a serious commitment to correct the disparity in local Taxes between Port Huron and the surrounding area or he had interest in a particular type of house they could not find elsewhere such as historical homes. The long answer is more complicated. The Free market has self corrected for the higher taxes in Port Huron by depressing property values in Port Huron. The same house in Port Huron sells for less than it would in Kimball Township so that the total cost of the house should be roughly the same in either case. The problem caused by higher local taxes is that it is the root cause of blight. If a developer want's to buy an existing older home, tear it down and build a new home the cost of tearing down the old home and building the new one will be the same if not higher in Port Huron due to increased regulation and bureaucracy. The selling price of the house in Port Huron however, will need to be dramatically less in order for the total annual cost to be the same for that same house. This is why old blighted buildings in Port Huron are not being bought by developers and replaced by new housing. The developer gets a much better return on their investment by building in Kimball township and selling the house for 10% to 20% more. The higher local taxes is at least one of the root causes behind urban sprawl and urban blight. Economically it makes no sense to build in Port Huron and that is why there is little to no building going on in Port Huron. This same issue applies to businesses looking to expand or relocate in the Blue Water area.
7. The city has given tax incentives to encourage developers, manufacturers and businesses to locate in Port Huron, should they give tax relief to encourage common people to locate in Port Huron?
I favor across the board tax reductions as soon as we can. One way to speed up the overall tax reductions would be to attract new residents and new businesses to locate in Port Huron. If a new business or household were to be offered a tax base on par with the surrounding area then we would see more people contributing to the overall costs and this will allow for general tax reductions sooner rather than later. This of course will cause some to want to relocate within the city so as to benefit from the lower local taxes they may then qualify for. On the surface that sounds like a bad thing and it might be. I would need to see what the numbers would actually predict as taxable values on many long time residents may still add up to a lower tax rate by staying put rather than moving. In addition if new people are moving into Port Huron many people that move will invest in both the current home before selling it and the new home after they move in as the increasing home values will make investing in their homes a better investment then it has been the last 20 years in Port Huron.
8. If elected, and you had sufficient support on the council, what would be your first priority?
I would make enough changes to Port Hurons cost structure so that the Water Rate increases above inflation are not needed and the City Income tax can be ended. There would be a sharp short term loss in tax revenues when the city income tax is eliminated. Long Term tax revenues would increase as the loss of residents and businesses changes to a gain in businesses and residents along with new construction and increased home values brought on by an increase demand for places to live in Port Huron once we become the better value in the area. The longer we wait to become the better value the deeper the cuts will get as tax revenues will continue to decline as we lose both residents and businesses to the surrounding area due to customers not choosing Port Huron
9. Televised city council meetings are intended to inform the public in a transparent manner, in your opinion, when should the council go into "closed session"?
One of the few reasons for closed session I can think of is that if there is an issue where council members are not getting along and they need a closed meeting to settle personnel differences and clear the air. Another would be to discuss what position to take in bargaining labor agreements where neither side wants to show their hand until after a deal is settled on. The third would be to discuss rumors or allegations where no credible facts have been presented and some ones reputation would be damaged by a public discussion on an issue that turns out to be non-existent. Other than that I do not see where the public's business should not be discussed publicly.
10. What changes in the city charter, if any, would you support?
Adding a line stating that no city income tax is allowed. We would then need to phase out the current city income tax which discourages people and businesses from locating in Port Huron. 21 of 22 Michigan cities with city income taxes have declining populations while their surrounding areas with no city income tax are growing.