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8. Which one was more expensive: CD or cassette?
9. Where would you be sending your check or money order?
Posted on Thu, Mar 22, 2012 : 5:34 a.m.
For the first time since 2005, Washtenaw County's treasurer is reporting a drop in delinquent taxes, and that could be a sign of an improving economy.
"We're looking at approximately $26 million in delinquent taxes. Last year it was in excess of $32 million," Catherine McClary told county commissioners Wednesday night.
"This is very good news," she said, noting the trend spans cities and townships throughout the county. "All of them have had some type of decrease."
McClary said the county has been running about 11,000 delinquent parcels a year, and this year it looks like it might be about 9,500, close to a 15 percent drop.
"So we really are looking at a true drop," she said, putting the number into perspective by suggesting that if people are paying their taxes then chances are they're also able to pay their mortgage and put food on the table for their families.
Washtenaw County Treasurer Catherine McClary had good news for county commissioners Wednesday night.
"You know, paying your real property taxes is not the first thing on everybody's agenda when they're trying to eat and feed their family," she said. "So to see this drop means that we're really looking at something stronger here, so it's my pleasure to bring that report to you."
In Washtenaw County, there are 28 units of government and more than 80 different taxing jurisdictions.
McClary gave a year-end cash report to the board Wednesday night in which she highlighted that she was able to bring in $860,891 in investment earnings in 2011.
She said that's a 0.8 percent return, which she compared to a 0.08 percent benchmark rate set by the Federal Reserve Board.
"I know that you're not happy with the yields right now any more than I am, but it is what it is," McClary told commissioners, thanking them for allowing her to focus on making safe investments, not trying to achieve high yields.
The report McClary presented shows details of the county's portfolio, including nearly $156 million in total cash and investments.
McClary said she used to be able to generate several million dollars in investment income each year for the county and now it's down to under $1 million.
"This portfolio, however, is managed for safety first, safety second, safety third, safety fourth, and then yield," she told commissioners. "And one of the things I wanted to thank the board of commissioners for is that I have never been asked to try to generate yield for you."
McClary said in some other counties, and even cities and townships, treasurers are pressured by the local governing body to generate yield.
"And that's not what we want to do with public funds. You want to invest for safety," she told commissioners.
Mcclary noted her office was able to collect nearly $5.6 million in interest and penalties from delinquent taxes in 2011, which is more than $3 million in excess of what the county budgeted.
She said that kind of extra money enables the county to do things like dig into its reserves to provide a $500,000 disaster relief fund in the wake of the Dexter tornado.
"The board of commissioners has been very supportive of tax foreclosure prevention, and every time we put effort into preventing tax foreclosure, we're really collecting the taxes," she said. "And that's how we have come in with such huge surpluses for the capital projects fund that they've now used a small piece of for the Dexter remedial work."
McClary also noted the county took in about $4 million from the local accommodations tax in 2011. She said that figure used to be closer to $3 million.
"But as the economy is improving and more people are traveling, that has increased," she said, noting dog licenses also increased dramatically in 2011, amounting to $86,322 in revenue. She attributed that to changes in rates and new policies.
Commissioner Alicia Ping, R-Saline, listens during Wednesday's meeting of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioners also heard a 2011 year-end financial report from Tina Gavalier, the county's financial analyst, during Wednesday's meeting.
The county was expecting to dip $2.9 million into its fund balance to get through 2011, but it ended up with a general fund shortfall of only about $800,000.
The county saw revenues from taxes and penalties come in at $63 million, which was $357,335 better than a revised mid-year budget for 2011 had projected. County officials pointed out that was significantly better than the $59.2 million originally budgeted.
Gavalier highlighted surpluses realized in many county departments, including the Sheriff's Office, but noted the District Court saw a shortfall of $169,000 due to declining case filings and the Trial Court saw a shortfall of $69,000 due to lower state reimbursement revenues.
"The actual revenue shortfall could have been substantial, but additional Sheriff's Office revenues, the police services settlement, property tax and Clerk/Register of Deeds revenues reduced the amount of fund balance needed to fund 2011 operations," she said.
