Ann Arbor officials put off capital projects to help balance budget over next 2 years
Ann Arbor City Council members held the last of a series of budget work sessions Monday night, and they now await the city administrator's recommended budget in April.
A number of capital projects are being removed from the two-year budget plan in an effort to close the gap between revenues and expenditures starting July 1.
Tom Crawford, the city's chief financial officer, provided an overview of some of the changes, noting hundreds of thousands of dollars in planned fire station upgrades are being pushed back, with the exception of the addition of separate female showers and locker rooms.
Tom Crawford, the city's chief financial officer, appears before council members at a recent meeting.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Mayor John Hieftje said as long as the council chambers is safe, it's fine, though he would like to see improved accommodations for people with disabilities.
"About the only change I've seen in it is we painted these panels up here," he said, pointing toward the ceiling after the meeting. "But we still have two-by-fours holding up the counters, at least back where the mayor sits, but it's perfectly adequate for us to continue to use."
The city also has modified its assumptions regarding the future of city-owned property at 415 W. Washington, where the city hopes to establish a greenway park.
The city's Capital Improvement Plan had assumed a $650,000 cost for the re-use of the deteriorated building there as a community arts center, and now the city assumes it will be demolished.
"That is a reduction of about $350,000," Crawford said.
About $500,000 worth of concrete repairs that were planned for Superior Dam in 2014-15 also are being pushed back another year.
Train station design delayed
City Administrator Steve Powers confirmed Monday night a $2.6 million line item for final design of a new train station, possibly on Fuller Road, is being pushed back one year to fiscal year 2015-16.
That brought smiles to the faces of at least two councils members who have questioned the project: Jane Lumm and Stephen Kunselman.
Both said they were ready to bring forward budget amendments to halt the design if it showed up in the administrator's budget next month, so they're glad to know it won't be there.
"Hearing this is certainly good news," Lumm said, adding she's also glad to see hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements to city hall removed for now.
Crawford said the city decided it can delay doing a $200,000 primary chiller replacement inside city hall in 2014-15, since the city is spending $175,000 to add a secondary chiller in 2013-14 anyway. If the primary chiller fails, he said, the new secondary chiller can kick in.
Hieftje, who has been a major proponent of building a new train station on Fuller Road, said he's not disappointed to see the final design delayed a year.
"The federal wheels turn slowly, and frankly I think it's not a bad thing to happen," he said. "One of the things I've thought about for a very long time is it's sometimes hard for people to visualize how robust service is going to be with Amtrak going over 100 mph with brand-new trains, really reducing the transit times and providing a dependable trip east to west, and getting rid of the roadblocks."
As more time passes, Hieftje said, the increased demand for service will be more apparent. He said he's heard from Amtrak that ridership could double.
"Which would completely overwhelm our current station," he said.
Closing fire stations vs. adding firefighters
Even though Hieftje and a number of council members have voiced opposition to closing fire stations, it's an idea that doesn't seem to go away.
Included in the council's meeting packet was a five-page memo from Powers indicating it's an option he's still considering.
City Administrator Steve Powers
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Given current staffing levels, Fire Chief Chuck Hubbard favors the switch to three stations, which would ensure a minimum of four firefighters on duty at each station. That would help make sure four firefighters arrive on scene together, which is preferred when responding to fires.
But instead of closing stations, Hubbard has said he'd rather increase staffing levels and have four firefighters on duty at each of the five existing stations.
According to Powers' memo, the fire department would need to hire 12 more firefighters to achieve that. The department has 86 full-time employees now.
The cost of those 12 firefighters for the first year would be $936,963, plus a $121,536 one-time cost for equipment. Year 2 costs would be $991,518, growing to $1,048,751 by Year 5.
Powers said he's confident in those numbers, which clash with projections Hubbard provided last year. Hubbard said last March it would take hiring at least 30 more firefighters at a cost of $3 million a year to increase the daily staffing levels from three to four firefighters at each substation.
Hieftje and Powers both expressed a desire for greater collaboration with surrounding fire departments during Monday's meeting. Hieftje said he's working with Yousef Rabhi, the new chairman of the county board, to resurrect the Washtenaw Metro Alliance to take a closer look at that.
"I'm confident we're going to be in good shape keeping the stations we have, but there's a great deal of promise in further collaboration with other departments in moving toward regionalization," Hieftje said. "I think we can both save money for taxpayers and provide better fire services."
Lumm said she's ready to propose an increase in police and fire staffing for next year if she doesn't like what she sees in the administrator's budget.
"My expectation is that council's goals for public safety will be reflected in the budget," she said. "And when you establish priorities, you do more of something and less of something else."
Lumm doesn't support closing fire stations.
"I know we don't have adequate staffing at all the stations, obviously," she said. "But when the locations were established decades ago, they were strategically placed. It's a big leap to walk away from that and conclude that we can close some of these."
Fall leaf pickup and holiday trees
Lumm said she's planning to bring forward amendments to restore fall leaf pickup and holiday tree collection services if they're not included in the administrator's budget.
Council Member Jane Lumm
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Lumm, who fought unsuccessfully to restore those services last year, said she can't understand how in a general fund budget totaling more than $80 million the city can't find at least $26,000.
