Stories indexed with the term ‘budget’

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board meeting (March 24, 2010): The transportation news out of this month’s AATA board meeting was that the twice-daily Chelsea-Ann Arbor express bus service will continue, despite low ridership. It will be moved in-house using AATA buses. The $125 monthly fare will be reduced to $99. Up to now, the pilot program has been operated by Indian Trails.

A representative from Indian Trails addressed the board during public commentary at the start of the meeting, in part to convey disappointment, but primarily to thank board members for the opportunity to work on that private-public partnership.

Public commentary also included remarks from Ted Annis, the board’s treasurer, who signed up for a public comment slot, and used it to deliver his treasurer’s report. The report had not been given a slot on the agenda by the board’s governance committee – after reviewing it, the committee decided it did not fit the parameters of the treasurer’s report specified in the board’s bylaws.

The wrangling over the treasurer’s report thus continued from last month’s board meeting, when fellow board members expressed the view that Annis’ monthly reports, which he has submitted since taking over the treasurership last fall, do not include the material specified in their bylaws. Instead, they said, the reports are effectively the expression of an individual board member’s dissent on board policy.

The board voted to establish a bylaws committee to be chaired by David Nacht to examine the matter in more detail.

Board members also voted to change their meeting venue and day, starting in two months. In May, the board will begin meeting at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library on the third Thursday evening of the month at 6:30 p.m. The library board room location, also used by the Ann Arbor Public Schools and AADL for their board meetings, offers more space for attendees, as well as video recording facilities. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (March 15, 2010): At their March meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board adopted a new strategic plan for the next five years – a process that’s been in the works for several months.

The board got a monthly update on the library’s finances, and were briefed on a $50,000 donation from the Friends of the AADL. They also heard a report on a project to digitally archive the program history of the University Musical Society – the first project of its kind in the world, according to AADL director Josie Parker. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (March 3, 2010): The DDA board approved its $25 million budget for 2010-11 on Wednesday, but just barely. Four dissenting voices, plus mayor John Hieftje’s absence from the meeting, meant that the budget received the bare minimum seven votes required for approval by the 12-member body.

Deliberations covered a range of issues. First, the budget needs to accommodate two major DDA capital projects: the underground parking garage currently under construction; and the Fifth Avenue and Division Street improvements, which are also underway.

Second, there’s a contingency written into the budget for $2 million. The contingency is there in case renegotiation of the parking agreement between the city and the DDA results in a continuation of the $2 million payments made by the DDA to the city for each of the last five years. Continuation of the payments is not legally required under terms of the current agreement, which assigns responsibility for administration of the city’s parking system to the DDA through 2015.

Third, the fund balances of the DDA – which reflect the DDA’s reserves – face a dramatic reduction. That’s an issue that city of Ann Arbor CFO Tom Crawford flagged back in the spring of 2009 during discussions about the construction of the underground parking garage. The concern caused the city council to scale back the size of the garage by 100 parking spaces.

And finally, decisions made by the DDA board over the last year have resulted in re-direction of revenues from two surface parking lots – 415 W. Washington and the old YMCA lot at Fifth and William – to the city of Ann Arbor. That has resulted in the elimination of line items for DDA programs for next year that were in this year’s budget.

Besides the budget, the board also discussed a number of other topics, including development of the Library Lot and results from two parking surveys. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Greenbelt Advisory Commission meeting (Dec. 9, 2009): During a relatively brief final meeting of 2009, members of the greenbelt advisory commission got reports on the program’s finances and its preservation activity for the last fiscal year.

Also discussed was a direct rebuff to the greenbelt program from Northfield Township’s supervisor, who wrote that the township wasn’t supportive of “an outside community exerting its influence on our community.”

Peg Kohring of The Conservation Fund, which manages the greenbelt program for the city, had approached the township on behalf of landowners who were interested in participating in the greenbelt.

Commissioners strategized over how to respond, and are forming a group to talk with township officials about their concerns. [Full Story]

Commissioners and county staff outnumbered members of the public at Thursday evening’s  special public hearing on the budget, which started at 6:00 p.m. At first it seemed unclear whether anyone would actually speak. It was dramatically different from previous board meetings, when constituents packed the room to lobby for funding.

