Comments on: Ann Arbor Main Street BIZ Clears Hurdle

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:16:35 +0000

Re: [6]

OTHER EXPENSES 
 Reimbursement of start-up costs  4,285 
 City Administrative Fee            200 
 Delinquency Fund (2.5%)          2,971 
 Contingency Fund                 5,492 
 TOTAL OTHER EXPENSES            12,948 
ORGANIZATIONAL EXPENSES 
 Operations Manager               9,500 
 Insurance                        2,400 
 Legal Services                   2,000 
 Accounting & Audit               5,000 
 Business Services                5,000 
 Subtotal                        23,900 
 TOTAL BIZ ORG. & OTHER EXPENSES 36,848

By: Sue Perry

Sue Perry — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:23:33 +0000

Just curious – - $36,848 yearly for “organizational” costs. Could someone elaborate or break this down ? Thanks.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:07:18 +0000

The snow-clearing expense is bases on an estimated 40 snowfalls?? Where do the estimators think we live, British Columbia??

By: Gary Salton

Gary Salton — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:44:34 +0000

Sounds fair to me. The guys who benefit from the incremental service, pay for it. I’m not sure what the 18th century has to do with anything.

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:11:00 +0000

“Given that the votes had to be weighted by the value of property owned, the city assessor, David Petrak, was on hand to verify that the weighted majority had been achieved.”

How so very 18th Century, your vote based on property ownership. Lol.

By: SnowDayMom

SnowDayMom — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:46:38 +0000

It’ll be a waste of money until the local business community and employers demand that the city clear All City streets in a timely manner. I live not 2 miles from Main Street (off Miller)and, sometimes, it will be 3 or 4 DAYS before a plow comes through. Even Miller Road can take 48 hours or more. I’ve lived in rural northern towns for decades and have never seen anything so poorly done as the street-clearing within the City of Ann Arbor. People won’t come shop, if they can’t get out their streets safely, I don’t. As our growing and new employers figure the expense of employee “snow days”, the failure to clear snow in a northern small town will drive more and more away. It’s an ESSENTIAL service for retaining and attracting business here (like water, electricity, public safety), and the business community should be jumping all over the city…city officials seem to be blithly ignoring individual’s complaints every year and continue to cut the snow clearing services.

By: mr dairy

mr dairy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:58:47 +0000

I’d love to keep a few of my tax dollars to use to remove snow from my sidewalk and a few more to give my house better curb appeal.