She believes it would be less costly for city residents and would leave a smaller carbon footprint if the city's trucks go around and pick up holiday trees, instead of having thousands of residents individually haul their trees out to the city's drop-off station on Ellsworth Road.
"I thought about that when we dropped ours off and there was the mountain of trees, and I thought, 'OK, each one of these is a car coming out here,' " she said.
"And as we've seen with the limb/tree debris cleanup after this last storm, that's a really nice thing that the city's doing," she said. "A lot of neighborhoods would appreciate this service."
Hieftje, who supported eliminating fall leaf pickup and holiday tree collections in 2010, said he's happy to talk about restoring such services if Lumm can find the money in the budget. But he guessed only half the residents in Ann Arbor have holiday trees, and if they're able to go out and pick them up in the first place, he said, it seems they should be able to haul them away on their own.
New budget forecast
Crawford provided council members with a revised general fund forecast, showing a slightly more positive outlook than before.
"We completed our revised tax estimates for the year and have about $190,000 in additional general fund revenues we anticipate, so that was good news," he said.
Crawford said the 15th District Court also revised its budget and now expects $220,000 in additional revenue, while court expenses have gone down $60,000.
If every remaining budget request is granted, the general fund would operate at a $275,000 deficit in the coming year, which means city officials still have some tough decisions to make.
Mayor John Hieftje chats with Council Member Sally Hart Petersen, D-2nd Ward, before the start of a meeting.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
The city still is projecting $82.3 million in recurring revenues and $80.8 million in baseline recurring expenses for next year. That leaves a $1.48 million surplus to start in the general fund.
From there, city officials are considering $231,000 worth of additional recurring funding requests (down from $698,000 a month ago). Additionally, city officials are considering $1.5 million in one-time expenses (down from $1.7 million a month ago).
The projections for the second year of the two-year budget plan show the city operating at a $1.75 million deficit if every remaining budget request is funded.
If the city ran those deficits, it still would have uncommitted cash reserves totaling nearly $12.1 million two years from now, which is considered within acceptable range.
The council also was presented with a budget plan from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority at Monday's meeting.
DDA officials said there are no downtown parking rate increases planned in the next year, but there is more parking coming online with the opening of the new First and Washington garage. As a result, parking revenues are budgeted to jump from $18.1 million to $19.3 million in the next year.
The DDA's budget shows significantly lower tax revenues than city officials anticipate based on new downtown developments coming onto the tax rolls.
One chart city officials referenced shows DDA tax captures growing as high as $4.8 million in 2014-15, which Kunselman and Council Member Sumi Kailasapathy want to scale back.
The City Council is expected to hold public hearings on May 6 and vote on a final budget at its May 20 meeting. The administrator's budget is due by April 15.
The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority's projections for the next two years.
Ann Arbor DDA
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
JRW
Thu, Mar 28, 2013 : 1:53 a.m.
Re: that 100mph train going east to west....who is going to use it? The bulk of the commuters to the UM come from Livingston Cty, north of AA. There simply aren't enough commuters moving east to west to make this project pay off. Cancel it. That would save a bundle of $$. Here's another thought: CANCEL all public art projects. Hire more police and firefighters.
Roger Kuhlman
Thu, Mar 28, 2013 : 4:23 a.m.
Have you heard there is a proposal to come before the Ann Arbor City Council to end the % for Art Program but "bake in" Purlic Art expenditures in new city building projects. That sounds to me a pretty creative way to spend even more public money for Public Art. Everyone should be forced to pay for Public Art whether they like it or not.
Ryan J. Stanton
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 3:59 p.m.
I'm told by the city administrator the additional 12 firefighter positions = three shifts x four positions per shift. He said the additional 12 positions would provide four firefighters at four fire stations and six firefighters at the main station downtown per shift.
CynicA2
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 2:44 p.m.
"As more time passes, Hieftje said, the increased demand for service will be more apparent. He said he's heard from Amtrak that ridership could double." Since when has Amtrak ever been a reliable predictor of anything, other than their predictably reliable deficits and shortfalls. Only a loser like Hieftje would try to sell that bill of goods.
Roger Kuhlman
Thu, Mar 28, 2013 : 4:16 a.m.
Oh Yes Amtrak is also excellent at losing piles of money. Since its inception it has an unbroken string of drawing down the public treasury each and every year.
JRW
Thu, Mar 28, 2013 : 1:53 a.m.
Amtrak is good at slow trains, poor service and delayed arrivals and departures. Not much else.
Roger Kuhlman
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 4:12 a.m.
Let's not spend one more dollar on a new Amtrak station. Ann Arbor needs to behave in a fiscally responsible manner and building a new railroad station in Ann Arbor is not fiscally responsible for either the City, the State, or the Nation.
Rita Mitchell
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 9:01 p.m.
Excellent idea, Djbudsonic. The current station location is close to downtown, Main St. access, and to the ever-so-developable Lower Town area as to make transit oriented development a reasonable possibility.
Rita Mitchell
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 7:11 p.m.