“Oh, come on – somebody say something,” commissioner Conan Smith cajoled.

So somebody did.

Three teens involved in the county’s 4-H program – Ashley Thomas of Ypsilanti, and Shannon Bater and David Reynhout of Chelsea – came up to the podium and thanked commissioners for supporting 4-H. Five other people attended the public hearing, but didn’t speak. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting (Oct. 7, 2009): Several people arrived early for Wednesday night’s county board meeting, expecting to face the kinds of crowds who’ve packed the county boardroom at recent meetings to plead that funding not be cut for the programs they support as the county battles a projected $30 million deficit.

But seats were plentiful – a comparably light turnout that perhaps reflected two developments: 1) The county’s largest group of unionized workers ratified a deal on Tuesday, giving concessions in 2010 and 2011 that will save the county millions over that two-year period; and 2) an amendment to the proposed budget would restore some of the previously anticipated cuts to human services nonprofits.

The board also gave initial approval – with two commissioners dissenting and a third giving only partial support – to a tax for economic development efforts, which includes support for programs focused on local agriculture. They approved a tax to raise funds for indigent veterans services. And they got an update from Jennifer Watson, the county’s budget manager, who walked commissioners through the roughly three-pound preliminary budget book for 2010-2011. Details on all of this, plus environmental awards and a report from the Huron River Watershed Council, after the jump. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council meeting (Oct. 5, 2009): State Rep. Rebekah Warren (D-District 53) addressed the city council at the start of the meeting, bringing the council up to date on the state budget that had passed, but which she’d voted against. Over the next year, there will be $1.16 million less in  revenue sharing paid to the city of Ann Arbor, starting with an October check that will be around $200,000 less than last year. This outcome is on the optimistic end of the projected range provided to the city council several weeks ago by Tom Crawford, the city’s chief financial officer.

Before the public hearing began on the proposed new building design guidelines for downtown, Mayor John Hieftje indicated his and other councilmembers’ strong preference for a set of guidelines that were integrated into a required process as a part of a project review. So the several members of the public who spoke on the issue knew there was support on council for their view.

And University of Michigan student life was a part of the meeting in several ways – seen and unseen. The seen part included students who spoke against recent increased ordinance enforcement activity in the Hoover Street area on homecoming weekend. They announced a protest march.

The unseen part included an item stricken from the agenda that would have allowed the city to generate revenue from parking cars in Frisinger Park on home football Saturdays. And it included a closed session on a lawsuit stemming from the tasering of a UM student by Ann Arbor police in 2005. The incident arose out of the student’s arrest for having an open container of alcohol. A recent opinion from the U.S. District Court (Eastern Division) on a motion from the city for summary judgment found that the police officer was entitled to qualified immunity on the first application of the taser, but not on the second. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board meeting (Sept. 23, 2009): At its Wednesday afternoon meeting, the AATA board approved a recommendation from its planning and development committee to use $220,000 in  federal stimulus funds to maintain bus service to the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. It’s a temporary measure, with the expectation that by fall 2010, a longer-term funding mechanism will be found for Ypsi buses.

The board also approved a roughly $25 million budget for its 2010 fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2009 to Sept. 20, 2010. It was about $1 million more than board member Ted Annis wanted to see – he dissented both from the planning and development committee’s budget recommendation as well as from the board’s vote to adopt it.

The longer-term solution to funding Ypsi buses, as well as Annis’ dissent on the budget, were partly reflected in the physical surroundings of the AATA board room. Sometime in the last month, two framed posters have been hung on the wall there – one shows the proposed WALLY north-south rail route that extends through northern Washtenaw County into Livingston County, and the other is a map of Washtenaw County. Both show regions broader than the current AATA millage area.

It’s a voter-approved countywide millage that offers one possibility of funding Ypsilanti buses. And Annis contended at the board’s meeting that in order to sell voters on such a millage, the agency’s operating costs needed to be reduced from the $102 per service hour that the adopted budget reflects. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council meeting (Sept. 21, 2009): Ann Arbor’s city council approved both major development projects on its agenda, one of them enthusiastically, the other only reluctantly.

