Comments on: Column: Time to Take Down a Tree

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:21:36 +0000

Thanks, Chuck. I’ve started a conversation with Jeff Irwin about it.

By: Chuck Warpehoski

Chuck Warpehoski — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:35:38 +0000

Excellent article! Thank you Mary.

Steve, without changes at the State level, local municipalities cannot impose a fuel tax (or a local sales tax, or a lot of other revenue options). There are state-level efforts to change that, but right now it’s not on the table for us.

There does seem to be a problem in that each tree and branch in the budget has its own cheering section. So if you want to prune the arts branch, the arts community comes out to say “no, not that branch.” If you want to cut the parks branch, the parks community comes out. Same with fire, human services, etc.

On the plus side, that’s community involvement and democracy in action. But now we are at a point where our elected officials will have to be more than politicians and show themselves to be leaders, which will mean angering some of those cheering sections to make the necessary cuts.

By: Steven Norton

Steven Norton — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:26:37 +0000

I appreciate Mary’s article, and metaphor, as well. I’m not sure I entirely agree, however. As others have pointed out, it’s not that our local government or schools are rotten at the core (though some may disagree). It’s that, for reasons both under our control and not, the water and nutrient supply to our civic “tree” have been constrained. Some things we can’t control. Other things we can. We can deal with the crisis by taking down big limbs, or we can find more water.

One thing the tree metaphor does illustrate is the need for planning ahead. Often, this kind of rot can be prevented, if you act early enough and see the signs. But when our civic tree was healthy, we didn’t worry much about the storm to come. When rain was plentiful, we decided to throw away the garden hose.

Perhaps that tree did need to come down. Perhaps our civic tree needs some trimming as well. But how many branches can you cut before it ceases to be a “tree” at all? And will we be willing to spend the resources it will take to plant a new one?

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:24:24 +0000

An odd thing to hear from someone named for a tree.

By: Pinus Nigra

Pinus Nigra — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:03:48 +0000

I think Chainsaw guy should be employee of the month.

By: Barbara Annis

Barbara Annis — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:54:09 +0000

Thank you Vivianne, once again. There is a lot of fear driven thinking out there — OMG what if that tree were to fall on my house! for example. How long might that tree have lasted if left alone? Did anyone ask, or was it just scheduled to come down now? The commentators who argue for careful thinking about both long and short term goals are on point. We are too often thrown into a tizzy while things we value are sacrificed without the whole picture being revealed.

By: Ann Arbor Girl

Ann Arbor Girl — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:35:31 +0000

Wonderfully written article – and your choice of metaphor was powerfully clear. I very much appreciate the cool-headed view on what units of government are wrestling with, as too often the tone is dialed up to 11 (Spinal Tap reference intended) which makes it very difficult to move forward to finding solutions. And using your metaphor a bit futher, an idea of a downtown conference center is analygous to planting a new tree that perhaps may produce much-needed new revenues for this community. It is absolutely worth exploring this – and other economic development ideas – as we can no longer rely on things as they were in the past. 20% of City property is off the tax rolls for City parks, 15%+ property is off the tax rolls due to the UM, another 25%+ is off the tax rolls from schools, nonprofits, and other government. Our largest single tax payer – Pfizer – left town and we have almost no large corporations to carry the freight for residents as is done in cities such as Grand Rapids. Cutting down the size of government – like the tree – has been going on for years. Now is the time to think of new ways to plant new trees and build the tax base.

By: Gary Salton

Gary Salton — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:57:33 +0000

I see a lot of competing analogies. Mary’s was on target and useful. The others appear to me to be obfuscating. How about cutting to the chase. We haven’t got enough money to cover our overhead. Two choices–cut costs or raise revenue.

If you don’t like the cuts, propose a sustainable means of covering costs. By the way, sustainable means that we get the benefit (cost reduction or revenue increase)every year. The one-time shots like canceling the sculpture only delay the inevitable.

Personally, I think it is time for leadership to put the problem to bed so we can get on building a viable and vibrant city.

By: pat

pat — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:40:21 +0000

Sounds like the county has a plan.

Good luck

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:13:35 +0000

Trees growing between sidewalks and street curbs, trimmed to avoid overhead wires, with little pervious surface around them (even the “soil” in the extension is compacted) to get water, are living in an unsustainable system. And now one of them no longer is–dead before its time. There are more trees, though. And the system is still unsustainable.

I just posted a comment over at annarbor.com about a local fuel tax that might not be considered a “big idea” but at least one that might move us toward a sustainable system: [Link]. They don’t number them, but it’s about #105. You might want to check it out and see what discussion follows or chime in yourself.