Mike Anglin has repeatedly cautioned that the project once called Fuller Road Station, now called Ann Arbor Station, is incrementally accumulating public funds as described by Vivienne Armentrout, for planning, sewer relocation, etc. At some point "someone" will determine the prior expenditures to be sufficient to indicate that "we've spent too much to turn back now". Yet we as a community have not decided anything. The project keeps changing. The scope and participants in the project remain inadequately defined for the public to get a consistent, solid understanding of the costs and whether potential benefits justify the costs of replacing a working train station. Amtrak currently owns the depot building and all the land used for parking. We have not determined that the city should take on the task and financing to build a new depot for Amtrak. Assuming we get grant money to build, what would the city's financial responsibility be for ongoing maintenance of the facility? Additionally, we voters have not determined whether we should permanently dedicate park land to a train station and its associated required parking.
DJBudSonic
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 8:42 p.m.
I wonder if the purchase of the under-rented former Colonial Brick building on Depot could be tied with the existing depot and the Edison property, to make enough space for a proper remodel and expansion of the train depot, on Depot Street, where it seems to belong.
Dog Guy
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 6:34 p.m.
Over the past dozen years, Ann Arbor's city hall cabal has taken our city from being in the black to debt and liabilities averaging $3,200 for every man, woman, child, and grandchild in it. Having a large family, I would be more at ease somewhere else. AAPS debt and planned AADL debt are discomforting as well.
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:52 p.m.
Here's a link to download the tentative general fund capital budget http://www.annarbor.com/General_Fund_Capital_032513.pdf I just added the link to the story as well
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:10 p.m.
@Stephen Ranzini: 1) That's the first time in my life I used the "@" when posting, anywhere. So now I'm up to speed technology and culturewise. 2) Re: the "justification" for the enormous new Justice Center in the middle of the worst economic crisis in history, I recall that in addition to overcrowding, there was asbestos and mold and leaking, etc; they painted a terribly dismal picture to justify a completely new building. And if you are correct that they continue to renovate (the places they said were too expensive to renovate) and use (the places they said they'd save money NOT using), then there's a lot of very expensive LYING going on, and several people should be taken to task. This is all your money, people. Those checks you or your mortgage provider send in, this is that money we're talking about. Money being taken from you and used for this. And that fountain. And that (nonexistent and still not needed) train station. And the months-long (and now, finally, defunct) AATA expansion (but they're still tearing down that AATA station downtown and building a new one with a big conference room. You know, for all the conferences people will have at the bus station). We all need to make sure the new mayor cronies don't make it to council; that will eradicate any baby steps we've taken forward w/ Lumm.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:39 p.m.
@RUKiddingMe: One vote up from me on your excellent comment!
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
I hope this doesn't violate commenting guidelines, but I didn't want this to go unseen by anyone, as it was in a response and not its own post. This is very important information that people need to know and think about. Thanks to Vivienne Armentrout: Actually, the total amount that the city has spent on the Fuller Road Station project from the General Fund is $857,781 to date. Those are actually only the matching amounts for Federal funds and accept the $2.8 million grant from HSIPR. The city put $307, 781 into the FY 2014 budget in hopes of using prior expenditures of staff time, etc. on the Fuller Road parking project to make up the match. However, the FRA rejected those prior expenditures so the Council passed a resolution for the additional $550,000. As Larry states, the RFP for that first stage of design has not yet been issued. Further, Council may be asked to put the rest of the matching money ($150,000) into the pot depending on the result of the RFP. Previously, Eli Cooper had stated that they had found efficiencies and savings so that the full amount of the grant would not be needed. But now a new contractor is being sought, so those may not be possible. This means that Council will have spent a total of $1,007,781 just to accept the first stage grant. This does not include the sewer and storm work that was done earlier to enable the Fuller Road parking structure work. That was $1,421,632.67. Though some on council have said that work was needed anyway, their arguments are not persuasive. We're talking about a lot of Christmas trees. Or maybe even a firefighter or two.
goosenews
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:38 p.m.
They are called Christmas Trees in every house I've ever been in that had a decorated tree inside near Dec 25.
DonBee
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 9:39 p.m.
Some people celebrate Yule, some 12th Night, some Winter Solstice, all of which also call for trees in many cases. Other people who may or may not be religious and may or may not have other holidays at that time of year may choose to use a tree too, even though they are not celebrating Christmas, in most cases it is not tradition, but a family decision to do so. Christmas is not the only holiday in December that uses a tree, only the one more recognized by most people.
Basic Bob
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 7:13 p.m.
people who don't celebrate christmas don't cut down trees and put them in their house. but they could.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:13 p.m.