Although there was a smattering of opposition expressed to the Near North affordable housing development during the public hearing on the matter, the 39-unit project on North Main Street ultimately won the support of its closest neighbors. That support was reflected symbolically when developer Bill Godfrey and neighbor Tom Fitzsimmons stood side-by-side at the podium as they each addressed the council, which gave the project its unanimous approval.

The “matter of right” City Place project proposed for the block of South Fifth Avenue just south of William was also unanimously approved by the council, but councilmembers took turns criticizing both the project and the developer, Alex de Parry. The council had previously established a historic district study committee and enacted an associated moratorium on demolition and work in the area where the proposed project is located. Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) compared de Parry’s decision to bring the project forward despite the moratorium to “stamping feet, being upset you didn’t get what you wanted.”

Many members of the audience held yellow 8×11 paper signs calling on councilmembers to support a resolution that would have released council emails sent during their meetings dating back to 2002. However, council rejected that resolution except for a resolved clause that would in the future provide the public with copies of electronic communications among councilmembers during its meetings – by appending them to the official minutes of the meeting that are eventually posted on the city’s website.

The council also put looming financial issues on the radar by passing a resolution that opposes a recent Michigan budget proposal that would cut state shared revenues to the city of Ann Arbor by about $1.2 million. At the council’s budget and labor committee meeting that was held Monday – before the regular council meeting – Tom Crawford, the city’s chief financial officer, floated some possible ideas for meeting that shortfall. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (July 20, 2009): The board’s annual meeting unfolded with a light agenda, including the re-election of officers and some reflections on the past year by board president Rebecca Head.

Josie Parker, AADL’s director, gave an update on how the state budget crisis could affect the Ann Arbor library – the negative impact lies more in  services rather than in funding. The board also set its meeting agenda for the coming year – and unlike some boards, such as the University of Michigan regents, the AADL trustees don’t take off the month of August.

We’ll begin with Parker’s report on the potential impact of state funding decisions. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting (July 8, 2009): In large part because the board has adopted a once-a-month summer meeting schedule, the agenda was full for Wednesday’s meeting. Commissioners asked – in some cases, grilled – the county treasurer about a proposed land bank project, which the board ultimately approved.

They also acted on several budget-related items, including 1) setting a public hearing for a proposed economic development tax, 2) passing the first phase of administrator Bob Guenzel’s recommendations to address a projected $26 million deficit, and 3) briefly discussing a proposal for changing the funding process for some nonprofits. Several leaders from the local arts community also turned out for a presentation on a countywide cultural plan.

But a large portion of the meeting was devoted to deliberations on the land bank, and that’s where we’ll begin our coverage. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners administrative briefing (May 27, 2009): At Wednesday’s briefing, commissioners heard more details about the county administration’s plan to cut expenses – a plan that will be formally introduced at the board’s June 3 meeting. Also, commissioners appeared to reach consensus on a proposal to cut their own expenses for 2010 and 2011. And a proposed economic development millage was taken off the June 3 agenda.

County administrator Bob Guenzel has proposed that the county’s nearly 300 non-union employees receive pay cuts of 3% and 2% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In addition, two previously scheduled 1.5% raises in 2010 would be rescinded, and all pay-for-performance incentives would be canceled for 2009 through 2011. Health insurance benefits would also be affected – changes include instituting a $50 medical premium sharing per month, beginning in January 2011.

Guenzel told commissioners that these steps, which require board approval, would save the county roughly $2.3 million. The cuts are part of a broader effort to deal with a projected $26 million deficit over the next two years.  [Full Story]

Local governments are one step closer to knowing the impact of a tax appeal that Pfizer is pursuing – and while the news isn’t great, it could have been worse.

Last year, Pfizer contested the assessed value that the city of Ann Arbor set for the drugmaker’s former research campus here. Pfizer, which closed its massive local R&D operation last year, argued that its Ann Arbor properties should be given a dramatically lower assessment – less than half of the value assigned by the city for 2008 and 2009.

