Government

Ann Arbor City Council puts aside income tax, proposal may go to voters in spring

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August 26, 2009

Shelf, meet Ann Arbor City Income Tax proposal.Excerpt:The Ann Arbor City Council opted on Monday to shelve a new income tax under review, stopping the issue from being put to a ballot vote in November, but the issue could resurface and be put to a citywide vote this spring. Before that happens, the city of Ann Arbor wants to begin an effort to educate residents and businesses about the impacts of a new income tax — 1 percent for residents and businesses and 0.5 percent for nonresidents working in the city — before the issue is put to voters.A survey conducted by the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce last week said about 74 percent of the 300 chamber members surveyed did not support creation of the tax.Read the rest of the story here.

Latest in Government

Ypsilanti close to wrapping up non-motorized transportation plan

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Community Development

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August 12, 2009

Getting from Point A to Point B without a car is about to get a little easier in Ypsilanti. The city is putting together a transportation plan for non-motorized vehicles that should help pedestrians, bicyclists and other alternative transit get around easier."It should be done by the middle of October at the latest, if all goes according to plan," says Bonnie Wessler, a planning intern with the city of Ypsilanti.The plan will tackle all of the fun urban planning problems, like the lack of sidewalks, bike lanes and mass transit options. One of the big ones that has come up is the lack of continous sidewalk along Washtenaw Avenue."We're trying to identify gaps in the existing infrastructure," Wessler says.The plan will be also look at how best to tie these sorts of options into surrounding communities. It will also look at how best to implement the recommendations over the near- and long-term.Source: Bonnie Wessler, a planning intern with the city of YpsilantiWriter: Jon Zemke

Washtenaw County moves toward establishing land bank

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Community Development

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August 5, 2009

The Washtenaw County Land Bank is about to become a reality within the next few weeks. The county treasurer, Catherine McClary, is pushing the paperwork forward to make it official by September. Properties could be put back on tax rolls as early as October.Land banks are becoming the governmental tool du jour to handle blighted and abandoned buildings remaining from the foreclosure crisis. Genesee County has turned its land bank into a nationally recognized tool to right-size the shrinking metropolitan Flint area. It is advising Washtenaw County on setting up its own land bank.The new land bank will host two public meetings in September on what type of policies it will employ and how it will be incorporated. It will carry a seven-member board that will create the bylaws, articles of incorporation and policies in September.The board will include the Washtenaw County Treasurer and Sheriff, a representative from the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, the mayors of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the supervisor of Ypsilanti Township, and the supervisor of one of the county's western townships.Source: Catherine McClary, Washtenaw County TreasurerWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor officials lay out city income tax plan to shift tax burden to commuters, increase revenues

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Community Development

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July 29, 2009

Ann Arbor city officials are looking to close the latest budget gap with a new revenue generator - an income tax.Excerpt:Marcy Bailey is one of an estimated 75,000-plus people who make the daily commute to work in Ann Arbor, but don't currently pay taxes to the city.Under a new proposal for a city income tax, the Fenton resident could see a portion of her paycheck from the University of Michigan redirected to Ann Arbor's coffers. City officials released the final draft of a feasibility study Friday that includes a 1-percent tax for city residents and 0.5-percent tax for non-residents - the highest amounts allowed under state law."I've worked in other cities that have city income taxes," said Bailey, a manager at the Hatcher Graduate Library. "It's not something that I find particularly offensive. And especially if the tax money that they collect is used for reasonable things - the greater good - then I wouldn't have a problem with it."With Ann Arbor's future budget projections looking grim, talk of placing a city income tax question on the November ballot is gaining momentum.Under the city's charter, if an income tax is adopted, Ann Arbor's general operating millage would be eliminated. That means property taxes would come down by 6.2 mills, or about 15 percent overall.A property tax decrease would help offset the cost of the income tax for many residents, while non-residents would for the first time pay about $12.4 million a year to Ann Arbor."The burden continues to be on property owners to pay for local government services," said City Administrator Roger Fraser. "In our city, there are over 75,000 people that commute every day into work who do not pay for any portion of their services unless they happen to meet one of our finest on the street. We believe that in Ann Arbor, this question is one that we ought to be asking folks."Read the rest of the story here.