@Ryan Stanton & @RUKiddingMe: You are correct to be confused. We were told they needed to build the Rog Mahal because it was too expensive to renovate City Hall. Then they went ahead and are systematically renovating all of City Hall anyway. Millions of dollars added to the tab! We were told the requirement to build the new city courts building (Rog Mahal) was to relieve overcrowding in the county courts building, because one judge and related staff didn't fit in the building. Then we later found out from a state judicial review commission that the city needed one fewer judge based on the case load, so there was no overcrowding, just over hiring. $50 million added to the tab! We were also told that the General Fund needed to pay $2.2 million to give Google some parking spaces for their employees and $1.1 million of that was transferred to the DDA despite the fact that those parking spaces cost the DDA nothing to provide (since they weren't being used anyway). That was in 2007. Then the DDA invested $8.2 million In building the Rog Mahal so that the Mayor could say that no General Fund money was going into the Rog Mahal. Well you see the pattern here, right? Among Mayor Hieftje's accomplishments during his term in office, debt including underfunded pension and retirement healthcare liabilities have risen from $250 million when he was elected to over $600 million, and cash on hand has dropped from $250 million to $200 million. The pension funds went from being substantially over funded to massive deficits. So, net, net, Mayor Hieftje has put us into massive debt and taken a city that had no net debt and put it $400 million in the hole!
ArgoC
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:45 p.m.
Regarding tree and leaf pickups: How about strengthening the program where homeowners pay individually for tree and leaf pickups via having to buy specially marked bags and such? With the right fees, it would pay for itself. What am I missing here?
Jack Eaton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:13 p.m.
Home owners already pay a solid waste millage to cover the cost of trash, recycling and compost pick ups. That millage is generating a surplus. Part of that surplus will soon be used to build a new drop off facility for the contractor who runs our recycle program. Without significant damage to our ability to generate these solid waste surpluses, we could resume the bulk leaf pick up and holiday tree pick up. All it would take is Council support for restoring these services.
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:23 p.m.
In case anyone is curious, Powers tells me it would take hiring 24 firefighters to have 4 firefighters on staff daily at all 6 stations (including reopening Station 2). I don't think there's any chance such a proposal will be on the table, but that's what it would take if that's what was wanted.
Linda Peck
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:02 p.m.
I hope they delay capital spending for an added two years on top of that, and get their priorities straight. I have been in the City Hall and it is fine. The room I met with the Mayor in was fine. However, the entry was blocked by a chair! How much does it cost to use arm muscles to move a chair to gain better access to a meeting room? It is free. It is my hope and in my prayers that common sense will return to City Hall, and right away.
Larry Baird
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:51 p.m.
It is important to clarify that the city will STILL be spending $550,000 in 2013 and 2014 on the train station site analysis. The $550,000 in general fund assets were approved just before the November elections and contradicted the mayor's previous claims that no general fund dollars would be spent on this project. The city approved the train station site analysis project in June 2012 and have yet to finalize the RFP (request for proposals) or select the final consultant/contractor for this multi-million dollar PHASE 1 project (original federal grant was $2.8mm). At the current slow rate of progress, this decision to delay PHASE 2, the final station design work should not surprise anyone.
E Claire
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 7:58 p.m.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2013/03/26/ac-griffin-investigation-high-speed-rail-boondoggle.cnn Interesting story on cnn regarding high speed rail. They spent 8 million to reduce travel time by 10 minutes.
Vivienne Armentrout
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:53 p.m.
Actually, the total amount that the city has spent on the Fuller Road Station project from the General Fund is $857,781 to date. Those are actually only the matching amounts for Federal funds and accept the $2.8 million grant from HSIPR. The city put $307, 781 into the FY 2014 budget in hopes of using prior expenditures of staff time, etc. on the Fuller Road parking project to make up the match. However, the FRA rejected those prior expenditures so the Council passed a resolution for the additional $550,000. As Larry states, the RFP for that first stage of design has not yet been issued. Further, Council may be asked to put the rest of the matching money ($150,000) into the pot depending on the result of the RFP. Previously, Eli Cooper had stated that they had found efficiencies and savings so that the full amount of the grant would not be needed. But now a new contractor is being sought, so those may not be possible. This means that Council will have spent a total of $1,007,781 just to accept the first stage grant. This does not include the sewer and storm work that was done earlier to enable the Fuller Road parking structure work. That was $1,421,632.67. Though some on council have said that work was needed anyway, their arguments are not persuasive. We're talking about a lot of Christmas trees. Or maybe even a firefighter or two.
Jack Eaton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:05 p.m.
Delaying the expenditure for the final phase of the Amtrak station planning may also be based in the hope that the 2013 Council races change the Council composition. I think it is safe to believe that the challengers who have announced so far would support the Mayor's desire for a new train station. Putting off a decision on spending millions more in local share costs for that train station is just an admission that there is not sufficient support on Council today for this expensive project.
Jack Eaton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:50 p.m.
What a difference a year makes. Last year during Council budget discussions there was little support for Council Members Lumm's and Kunselman's efforts to increase public safety. The 2012 elections brought the clear message that residents want services, not projects. Since that election: The Mayor has admitted that there is no longer sufficient support for the idea of closing fire stations. The Council withdrew from the AATA's boondoggle countywide transit plan. The City administration is delaying the expensive spending on Amtrak station planning. Neighborhood flooding is finally being addressed. We may even get the fall bulk leaf pick up service back. These are changes that come from electing responsive Council members who focus on providing public services. Three champions of responsive, public service oriented local government are running for reelection this year - Mike Anglin, Steve Kunselman and Jane Lumm. They need your support.
shadow wilson
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 10:29 p.m.