A settlement reached earlier this month between Pfizer and the city of Ann Arbor is a compromise that’s now being reviewed by the Michigan Tax Tribunal. It lowers Pfizer’s assessment for 2008 and 2009, but not by as much as Pfizer requested. If approved, it will represent a total loss of roughly $10 million in tax revenues over the tw0-year period for all local entities that received taxes from Pfizer, including the city, Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Washtenaw Community College and the Ann Arbor District Library. The tribunal is expected to make a ruling in the next few weeks, and is expected to approve the deal. [Full Story]

The handful of business people who attended a Washtenaw County budget forum on Tuesday morning stressed the importance of local investment, and heard a preview of areas targeted for cuts as the county grapples with falling revenues and a potential $26 million deficit over the two-year period beginning in 2010.

County administrator Bob Guenzel gave the small group, which also included several elected officials and department directors, a preview of budget recommendations that will be released later this week and formally presented to the board of commissioners at their June 3 meeting. Though he didn’t provide details Tuesday morning, he said the recommendations will include layoffs and a change in compensation for non-union employees. Meanwhile, union leaders from 17 different bargaining units are being asked to renegotiate contracts in talks that will continue through July. The county employs about 1,300 people – roughly 80% are union employees.

Guenzel outlined four general areas identified to close the $26 million budget deficit: 1) revenue generation, $3 million to $5 million; 2) department reductions, $7 million to $10 million; 3) employee compensation and benefits, $12 million to $14 million, and 4) structural changes, $3 million to $7 million.

He also laid out a wide range of possible cuts, including selling county-owned facilities – he noted that the Zeeb Road building was only half occupied, for example – and even the possibility of not opening the jail expansion when it’s completed in 2010. That expansion, which would provide an additional 112 beds, would cost at least $1 million extra per year to staff. He said that though governments in general are good at finding one-time solutions, “what we need going forward is primarily structural savings.”

Guenzel cited the Wall Street Journal in characterizing the economic crisis as the worst since the 1930s, with no end yet in sight. He said that though this area had the lowest unemployment rate in the state, the magnitude of the problem was dire. “We haven’t hit bottom,” he said. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (May 20, 2009): Commissioners failed to reach consensus on two different attempts to cut their own line-item expenses in the 2010-11 budget, and though action was tabled until July, it’s likely commissioners will have another go at cuts at their June 3 meeting.

At the board’s Wednesday meeting, Conan Smith – who chairs the Ways & Means Committee,  which discussed the resolutions – noted that this was the first of what will be numerous attempts to deal with the 2010-11 budget, and would set the stage for future discussions. The county faces a projected $26 million deficit over the next two years, and plans to make cuts in light of a decline in tax revenues. The administration is expected to bring a general fund budget proposal to the table at the board’s June 3, 2009 meeting. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting (May 18, 2009): Ann Arbor’s city council approved the budget for fiscal year 2010 at its Monday meeting, spending little time discussing a separate resolution key to that budget, which approved an early-retirement inducement for police officers involving a one-time payment of around $6 million – depending on how many officers take advantage of the incentive.

The fact of the lengthy discussion over much smaller items was acknowledged around the council table, with councilmember Sandi Smith (Ward 1) making a note of it when she made an unsuccessful bid to eliminate or delay the introduction of parking meters into near-downtown residential neighborhoods. Smith was comparing the relatively short discussion of parking meters (involving potential additional revenues of $380,000) to the previous deliberations on Project Grow’s funding. And in the course of the more than 45-minute deliberations on Project Grow’s $7,000 grant, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) noted: “The least expensive ones are the ones we fight the hardest over.” Briere lost her fight for the community gardening nonprofit.

The approved budget did include amendments to allocate funds for the Leslie Science and Nature Center. Also related to the budget, the two resolutions to approve fee adjustments for the community services and public services areas were approved with no deliberations by council, leaving the issues raised at the previous night’s caucus by the chair of the market commission undiscussed publicly.

In other budget business, city council passed a resolution to create a taskforce to study options for the Ann Arbor Senior Center, which is slated for closure under the FY 2011 budget plan (i.e., not the budget approved by council at this meeting).