The report shows the county took in about $101.2 million in revenues and spent about $102 million in 2011. The county's fiscal year coincides with the calendar year.
Gavalier said the figures she presented could change when the county receives its year-end audit in April, though she believes that's unlikely.
Commissioner Leah Gunn, D-Ann Arbor, said the financial report shows the county "saved a heck of a lot of money" in the last budget year.
"This shows to me that we've been very frugal," Gunn said in response to the report. "We've been good stewards of our money."
County Administrator Verna McDaniel also had a positive message to share, telling commissioners: "Things are looking up. Things are looking better."
Fri, Mar 23, 2012 : 2:12 a.m.
Perhaps people are eating less to make their property tax payments so the government won't confiscate their property that they have worked hard to buy. Maybe instead of driving they are riding a bicycle or walking to work to save enough money to keep the government from confiscating their property. Oh! oops. Nobody owns their property. There is no "theirs" in leasing the property from the government. In Europe the same family can live in "their" house or castle without fear that the government will come and confiscate their property. In the United States the statement; your home is your castle is absolutely untrue. Maybe people are skipping medical care so they can pay their lease payment on property supposedly they are buying. Guess again. Your are not buying the property. YOU WILL NEVER OWN IT unless we the people change the law. HOW ABOUT IT? I would rather pay income tax and know that the property I am buying will be mine, really mine, and the government cannot confiscate and evict me.
Thu, Mar 22, 2012 : 1:14 p.m.
I get frustrated with the lack of critical reasoning skills. The fact that delinquencies are down does not, by itself, necessarily mean anything positive. Without further analysis we don't know. Maybe the majority of properties have already reverted or undergone a short sale. Picking one number out of the air and supposing that it represents a meaningful conclusion is not correct. This is like looking at an unemployment figure and declaring that the economy is better while ignoring the rest of the report that that figure came from, or saying that the world is saved because the DJ average was up today.
Thu, Mar 22, 2012 : 2:08 p.m.
Yep...I was gonna say the same thing. However...I do hope she's right. But that's like saying unemployement numbers are down because people stopped looking for a job.
According to eZanga, with Emerging Insider Communications, advertisers waste over $6 billion a year in fraudulent advertising spend. Fraudulent accounts are abundant, and with good reasons: there are no rules, no consequences, and no regulations for their actions. They’ve figured out unique and relentless ways to exploit advertising dollars, says the report.
The report says that fraudulent behavior in programmatic ad buying is common, as marketers are reportedly spending anywhere from 30% to 70%of their digital budgets on fake impressions and clicks. Adexchanger says that 78%of high-level decision makers are using programmatic technologies across their campaigns, while 47%of marketers in the US and UK found that fraud was inhibiting programmatic usage.
With 67% of online bot traffic originating from residential IP addresses, the report focuses on where ad fraud is found, and why the method of execution is popular with fraudsters. About 36%of all web traffic is considered to be bot-traffic.
One of the largest subsets of online advertising fraud is search ad fraud or click fraud, says the report. It takes place when a person or bot performs the functions and patterns of a legitimate user, with the purpose of generating a click without having any interest in the result of that click. It’s usually prevalent in a pay per click program where the advertiser is paying for performance, with the end goal to be a converting click. When a bot is present, they generally don’t convert and add no intrinsic value to the advertising, but costs advertisers an average of $6-10 billion in wasted ad spend each year.
Search ad fraud, or click fraud, has become particularly popular because it can infiltrate the smallest of publishers, and the largest of brands, says the report. In a recent report by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 52% of traffic from premium publishers who were previously believed to be unaffected by fraud, were found to be fraudulent. The use of a third party traffic scoring system does help mitigate the damage, but click fraud will remain abundant until all third party systems can agree on what are fraudulent traffic signals and what are not.
Separately from taking the content of your site and duplicating it, fraudsters also take over your URL’s. By simply introducing a line of code, says the report, they’re able to make advertisers think their fakes are worthy, reputable entities.
The content on a website is what helps a brand from a trusting relationship with a customer. For fraudsters, it's quite the opposite: it’s the opportunity to capitalize on a working formula to swindle traffic into their site. A recent study of content fraud showed at least 1 in 5 sites are affected by site scraping . Fraudsters scrape your entire site in an effort to get advertising on their site, says the report.