Mr.Eaton I refer you to Kunselmans erratic and totally uninformed inflammatory rant regarding taxi/limo issues here in A2. I won't hijack this thread but suffice it to say if he is capable of being so willing to be so wrong in that instance he is likely to do the same in others.
Jack Eaton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 5:05 p.m.
@ shadow wilson, I disagree. Mr. Kunselman is a moderate voice on Council. While many of us would like to see the DDA dissolved and others want the DDA to capture increasing amounts of money from other cash-strapped governmental entities, Mr. Kunselman has proposed a middle ground of restraining the growth in DDA funding. Seems moderate to me. While much of Council was discussing consolidating our five fire stations into three, Mr. Kunselman proposed methods to transfer funds from less essential areas of the budget to our safety services. Seems moderate to me. You may disagree with Mr. Kunselman because is so often the voice of reason on Council questioning the next spending boondoggle proposed by the Mayor and his friends. That is not a reason to resort to name calling. Describe the issue about which you disagree with him and why you think he is wrong. Please don't engage in personal attacks.
shadow wilson
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:55 p.m.
please kunselman is a loose spouting off uninformed garbage all too infrequently...wrong and strong as they say
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:05 p.m.
@Jack Eaton: Great post! It's not just the elected officials that deserve the credit but the people like you who blogged and advocated for more Common Sense and changed public opinion!
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:08 p.m.
Here's some more info on the $500,000 second floor renovation project, which was added to the Capital Improvement Plan two years ago after city officials decided not to build new meeting space as part of the Ann Arbor Municipal Center project. The renovation project, which is being put off, includes about $200,000 to finish removing asbestos-containing materials from the second floor of city hall (the city clerk's office area already was abated as part of the Municipal Center project) and about $300,000 for renovation of the remaining areas of the second floor, including a complete remodel of the council chambers. That would include a new council table, public seating, lighting, technology upgrades, wall changes, sound improvements, and better accommodations for people with disabilities. It also likely would include electrical outlets for members of the public who bring laptops to meetings. If not the total renovation, city staff has said the council should consider doing at least the asbestos abatement portion. I'm seeking clarification now if that portion is delayed, too.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 6:18 p.m.
@Ryan Stanton & @RUKiddingMe: We were told they needed to build the Rog Mahal because it was too expensive to renovate City Hall. You are right to be a bit confused since much of city hall has now been renovated or is planned to be. Please see my comment in the main thread posted at 11:13am in response to this exchange for the rest of my comment on this topic.
cindy1
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 5:13 p.m.
An aside: During city council meetings almost none of the city councilors use their micropones. Citizens speaking at commentary time are also difficult or impossible to hear.
A A Resident
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:47 p.m.
Ryan, the asbestos abatement sounds reasonable. On the new City Council table, how about some plywood sheets on sawhorses? Even if it didn't save much in the big picture, at least it would be a token indication that they are sharing our pain.
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:33 p.m.
Thanks very much for the answers, Ryan. Appreciated.
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:04 p.m.
City hall is still in full use. The basement was renovated and there are some nice meeting spaces down there now. I've been to taxicab board and public art commission meetings down there. I believe the city was able to move some employees out of other leased spaces after the new municipal center opened.
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3:52 p.m.
Okay, so there is one building we're not using any more, and that's City Hall? Or are we just not using the BASEMENT of City Hall? I'm assuming from the words "City Hall" that we're still using it. So we stopped using the BASEMENT, but we're still using the entirety of Larcom, the new police-courts building, and everything above the basement of City Hall? How many square feet of office space is that? Are there other city-only buildings/parts of buildings still in use? I was happy to see I didn't have to go to a FOURTH building to pay my water bill, but are there still city-only operations taking up space in the building where the county clerk's office is? Would it be worth the time to do a quick square foot/cost summary of all city-paid/city-owned space?
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:32 p.m.
The new police-courts building addition is connected to the 1960s-era Larcom city hall, which was partially renovated as part of the municipal center project. These two buildings together are now referred to as the municipal center. The new police-court building alone is known as the justice center, and city hall is still city hall. The police moved out of poor conditions in the basement of city hall to the new building and the 15th District Court moved out of the county courthouse. IT is on the first floor of the new building.
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:08 p.m.
Ryan, I feel really lost on this whole thing. My impression during the Justice Center build was that part of the need for it was that Larcom was UNUSABLE. Is city hall a different building? I saw several stories/posts, I believe, about how the cost to renovate the old building was just too much, so building the new one was cost efficient, plus they'd save the money they were paying to lease? rent? the old building. Are there 3 buildings involved here? One that we stopped using, one that we're renovating, and the new Justice Center? Can anyone help clarify this?
a2grateful
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:41 p.m.
"Hieftje, who has been a major proponent of building a new train station on Fuller Road, said he's not disappointed to see the final design delayed a year." Translation: "I am running for yet another mayoral term. I do not want the train station/illegal parkland conversion to "derail" my re-election. We'll get my train and park conversion plans back "on track" after I am re-elected. We'll remodel my council desk/command post/throne then, too. My sequestration policies of municipal service provision and pension funding will continue as they are now. We'll continue to amass funds greater than the $100,000,000 surplus we have in our bucket-based accounting system, allowing our tremendous borrowing and debt-provision mechanism to remain intact. We'll then have the potential for many train stations." Calm before the storm. . .