Chelsea lays groundwork for municipal building expansion

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Community Development

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July 29, 2009

The first project of many that promises to create a small campus of municipal buildings in downtown Chelsea is well underway - behind the scenes.The city is taking bids on building a new police building and hopes to break ground on it first thing next spring. The $2.25 million project will build a new 10,000-square-foot police headquarters. The city plans to make this a LEED silver building."We're acutely award of energy savings from an electrical standpoint," says John Hanifan, city manager for Chelsea, adding the final design could incorporate things like solar panels and wind turbines.The city spent about $1.5 million to buy City Hall from the Chelsea State Bank and obtain land for its new downtown police station earlier this year. The bank will shrink its drive-thru lanes from five to two, making room for a new police station.Source: John Hanifan, city manager for ChelseaWriter: Jon Zemke

LED lights almost complete in downtown Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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July 29, 2009

If downtown Ann Arbor's lights look different these days, it because most of them have gone through an evolutionary change.The city has now changed 800 of its 1,100 decorative lights in downtown from regular incandescent to more energy efficient LEDs. That means the round globes that once had one big glowing center now are illuminated with a sprinkling of smaller-yet-much-more-energy efficient LEDs. The city hopes to wrap up the $640,000 project (expected to pay for itself within four years through electricity savings) before the end of the year."We're getting close to the end here," says Andrew Brix, spokesman for the Ann Arbor Energy Office.LED (short for light-emitting diode) lights are commonly used in traffic and tail lights. They require less than half of the energy of a normal incandescent light bulb and last five times the normal two-year lifespan of an incandescent.The city is also looking to start a pilot program to install LEDs in normal cobra-head streetlights in neighborhoods. The $100,000 pilot project will occur in a student neighborhood.Source: Andrew Brix, spokesman for the Ann Arbor Energy OfficeWriter: Jon Zemke

AVL plans to create 40 jobs in 2 years in Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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July 22, 2009

Tax credits, vision and talent pool. Those are three of the main reasons why AVL Powertrain Engineering is establishing a hybrid and alternative fuel development center in Ann Arbor.The state is giving $298,559 in tax credits over five years to entice the multi-national corporation to expand its presence in Ann Arbor. It's a move that will create 40 new jobs within the next two years. Jobs the leadership at AVL doesn’t think it will have a problem filling from Ann Arbor deep technical talent pool."There is a technical expertise we're looking for," says Chet Ricker, vice president and CFO of AVL Powertrain Engineering. "These are high-tech positions for engineers."It also helps that Michigan has established itself as a leader in attracting advanced battery and hybrid technology development. AVL will invest $2.6 million to continue research on hybrid, electric vehicle and alternative fuel vehicle development, integration and testing services. Source: Chet Ricker, vice president and CFO of AVL Powertrain Engineering and Jerry Klarr, director hybrid programs for AVL Powertrain EngineeringWriter: Jon Zemke

Molded Materials consolidates operations in Saline

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Community Development

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July 22, 2009

Molded Materials is casting a new die in Saline. The advanced materials technology company is consolidating its operations in the city southwest of Ann Arbor thanks largely to a tax break approved by the state."It keeps us in Michgan, basically," says Tom Elkington, chief operating officer of Molded Materials. "It was the tipping point for keeping us in Michigan."The state tax credit totals $420,388 over seven years and will result in hiring 29 people within the next five years, on top of its current staff of 45. Those jobs will come mainly from Molded Materials merging two of three plants in Saline, investing $2.9 million. It's Plymouth operation will also remain, but Saline will be the center of growth for Molded Materials."This community is very open and willing to work with companies to help them grow," Elkington says.Molded Materials designs, engineers and manufactures advanced composite components for a wide variety of industries.Source: Tom Elkington, chief operating officer of Molded MaterialsWriter: Jon Zemke

Chelsea looks for new use for old downtown Post Office

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Community Development

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July 22, 2009

Now that the door is closing on Chelsea's downtown Post Office an interesting one will open for whatever replaces it.The U.S. Postal Service is moving to a new, bigger space in the Chelsea Village Plaza Shopping Center just outside of downtown. It's selling the single-story building on 200 Main Street across the street from the County Court House. The 6,000-square-foot building was built in the 1940s."We have had a lot of interest in that building," says John Hanifan, city manager for Chelsea. "We just want to see a good positive use whether its office or retail use."For information on the building, contact Marla J. Larsen at marla.j.larsen-williams@usps.gov or (630) 295-6289.Source: John Hanifan, city manager for ChelseaWriter: Jon Zemke

USPS upgrades W. Stadium post office in Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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July 15, 2009

Patrons of the U.S. Post Office on West Stadium in Ann Arbor are probably starting to notice things are changing.The U.S. Postal Service is updating the building's lobby and customer service area in an effort to make it more efficient and customer friendly. Chief among the repairs are downsizing the number of windows from seven to five. The idea is to create more space at the windows that are consistently used."This is something that has been in the plans for a while," says Ed Moore, manager of communications for the Detroit District of the U.S. Postal Service.Work on the $230,000 project is expected to wrap up by the end of August. The branch of the city's west side, built in the mid 20th Century, is one of the Post Service's main offices in Ann Arbor.Source: Ed Moore, manager of communications for the Detroit District of the U.S. Postal ServiceWriter: Jon Zemke