A popular form of fraud with affiliates that goes seemingly undetected. A user views a website and receives a third party cookie, not from the site they viewed, but rather an entirely different site. It’s affiliate fraud since affiliates are usually paid when there is proof (e.g. cookies) that trail from an affiliate through the user's purchase process.
Ad injections are advertisements that get inserted into an advertisers site without approval of the advertiser. This happens when a user downloads a browser extension or app that is bundled with software that injects the user experience with unwanted ads. Ad injections aren’t limited to just online advertising. AT&T has recently been accused of intercepting WiFi and injecting it with ads, in essence monetizing its WiFi access, says the report.
“Ad fraud won’t go away so long as people are advertising online and users are looking for information at their fingertips,” concludes the report.
Please contact eZanga here for additional information.
4 comments about "$6 Billion Lost To Fraudulent Ad Spend".
William Cosgrove from Devcode Services, September 25, 2015 at 7:02 a.m.
Thank you for a great post on this trending topic that I have been studying and writing about for quite some time. Educating and informing with the unbias information seems to be becoming the exception in this digital ecosystem we play in.
I have been enjoying your writing for quite some time and always look forward to more.
Merri Grace McLeroy from Integrated Marketing Strategies LLC, September 25, 2015 at 11:22 a.m.
Excellent article. It is indeed the Wild, Wild West out there. Additionally, too often small businesses are taken in by big promises, only to have their budgets blow away like tumbleweeds.
Joe Kelly from Triad Consulting Corporation, September 25, 2015 at 2:04 p.m.
This could do irreparable damage to the advertising industry. What is being done to apprehend the wrong doers ? Who is reaping the financial benefits? There must be a way of identifying them and taking action.
Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, October 13, 2015 at 12:32 p.m.
This is one problem that we didn't have at the newspaper. Somethings have benefits.
Police are investigating an incident of anti-social behaviour that led to an assault on a teenage girl in Thornhill, Southampton on Tuesday, March 6.
Police were called at around 3.20pm after the 16-year-old girl was assaulted in an isolated incident in Dumbleton Towers, Warburton Road.
This led to the arrest of a 70-year-old man on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm. He was also arrested on suspicionof making verbal threats to kill.
He has since been questioned in connection with the incident and released on bail until March 21 pending further enquiries.
Investigating officers are now appealing to local residents to contact them if they have any information connected to this incident or any other acts of anti-social behaviour in the tower block.
Bitterne Police Inspector, Patrick Holdaway said: “Quality of life for everyone is important and we would like to reassure residents that all reports of anti-social behaviour are logged and recorded.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Bitterne Police Station on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Published March 4, 2019 at 3:05 p.m.
MKE Band Camp is a music series on OnMilwaukee, giving you the quick 411 on upcoming concerts in the 414.
Jacob Banks is bringing his signature soul music to The Back Room at Colectivo this Tuesday, March 5. Doors open at 7 p.m and the show starts at 8 p.m. with special guest Abir and Lucien Parker.
General admission is $22. Click here to buy now!
With the momentum of three successful EPs, Banks recently released his first full-length album "Village" with Interscope Records. The title references the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," which holds holds true for his Nigerian and English upbringing, but also for his rainbow of musical influences which ranges from Amy Winehouse, John Mayer and Kanye West. Originally a poet, he stands behind serving a song's story rather than sticking to a single genre. The result is an effortlessly unique sound full of soul, jazz and hip-hop.
The music industry is quietly buzzing about Jacob Banks. He's toured in support of Sam Smith and Alicia Keys, and he's mastered the festival scene with appearances at SXSW, Lollapalooza and Coachella. Back in 2017, Time Magazine named him one of "12 Artists Helping Shape the New Geography of R&B Music," and he continues to amass critical acclaim with a recent feature on Seth Meyers. His warm stage presence and expressive songs are a winning combination for an unforgettable show. Don't miss it!
Easily mistaken for a song about a toxic relationship, it actually tells the story of his mom's sacrifice for him and his siblings. Tirelessly she worked the night shift as a nurse so that she could be present with them during the day. No matter what story you hear, this song deserves a listen.