Jay Thomas
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 6:09 a.m.
Hilarious!
Goober
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:39 p.m.
Our city leaders have been spending like drunken sailors. Now, we continue to face tough times moving forward after spending money we do not nor did not have. When is the majority of Ann Arbor registered voters going to wake up and replace this group before more, long term damage is done? Go figure!
leaguebus
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 12:14 a.m.
Goober, has the state appointed an Emergency Manager in AA yet? Guess the City admins are no doing too bad.
buildergirl
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:30 p.m.
As I recall, the last mayoral election didn't give us any reasonable choice. All we can do is keeping chipping away at council and encourage our neighbors to do the same.
A A Resident
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:26 p.m.
"...holiday tree collection services.." Guffaw! Do no, I repeat do not say Christmas tree. That would be even more politically incorrect than wearing leather shoes.
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:40 p.m.
The "War On Christmas" is everywhere!!
ordmad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:01 p.m.
Is there a comment limit for political aspirants? If not, there should be.
leaguebus
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 12:08 a.m.
I don't necessarily agree with Mr. Ranzini much, but he does his homework in most cases and I value what he says, may not agree with him, but do value his input.
E Claire
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 8:02 p.m.
no one says you have to vote for him ordmad. Rather see Mr. Ranzini's posts than the constant fawning over the mayor in this blog
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 5:53 p.m.
Ordmad, I'll take someone commenting from sidelines over things like ribboncuttings at $750,000 nonworking fountains any day. You are correct that a lot of the more common sense, rational, responsible outlooks on this blog site seem to represent the minority in town, and that's depressing. But are you saying that if I'm dissatisfied with how bad the roads are I need to fix them myself before I can comment on it?
ordmad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:55 p.m.
Taking an up or down vote here as a measure of approval within this city is yet another huge, laughable mistake. Can't remember the last time you were on this website as someone making news by, for instance, getting involved in our public affairs, rather than making comments from the sidelines (including a few op-eds in 2012). And, please, stop pandering with, among other things, 911 response times. Two minutes would be nice, but is that realistic without doubling the size or our force? Does any city provide that level of service? Please, enlighten me with facts.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 3 p.m.
@ordmad: If I were Mayor, I'd be engaged in the public debate and not afraid to make a post on an article to defend my positions. You wrote, "It's easy to take pot shots from the sidelines and make implicit promises of "what I'd do" without any responsibility to carry them out or accountability if you don't." On the contrary with every post I make I get a public vote up or down and a blogger and columnist like me is held accountable in the court of public opinion if my opinions are the slightest bit off or unclear. If I make even a small misstep I am buried under an avalanche of down votes and if my opinions are generally unpopular I won't get the opportunity to write anymore columns. If my facts are proven false I will lose credibility and trust, which since I am using my real name, will impact my personal relationships in town and my business and career will suffer. Lastly, thanks to @Brad, @GoNavy (my Dad rose from seaman recruit to become a naval officer) and @jcj for having my back this morning with some excellent comments on this post!
jcj
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:34 p.m.
ormad There is not nor should there be. You would NOT be saying this if his views lined up with yours! I would love to have the Mayor and members of city council come on here and defend their actions or non actions!
ordmad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:21 p.m.
It's easy to take pot shots from the sidelines and make implicit promises of "what I'd do" without any responsibility to carry them out or accountability if you don't. That's all that ever comes.
GoNavy
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:20 p.m.
Give the guy credit for coming out here and using his full name. His comments are usually thoughtful.
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:11 p.m.
If you have facts to dispute him, do it.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:52 a.m.
Speaking of tree limb and leaf removal, every where I've travelled in the city this past weekend I saw neatly stacked piles of large logs by the side of the road waiting for the city to pick them up and chip them up. When is the city going to follow-through on its public commitment to pick them up? It's been weeks and weeks since the major ice storm that knocked them all down! Jane Lumm is correct, occasional tree and leaf removal ought to be part of the services provided to the citizens and it is not a big ticket cost. Not every citizen needs to buy or can afford a wood chipper. Not every citizen or even half or a quarter of them needs to drive wood around town. Despite the Mayor's completely illogical statement (the trees come from many different places but all end up in the same place Mr. Mayor), it is more cost effective for the citizens as a whole for the city to do this for us. There are some things like this that really are just more efficient if done by government!
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:38 p.m.
well, assuming they do it wisely and work to do it efficiently and not at ridiculous cost. With this city's track record, I'm in favor of them doing as little as possible. They used to justify residents needing to do their own sidewalk repairs with "the city simply cannot do this at lesser cost than residents." I believe that. Any service contracted probably doubles in price when the provider knows it's on the city's dime. Suddenly, though, with the new sidewalk repair millage (some of which goes to public art? yes, no?), they never explained why it was that now they can do it more efficiently than residents. I doubt they can. When they do LESS, though, I'd like to see the savings in property taxes. I don't. I only see increases. That's the problem. Looking at the property tax bill and then driving through this town is a very enraging combination.