Council also approved an extension to the purchase-option agreement with Village Green for the First and Washington parcel, gave final approval to a completely new liquor ordinance, approved increased water/sewer rates, approved grant applications for multiple properties under the greenbelt program, and asked planning commission to review the C3 zoning regulations regarding the kind of temporary outdoor sales conducted in previous years at the Westgate farmers market.

The funding of the north-south connector study was again postponed, pending coordination with the Downtown Development Authority. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (May 18, 2009): A new budget, a new agreement with the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, an upcoming documentary on the building of the Traverwood branch and a broken freight elevator were all items of discussion at Monday’s AADL board meeting. As discussed at their April meeting, the board voted to lower the tax rate that the library levies, citing the struggling economy and a desire to keep taxes as low as possible. Economic conditions were also the reason for keeping AADL director Josie Parker’s salary unchanged, though the board commended her performance as part of her annual review. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners administrative briefing (May 13, 2009): Commissioners attending Wednesday’s meeting were briefed on several items coming up on their May 20 agenda, including some related to Head Start funding, community development and approval of the county’s operating millage, which will remain unchanged from the current year. But for much of the hour-long briefing, they discussed a resolution proposing cuts to the $600,000 allotted annually for commissioners  – a resolution that stands a good chance of being amended, tabled or withdrawn from the agenda completely. [Full Story]

At Monday night’s city council work session, councilmembers heard news from their Lansing lobbying team that had a $260,000 negative impact on the Ann Arbor city budget for FY 2010, which they are expected to adopt next Monday, May 18. The quarter-million dollar shortfall against the city’s own budget planning estimates for state shared revenue led to discussion of the possibility of accelerating an already-planned reduction in the number of Ann Arbor firefighters. A reduction of 14 positions in the fire department could be implemented in early 2010, instead of sometime during FY 2011, which was originally planned.

At the work session, city administrator Roger Fraser and the city’s chief financial officer, Tom Crawford, indicated that their preferred strategy was not to build any firefighter layoffs into the FY 2010 budget – they wanted to see if they could squeeze the $260,000 out of the budget in the course the first part of the FY 2010, which for the city begins July 2009. There’s uncertainty still, said Fraser, about how many police officers will take advantage of the early retirement offer – a move the city is making to avoid laying off 27 officers for FY 2010. Officers have until mid-June to make a decision. That uncertainty factors into decisions on the FY 2010 budget that council will make on  May 18.

Councilmembers took turns calling city staff to the podium to clarify questions on other topics of interest. That included parking meters – their possible installation in residential areas, as well as the feasibility of maintaining current levels of ticket revenues without as many community standards enforcement officers dedicated specifically to ticketing. Other topics included the Local Development Finance Authority (questions about angels), historic district consultant (likely to be cut in FY 2010, instead of waiting until FY 2011), Project Grow (fund balance seen as too high) and the civic band (has not requested funding). The East Stadium bridges question came up, too (no money from state, but possibly from feds).

No formal decisions were made at the work session. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting, Part I (May 4, 2009): Despite assurances from Mayor John Hieftje that he’d be surprised if Mack pool and Leslie Science Center weren’t funded, city council heard from several advocates of those facilities Monday night, along with supporters of Project Grow and the senior center.

Audible through the expressions of support for programs facing cuts was also a call for the council to focus attention on bigger ticket items. One of those bigger ticket items was a mediator-mandated agreement with the Ann Arbor Police Officers Association union, which council was constrained by state law to approve – an agreement that will cost the city about $650,000 more than it had anticipated. Another was approval of the early retirement option for police officers as a part of the employees retirement system, which the city is offering instead of mandatory layoffs.

Still another big ticket item surfaced in the form of the approval of an application for funding of the East Stadium bridge reconstruction – though it’s likely to be paid by federal tax dollars. The bridge fit into the general theme of transportation at the meeting, which showed up in the form of an agenda item authorizing a study for a north-south intra-city connector (which was postponed), as well as a lengthy discussion on the Ann Arbor transportation plan update, which was ultimately adopted, despite some sentiment for postponing it. [These items are reported in detail in Part II of our meeting coverage here.]

