DDA OKs Council-Approved FY 2014 Budget
The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board has re-adopted its FY 2014 budget, after it was approved, with changes, by the city council on May 20, 2013. The DDA board action came on June 5, 2013.
The decision came over dissent from two board members – John Mouat and Sandi Smith, who perceived the city council’s changes to the budget as arbitrary. They criticized the process – which is set forth by the state’s enabling legislation for downtown development authorities.
During the council’s debate on the city’s budget, of which the DDA is a component unit, councilmembers had argued about how to handle the additional tax increment finance (TIF) revenue that will be captured by the DDA this year. In the end, they modified the DDA’s budget by adding in the roughly $570,000 in additional TIF revenue – and by transferring $300,000 of that to the DDA’s housing fund. In its May 20 budget resolution, the council also recommended that the DDA spend $300,000 of TIF revenue on the replacement of light poles on Main Street.
Based on the DDA board’s discussion on June 5, little interest appears to exist on the DDA board for covering the difference between the $516,000 total estimated cost of the light pole replacement and the $268,000 left in the TIF fund after the $300,000 transfer to the housing fund. Based on the June 5 discussion, the DDA board feels that the city council should appropriate the difference out of the city’s general fund reserve.
Compared to the FY 2014 budget that the DDA originally submitted to the city, the TIF revenue now anticipated for FY 2014 is roughly $568,000 more – a total of $4,501,347. [.pdf of revised FY 2014 DDA budget]
At its meeting on June 3, 2013, the council passed a resolution encouraging the DDA board to consider allocating some of the discretionary funds in its FY 2014 budget to pay for three police officers to be assigned to the downtown area. Between the DDA’s TIF fund ($100,000) and the DDA’s parking fund ($300,000), the FY 2014 budget includes a total of $400,000 that’s labeled “discretionary.” The council’s resolution asked the DDA board consider that request for police funding at its “next regularly scheduled meeting” – which was June 5, 2013.
The board responded to the council’s request through a referral of the issue by board chair Leah Gunn to the DDA’s operations committee.
Also at its June 5 meeting, the DDA made final revisions to its current year’s budget to square it up with actual expenses and revenues to date. [.pdf of revised FY 2013 budget]
This brief was filed from the DDA offices at 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link]