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:46 a.m.
"And as we've seen with the limb/tree debris cleanup after this last storm, that's a really nice thing that the city's doing," In my area of the 4th ward there has yet to be a single pickup. Are they actually going on somewhere?
leaguebus
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:59 p.m.
The Haisley neighborhood is still waiting, too.
jcj
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:36 p.m.
Ryan How about an update on the "tree removal" THAT would be a REAL help to your readers!
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:02 p.m.
When I'm out walking I've noticed more than one holiday tree trying to impersonate brush on the extension. Either that or people had the tops of their pine trees snap off *extremely* cleanly.
C'est la vie
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:58 p.m.
I live in the Haisley school area and there has been no pickup here yet. Neighbors have been out with chain saws adding branches that had nothing to do with the storm. It looks like a post-hurricane zone now. The longer the city waits to pick up, the worse it gets.
BCell
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:30 p.m.
Eberwhite neighborhood was cleaned up yesterday
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:20 p.m.
I bet Burns Park is spotless.
MrBeasley
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:17 p.m.
We were just wondering the same thing. I live in the Wines neighborhood and no one has had branches picked up. Yesterday I noticed that there were houses all along Seventh that still have branches out on the curbs as well.
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:15 p.m.
Are you also in the "poor relation" 4th ward?
SonnyDog09
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:11 p.m.
It's been a month since the storm and mine have not been picked up yet.
jcj
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:42 a.m.
, Hieftje said, the increased demand for service will be more apparent. He said he's heard from Amtrak that ridership could double. And I heard from the AATA that ridership could double so they need new buses.lol
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:30 a.m.
"According to [City Manager Steve] Powers' memo, the fire department would need to hire 12 more firefighters to achieve [national standards for fire safety and emergency medical services response times.] The cost of those 12 firefighters for the first year would be $936,963... Powers said he's confident in those numbers, which clash with projections Hubbard provided last year. Hubbard said last March it would take hiring at least 30 more firefighters at a cost of $3 million a year to increase the daily staffing levels from three to four firefighters at each substation." Based on detailed staffing projections I've seen, Powers is correct this is the bare minimum staffing required and the fire chief was wrong. Kudos to our city manager for bucking the Mayor and the Fire Chief to do the right thing and providing us with the minimum of fire and EMS protection we need instead of spending *general fund* money on a train station!
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 10:19 a.m.
So, if the Stadium Bridge and construction on Stadium had not interfered, if there had not been a public outcry against the proposal, and the public had not risen up and voted out the Mayor's allies on city council in the following election in August, the Mayor was willing to support the "commendable" and "creative plan" to close the fire stations which he and City Manager Steve Powers equally supported, advocated and were in lock step in public advocating for. The fire chief has no power in this city but the Mayor and City Manager do, so to say that Mayor Hieftje was a prime advocate for the idea is correct. While it wasn't his idea originally, he supported it until he read the tea leaves and saw the way the wind was blowing and changed his mind. As for how to fund public services at the proper level I have repeatedly written that I am against increases in taxes as unnecessary, but see the opportunity to "Drain the Buckets" to fund critical needs while defunding fripperies. Also, the last several years the General Fund has run a large surplus at the end of the day and could have borne another $1 million in spending on fire and EMS safety. I've also argued extensively against the Rog Mahal and Garage Mahal and Huinal because they divert significant funds away from public services, and while yes, only $50,000 went from the General Fund into the Huirinal, all that wasteful spending adds up!
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 10:02 a.m.
@Peregrine: You wrote that Mayor Hieftje wasn't a major advocate for the plan to close the fire stations and in fact pointed to a recent quote saying he was against the plan. Clearly you missed this article and the extensive quotes from the Mayor where he expressed support for the three station plan: www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-officials-taking-step-back-from-closing-two-fire-stations/ "The original proposal presented last month by Fire Chief Chuck Hubbard called for transitioning toward a three-station model starting in June." "City Administrator Steve Powers and Mayor John Hieftje said they're going to wait out the projects taking place along Stadium Boulevard and use that time to go out to the public to get feedback on the proposal. The overall plan actually calls for closing three of the city's five fire stations and reopening Station 2 for a net reduction of two stations." "We are going to have Stadium Boulevard torn up right in front of the station, so you're only going to have one lane in each direction for much of that time," Hieftje said. "That's just a poor way to go, because there's really no way for those cars to get out of the way for a firetruck." "So we've got some physical impediments in the way and we might as well take advantage of the time to thoroughly vet the idea." "I really commend the chief for coming forward with a creative plan."
Peregrine
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 2:46 p.m.
@Ranzini: You are unable to be honest when it comes to discussing the mayor. The mayor was never "the prime advocate" of the restructuring plan; Fire Chief Hubbard has always been "the prime advocate". And the reason for the restructuring plan is not to favor or disfavor any subgroup, but to maximize the properties within the city in which to get four firefighters to the scene within four minutes in order undertake in-building rescues to save lives given current funding resources. It looks like we'll need about $1,000,000 per year in order to put four firefighters in all five stations for all shifts. So far, you, Mr. Ranzini, have been the prime advocator for a tax increase to fund this. Is that still your position?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 6:02 p.m.