In other business, council approved two agreements with the public schools for operation of recreation facilities, gave initial approval to a revamped liquor licensing code for the city, and approved an amendment to the partnership agreement between the city and the Leslie Science and Nature Center. [This last accounts for the last word in the headline.] [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting, Part II (May 4, 2009): This article continues coverage begun here. [Full Story]

David Behen, one of Washtenaw County’s two deputy county administrators, has resigned and will leave his job at the end of May. Washtenaw County commissioners and department heads were informed of the decision in an email sent Thursday morning from county administrator Bob Guenzel. In that email, Guenzel stated that he does not plan to fill the position after Behen’s departure.

The county is struggling to balance its budget in the wake of declining revenues and a projected $26 million deficit over the next two years. Behen’s salary is $144,000 – the total compensation for that position, including benefits, is roughly $200,000.

Behen told The Chronicle that it was his decision to leave and that he has other opportunities. “Maybe by me leaving, I save someone else’s job,” he said. He said he’s been contemplating the decision for a while. [Full Story]

Downtown Development Authority board meeting (May 6, 2009): At its regular Wednesday meeting, the DDA board passed a resolution expressing skepticism about a new city plan aimed to generate an additional $380,000 in parking revenue. The plan, which was introduced to the board by Mike Bergren and Pat Cawley of the city, would achieve the additional revenue by installing more parking meters in residential areas adjoining downtown.

The resolution was amended in a way that, for the time being, headed off a direct confrontation between the DDA and the city over control of DDA dollars.

Another theme running through multiple parts of the meeting – including a discussion among interested parties afterward – was the issue of access to data, and the use of technology to share information.

In other business, the board heard a presentation on a city pilot plan to install automated trash cans in the downtown area, plus heard the usual reports from its subcommittees, including one from the operations committee that portrayed the DDA’s finances still in good order, despite the gloomy economy. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners administrative briefing (April 29, 2009): A light agenda for next Wednesday’s board meeting meant a short briefing this week, with some non-agenda discussion related to outreach during the budget process.

Commissioners Conan Smith and Kristin Judge – chair and co-chair, respectively, of the board’s Ways & Means Committee – presented an outline of public forums and other outreach that the county will do in the coming weeks, as the administration and board prepare to tackle an anticipated $26 million deficit over the next two years. Three forums have been scheduled so far, with others in the works. The outreach includes the possibility of contacting local blogs, such as Arbor Update, to help get the word out about the budget process, Judge said. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (April 27, 2009): The proposed 2009-10 budget for the Ann Arbor District Library would lower the tax rate that the library levies – a decision that’s in response to the stressed economy, board members said during their monthly meeting on Monday. The board will vote on the budget at its May 18 meeting.

The budget proposes levying 1.55 mills for the fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2009. Currently, the library levies 1.92 mills. (One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s state equalized value, or SEV.) The library projects its fund balance will be $6.6 million at the end of this fiscal year (June 30, 2009) and that it will remain at that level next year – at about 52% of AADL’s $12.7 million operating budget.

Prue Rosenthal, the board’s treasurer, characterized the budget as “very conservative,” citing the economy and a concern for keeping taxes as low as possible while maintaining the library’s services. That means the library won’t be putting money into its capital building fund or fund balance, she said, “but we all believe that is the appropriate and right thing to do.” [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting (April 20, 2009): At its Monday night meeting, Ann Arbor city councilmembers approved around $1.3 million in human services funding (after a “red-ribbon” presentation during public commentary on that subject).

They also heard the 2008 annual report from the chair of the local development finance authority (who was closely questioned by councilmember Marcia Higgins), allowed Tios an early exit to its lease, accommodated the University of Michigan’s request for a lane closure in connection with the football stadium renovation, and rejected the planning commission’s adopted downtown plan (which was expected) – which bumps the final decision on A2D2 zoning to early July.

During public commentary, council again heard support for  public art, a critique of the proposed early-out option for police officers as a part of the proposed budget, a suggestion to remove the East Stadium bridge, as well as Jim Mogensen’s “red ribbon” presentation.

