Comments on: Ann Arbor Council OKs Transit Agreement

By: Tom Whitaker

Tom Whitaker — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:56:03 +0000

I agree with Rod. Vivienne’s deep analysis, coupled with the Chronicle’s coverage of meetings and additional information gives the public a very full picture of what is really at issue with the transit plans currently being pushed by AATA, the Mayor, and others. Most importantly, Vivienne is trustworthy because she has no “skin in the game.” She provides well-researched information that is in the public interest without any compensation or political agenda, and puts her real name on it for all to see and criticize if they so choose.

Thank you, Vivienne. Keep up the good work!

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:12:08 +0000

Vivienne’s contributions, here and on her blog, always add value to the discussion. I’m happy to see them, personally.

By: Marvin Face

Marvin Face — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:48:08 +0000

Wow, Vivienne. Three links to your blog today in less than 5 minutes (and two in one comment!). Even for you, that seems like a lot. Well done!

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:24:40 +0000

I believe that A2Person is correct in identifying the issue of regionalism as one of the key points of the transit discussion. I reviewed some issues with this concept not long ago. [link] I've now begun a series on fairness and the transit question. The first installment [link] touches on our perceptions of what is fair in a regional tradeoff where some people pay for benefits received by others.

By: A2person

A2person — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:44:28 +0000

Tom… (slightly tangential here, sorry)…. I agree, noble goal. However, the side effect has been that now we need agreement from all the townships and other towns in Washtenaw county to agree to passing most anything to raise money for our schools, and that has proven to be impossible. Ann Arbor voters will consistently vote to invest in education, but the others do not, and so we are stuck with no way to increase local funding even if we want to. We are not allowed as a community to supplement the money we get from Lansing, and under Snyder that money has seriously dwindled.

So back on topic….. I have similar concerns about the outlying areas voting in our best interests in regards to a regional transportation system as well. When we give up that local control, we don’t really know what the full outcome will be.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:30:29 +0000

I would encourage those with the perspective expressed in (12) to turn attention to the Articles of Incorporation. (A link to a draft is given above, though that may not be a final draft.) Sabra Briere and others tellingly put approval of this important document into the process chain. Since Council must approve those, it gives the citizens as well as the council another opportunity to consider this entire package.

The AOI actually give the new authority the ability to organize. Originally, all of the responsibility for the AOI rested with the Board of Commissioners. My information has been that all four Ann Arbor county commissioners endorse its passage. (This is a good time to discover who your county commissioner is, and to communicate with him/her on this subject.) But by placing an approval step for both city councils into the package, the AOI become much more a negotiation among all three units of government, and presumably the AATA.

Actually, nothing will happen, presumably, until the Ypsilanti City Council also approves the 4-party agreement. My information is that it is presently on the March 20 council agenda. Of course, they could also amend the agreement, which could mean it comes back to Ann Arbor, and then the BOC must also approve the agreement (not the AOI before the agreement), and…

By: Richard Wickboldt

Richard Wickboldt — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:28:17 +0000

Except for four sane council members. The mayor and his council robots are putting all rational reason aside for a make believe mass transit system. What we will get is a Disney World transit system to show off the Land of Oz Emerald Green Belt. The mayor and his cabal are “leading” the county into a boondoggle which will have empty and underutilized buses prancing all over Washtenaw. They are so enamored with this farce that they gave away our majority vote to protect Ann Arbor’s interest and money. Additionally refusing to put in any triggers to stop this process. They have no idea what a mass transit system is and what makes it work. Like the most important key ingredient. A high density mass of people to supply a reasonable ridership. The vote profile last night surely will carry through this whole process. Now let’s hope us voters are more astute than the council and will vote this down when the time comes. I also hope the same voters start voting in new council members. I thank Steve and Mike on the council for their astuteness and rational thinking.

By: Tom Brandt

Tom Brandt — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:14:49 +0000

One of the purposes of Prop. A was to equalize somewhat school spending across the state, so that poor districts such as Ecorse or Kalkaska have roughly the same per student spending as affluent districts such as Ann Arbor or Bloomfield Hills. Prop. A may or may not be a fair way of accomplishing this, but that was the goal, a perfectly admirable one in my opinion. Why should students stuck in, say, River Rouge, which does not and never will have a sizable tax base, be denied the same opportunities as Bloomfield Hills or Ann Arbor students, merely because of location?

I don’t think the same argument extends to county-wide transportation, however. If outlying areas of the county don’t want to pay for transit, they shouldn’t get it. This will create hardships for lower-income residents, but there should be other ways of solving that problem. But I don’t know what they are.

By: A2person

A2person — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:07:26 +0000

oops, sorry

By: A2person

A2person — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:59:17 +0000

Since Proposal A was passed, only 30% of the taxes collected from Ann Arbor residents go to Ann Arbor schools. The rest go to schools outside our district. Google “proposal A ann arbor schools.” The biggest downside now is that even as a community that seriously values education, we are prohibited from passing general millages to increase school funding. The Tech Millage is allowed due to some exception, not sure of the details.