@ Perigrine: which Mayor are you referring to? I am referring to the mayor who was "comfortable with his little experiment at cutting firefighters and police" and was the prime advocate for closing three fire stations and opening up the fire station in Burns Park near his house? Until now, that is, now that he has an epiphany that it was a bad idea all along!
Peregrine
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 4:58 p.m.
You must have missed this sentence: "Even though Hieftje and a number of council members have voiced opposition to closing fire stations, it's an idea that doesn't seem to go away. [paragraph break] Included in the council's meeting packet was a five-page memo from Powers indicating it's an option he's still considering." You missed key details in your on-going vendetta against the mayor.
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:35 a.m.
Correction: instead of spending MORE money on a train station.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:18 a.m.
I still don't see any discussion about how many police we need to get a police car to your front door in two minutes if there is an emergency, or to do a thorough investigation when there is a crime.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:15 a.m.
"The DDA's budget shows significantly lower tax revenues than city officials anticipate based on new downtown developments coming onto the tax rolls. One chart city officials referenced shows DDA tax captures growing as high as $4.8 million in 2014-15..." The chart in the table in the article above which shows the DDA's proposed budget shows TIF property tax revenue of just $3.8 million in FY2015 versus $4.0 million this year and next. The DDA is apparently NOT projecting ANY increase in TIF captured property taxes despite all the tall buildings downtown coming online which will bring it fistfuls of new cash! In the business world we call this sandbagging a budget when an administrator projects low, so your department isn't targeted for revenue reduction or expense shifting and then ends up with a large profit.
Steve Bean
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 1:25 p.m.
Property values will drop over the next several years. This is a prudent projection on the part of the city.
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:32 a.m.
This is an interesting point. It should be very easy to find out if this "sandbagging" is happening, no? With several highrises already close to being done, and more on the way, shouldn't we be able to very easily see why they are not recognizing this new money over the next 2 years? Is it because they gave the developers tax breaks the way they do for businesses? Is it because these developments are not considered as being "downtown" and thus applicable to DDA skimming? It seems like it would not be easy to hide this very simple accounting behind a bunch of creative math. Can someone at A2.com ask DDA staff why we're not seeing more money from those new developments? Is it being offset by U of M land purchases?
A2comments
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 10:32 a.m.
"As more time passes, Hieftje said, the increased demand for service will be more apparent. He said he's heard from Amtrak that ridership could double." Could double? Heard from? Ask Amtrak if their ridership or financial projections have been accurate in the past? Or projected trip time with high speed trains? I took Amtrakin the past and going from Wilmington, DE to NY with high speed trains never got to projected travel times.
DonBee
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 : 9:06 p.m.
E Claire - Wow! Just Wow! From CNN no less
E Claire
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 7:12 p.m.
I'd like to see Hieftje respond to this... http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2013/03/26/ac-griffin-investigation-high-speed-rail-boondoggle.cnn
Brad
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:15 p.m.
The increased demand will be apparent because ... there will be increased demand. I am guessing there will be quite a bit of warning before it "doubles". Plenty of time to identify the ACTUAL increase in demand and respond accordingly. How about if we wait for that demand to materialize first?
RUKiddingMe
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 10:23 a.m.
I doubt The mayor's being honest about being totally happy w/ the train station moved to the back burner, what with him sending out letters trying to push for it and spending millions of dollars on it already. Seeing that criminal and insane project put off for a bit is a relief, but it would be better if they said it was off the table until something happened to prove its need (e.g. the mayor's "point" about Amtrak usage DOUBLING). It would also be nice if the city took a step back and reviewed ALL of the expenditures and ran them through a relatively rigorous justification assessment. It would be great if the city used the money we give them to OPERATE THE CITY and give up on looking for interesting ways to spend it. Our property taxes are insane, and friends and family who visit do NOT see what we are getting that they don't when we pay so much more. In fact, the empty storefronts and really, really, just awfully ridiculous and terrible roads, have them wondering if maybe we're being taken advantage of.
Alan Goldsmith
Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 10:18 a.m.
"Hieftje, who supported eliminating fall leaf pickup and holiday tree collections in 2010, said he's happy to talk about restoring such services if Lumm can find the money in the budget. But he guessed only half the residents in Ann Arbor have holiday trees, and if they're able to go out and pick them up in the first place, he said, it seems they should be able to haul them away on their own." The arrogance of the Mayor is breathtaking. We have millions of dollars of no bid contracts to his political buddies for 'green' efforts but $28K for savings thousands of individual trips to haul 'holiday' trees to be recycled, an effort that would oh so greatly lessen the City of Ann Arbor's carbon footprint, is do it yourself--you're only half the City and if you figured out a way to buy a tree, then tough luck. Now let's talk about neighborhood flooring and leaves clogging City drains due to the cutback in mass leaf pickups. Stunning, the man is just stunning in how out of touch he is with most every issue taxpayers and voters care about. Time for a new Mayor!