Roger Fraser also gave the official presentation of the city’s budget, which had been presented twice previously last week – at a working session and also at a town hall meeting. [Full Story]

A little less than a week after hearing a presentation from city administrator Roger Fraser on his recommended budget for fiscal year 2010 and a plan for 2011, mayor pro tem Marcia Higgins canceled council’s regularly scheduled Sunday night caucus (April 19). No explanation was provided on the city’s website for the cancellation, which was posted on Friday. At least one citizen was alerted to the canceled meeting by reading a sign on city hall’s door at 7 p.m. Sunday evening.

Council must act to amend the recommended budget by its second meeting in May – or the administrator’s recommended budget is automatically adopted, a provision of Ann Arbor’s city charter. There are thus possibly two more caucus meetings before council makes its decision on the recommended budget, which contains a number of proposed cuts.

One of the possible functions of council’s caucus is to assemble “caucus questions” – questions from council to city staff about issues they are going to be considering. Some council members have contended that electronic mail is a far more efficient method of communication, and that caucus is not an efficient use of their time.

Recognizing  that the work that would otherwise be accomplished at caucus can achieved via electronic mail, The Chronicle asked all councilmembers and the mayor to forward their caucus questions to us, in an effort to move the more mundane and tedious work of council more squarely into public view. We report below the responses we received, plus the questions The Chronicle has identified in connection with the city’s budget – some of which have already been answered. [Full Story]

In CTN studios on Tuesday night, the rain was  falling audibly on the roof as the city administrator for Ann Arbor, Roger Fraser,  used a town hall meeting format to present to the public his recommended budget for fiscal year 2010.

It included a plan for 2011, as well as the overall economic context for the budget. The presentation was essentially the same one he’d given to city council the previous evening, with the key difference being that he fielded questions from the public, instead of city councilmembers – several of whom were also on hand.

Fraser, accompanied also by Mayor John Hieftje,  responded to a flood of questions ranging from the strictly clarificational (Why is there a significant increase in the city clerk’s budget from 2010 to 2011?), to requests for Fraser to talk about what the city was doing to curb costs in specific areas (Have you considered changing the city’s health care provider?), to criticism of particular cuts (This town can’t support a senior center?). [Full Story]

No decisions about budget cuts were made at Saturday’s retreat of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners – since organizing it a few weeks ago, they’ve said all along that wasn’t the purpose. Rather, the group of 11 commissioners spent three hours talking through their priorities for the county, a discussion that some commissioners hope will lay a foundation for where to cut expenses as the county deals with a projected $26 million deficit in 2010-11.

The half-day retreat at Rolling Hills County Park was also attended by other elected officials – including sheriff Jerry Clayton, water resources commissioner Janis Bobrin and county prosecutor Brian Mackie – as well as leaders of a few of the 17 unions representing county employees, some county staff and the media. Though some of these people commented during the meeting, for the most part the event was focused on commissioners sharing their thoughts about refining county priorities. The discussion was led by Scot Graden, superintendent of Saline Area Schools and a lifelong Washtenaw County resident.

One piece of news did emerge: county administrator Bob Guenzel, in response to a query from commissioner Wes Prater, said the 2009 equalization report had just been completed and showed that the county’s taxable value was down less than expected. They’d projected a drop of 3%, but the decline in taxable value came in at 2.29%. Though they’d make some adjustments, Guenzel said, “2009 is not our problem.”

Board chair Rolland Sizemore Jr. kicked off the retreat with, “Let’s get it on so I can go home and wash windows.” [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Administrative Briefing (April 8, 2009): Hefty funding from the federal stimulus package means as many as 1,000 local youth will get summer jobs and hundreds of adults will get job training and employment services, county commissioners were told at their Wednesday administrative briefing. Of the $3.6 million awarded to Washtenaw County, $1.95 million will be used to fund jobs for low-income youth between the ages of 14 to 24. The county now needs to find employers with suitable job openings, said Verna McDaniel, deputy county administrator.

Commissioners also discussed their plan for this Saturday’s retreat, which will focus on setting budget priorities. [Full Story]