This sweet melody is a great example of how well Banks can slow it down. His baritone voice shines as he sings a plea for love.
Can't Wait to See It Live: "Prosecco"
An undeniably fun number with opening lines like, "You treat me like Obama/I barely know you, you want me to meet your mama." I'm looking forward to dancing to this one on Tuesday!
Discussion in 'Grappling Technique' started by HDNet Fights, Apr 28, 2008.
What do you think of these videos? Should we make more?
Should be very informative, especially for those who are just starting to watch MMA.
yes, Looks good. the slow examples mixed with real fight scenes is good viewing.
I like the mix in with the real fights. Very nice!
For those of us without HDnet is there as place to check this out online? I like Mezger and his commentating and think he'd do a great job on a show.
is the lions den dallas still operating?
This is awesome, thanks for the video link!
I saw the one where Guy was in side mount doing either a Kimura or keylock, and it looked good. It should help educate the fans so they can get more enjoyment out of the actual matches.
Check out more Inside the Arts clips at our Facebook page, in my signature.
Yes they just opened a new location. It is still the Lion's Den Dallas organization, but the Gym is called Guy Mezer's Combat Club.
Actually, that's one of the best "noob technique" videos I've ever seen. Very well designed and put together.
Mezger is the MAN! Thanks for the videos!!
"Over more than a couple decades I've been delighted to read Dan Jenkins…None of it quite as arresting, though, as reading Jenkins on Twitter, where golf's prickly poet laureate reminded us last week of his native state's standing in the game. 7 Texans have won the Masters: Hogan, Nelson, Guldahl, Demaret, Burke, Coody, Crenshaw. Counting on Jordan Spieth to be next . . . eventually.' In other words, no pressure, Jordan. Nothing riding on this week. Only Texas' standing as the cradle of golf," columnist Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News writes.
"Chris Spieth was chasing after the motorized scooter carrying her father when she suddenly stopped below the Augusta National clubhouse to explain why her son is more grounded than his score at the Masters," Ian O'Connor of ESPN writes. "Jordan Spieth, it turns out, is the record-breaking product of a selfless upbringing in a home that celebrates givers, not takers. Jordan's 14-year-old sister was born with a neurological disorder that places her on the autism spectrum, and their mother wants people to know that Ellie has shaped her brother far more than any swing coach ever could."
Everyone seems to want to go to the Masters, but one who has been on several occasions, John Paul Newport of the Wall Street Journal, writes that it's better seen from the couch. "Yes, I miss the pimento cheese sandwiches, the warm sun and the birdsong, and the overall pageantry. Glimpsing celebrity golfers stride past in their kaleidoscopic outfits is always a thrill. But striding past is usually how you see them. It's not easy trying to follow the action by peeking over the sunburned necks of everyone else doing the same."
"And now for the latest resurrection news from Augusta National: Lazarus can take a seat in the clubhouse for the weekend because here comes Tiger Woods," Lawrence Donegan writes in the Telegraph. "The former world No 1 is not all the way back to the top of the Masters leaderboard at the halfway stage…but he is not far off after an intermittently brilliant, occasionally ordinary but always compelling stroll down memory lane on Friday that left him signing for a second-round 69."
Major championships tend to bring out the honesty in otherwise guarded professional golfers, columnist Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. "International players seem to take truth serum before they talk about their chances in the British. Americans tend toward the confessional at every U.S. Open site. But the Masters takes the wonderful cake. Every player, from the tiny to the mighty, from every continent, assembles here each April to blubber, chuckle, commiserate and reveal themselves as if the podium were a psychiatrist's couch."
“When the mayor talked about our Italian-American heritage—I always--people make a fuss that I am the first woman speaker but I am the first Italian-American Speaker and that means a lot to me as well,” said Pelosi.
“But when people came here and they were in these tenements, they were Irish, they were German, they were Italian, they were Jewish--the list goes on--they were Chinese and others that came after,” she said.
The American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) is designed to grant a pathway to citizenship to some individuals who do not currently have a legal immigration status in the United States.