ypsi~dixit

Both Brian and Steve are probably wondering at this point if an endorsement from Ypsidixit is all it's cracked up to be.

Ah well. I respect, admire, and like both these gentlemen, and if that's expressed in a manner that's a li'l quirky, well, that's just the way it is.

Heh. Ypsidixit's township yard has a new dandelion.

No less an estimable person than Mr. Robb just stopped by in person to chat at length and with encyclopedic knowledge about the issues Ypsi faces. We had a good long talk on the porch. Mr. Robb discussed the financial problems facing the city with the expertise that only someone who'd attended numberless council meetings could summon up. He is a thoughtful and sensible man.

He's also a good person, whom I admire. He has the best interests of Ypsi at heart and has demonstrated committment to the city by his participation in many neighborhood associations and projects.

You already know I'm also privileged to call him a friend, but I'm not endorsing him for that reason. I have plenty of friends whom I care very much for whom I would not endorse, just because I don't think the position would fit their particular talents. But I think Mr. Robb would serve Ypsi well. He's a good man with a good head on his shoulders.

So now I have his sign in my yard and my neighbors probably think I'm even more of a crackpot than previously, because a townshipper can't vote for city council. Ah well. I don't care. Y. supports Mr. Robb, as we cruise towards the August election.

Let's examine his platform. The five bulleted points on his brochure (I got a brochure, too) are:

1. Effectively reduce spending, but preserve the core City functions of police, fire, DPW, and parks without laying the burden on taxpayers who are already paying more than their fair share.

2. Restore trust by making transparency in government a priority.

3. Preserve public transportation as it is a catalyst for economic and social opportunities that make cities more efficient and productive.

4. Strengthen the quality of life and the economic vitality of Ypsilanti by fostering an environment that encourages locally owned businesses.*

5. Improve the use of technology in government as a means of reducing costs, increasing the sharing of information, and marketing the City's image.**

*Y. has heard over and over that the city makes it difficult for local businesses to open, contrasted to those in the Township.

**City Council still records meetings with cassette tapes. How 1950s. Mr. Robb has proposed using current technology to put podcasts of city meetings online instantly, thus freeing up city clerk time in onerous transcription. Voice-recognition software could be used to create transcripts of council meetings for posting on the website. It would be a great increase in efficiency. Mr. Robb has the right idea.

Biran Robb: He's certainly in the know about what we're facing here. The last thing Ypsi needs right now is a rubber stamp committee ready to jump into the latest fad (i.e. city income taxes). Mr. Robb, as well as Mr. Pierce are adamantly opposed to such a fad-tax as they see how it would destroy the already injured housing market. I'm not about to see twenty years of sweat equity go down the river. Make sure that your choice of candidate is square about how they feel toward revenue enhancement before you cast your ballot.

Brian is indeed in the know. One of the most thoughtful persons I know. A lot more thoughtful that the flighty Ypsidixit.

The income tax proposal is not only ill-advised, but wildly unpopular from what I've heard. Anyone proposing it is way out of touch with the will of the average person in the city.

Robb pays attention, and he's smart. He has an insightful piece about Water Street posted on his blog right now! This is the type of analysis we need from city leaders.
http://www.east-cross.com/home.html

this mama has very little time to brush her own hair let alone study all political candidates. but i must say, brian robb has a good face that seems real as opposed to charismatic. this i like. and while i know it's dangerous to vote for politicians based on my personal vibe from their facial/body movements, it's a start. a good face leads me to at least check them out a little further.
and the whole city income tax thing is just bad,bad,bad.

Read Robb's election website here.

Brian currently leads our Historic East Side Neighborhood Association, as president of the board. He has created our own website as well as published our newspaper with the help of Kate his esteemed partner. Brian Robb is a problem solver that is indeed well versed in our city's current status by his faithful attendance at all those boring meetings.

I have many friends and neighbors running in this primary, all good people, but Brian Robb has my vote. It is past time for some new thinking on this council.

Yes, he's been going down to council meetings for two years now, I believe.

"*Y. has heard over and over that the city makes it difficult for local businesses to open, contrasted to those in the Township."

-what policies/conditions in particular are cited? Just curious.

Also, I've been wondering what a realistic alternative to the income tax is, given the legal constraints Michigan municipalities face (i.e. no local sales tax, Headlee, Prop A). Especially if, say, preserving various services, transit subsidies, etc are a priority. I guess I have yet to hear any realistic alternatives... other than receivership.

Rather than speak for others, I would encourage B to strike up a chat with Michigan Ave. businesspeople.

As for the second question, B would do well to scrutinize the proposed budget cuts. It should become apparent that some vital community services are being cut before other, less-vital items.

B thinks Michigan Avenue's main business problems are a street that isn't conducive to a pleasant pedestrian environment, many businesses that are obsolete/overrepresented in town (hats? hair-braiding? bizarre antiques/coffee place that isn't open? when is Bowerbird Mongo open? What was with that EKletic place... indoor garage sale? rocks and minerals?), larger-scale demographic and consumer trends, and, generally, a lack of a critical mass of key activity-generating uses. Especially during the daytime. Meanwhile, Bombadill's seems to be doing quite well. Perhaps with more residents moving in with Water Street and above-shop lofts, some of this will be alleviated.

Depot Town seems to be doing quite well even though it's in the city limits. West Cross seems to have some key built-form problems as well, but the City seems to be working to gradually improve that... the on-street parking seemed a good start. Certain Libertarian, uh, businesses and property owners might have some things to say, such as 'Get US out of UN!', but they don't like any government regulation. Other than enforcing codes, which seem to be pretty standard building, zoning, and historic district regs compared to most municipalities, I have a rough time believing that government is the main reason that it's tough to do business on Michigan Ave at the moment. I figure the abortion signs aren't helping, either...

In regard to part 2, B also wonders, with city staffing reaching rather silly levels in many departments, a parks/recreation department that is basically run by volunteers, and a mass exodus of experienced staff already, what would be good areas to cut more from, in your opinion? Police, fire, building, planning, public works?

The main complaints I've heard from business owners on Michigan Avenue don't involve pedestrian access, but vehicular maneuvering among one way streets and along Michigan avenue itself, with its lack of turning lanes (or permitted turns, due to the one-way streets). These and other problems have resulted from what they believe were misspent funds on the part of the DDA to "Prettify" the area, at the expense of making it usable, walkable, and drivable.

The local government has also given large tax incentives to out-of-town or out-of-state developers, while offering no incentives to local small business owners. The rents along Michigan Avenue are absurd, which is the fault mainly of landlords engaging in price-gouging, but could be moderated by caps established by the city. Finally, some basic zoning laws are not always enforced, while others (the parking lot of the French's brewing company comes to mind) are needlessly followed to the letter of the law at the expense of any new development.

These are the basics, as they've been related to me.

Finally, I would like to add that I personally have as much concern when people endorse the Income Tax, as I do when others dismiss it out of hand. A fair, graduated income tax with a bottom-end cutoff so that it wouldn't affect the poorest citizens seems like a wonderful solution to our budget shortfall, but a flat income tax that would be a hardship for many in the city seems like a rather myopic solution.

If you're against it, you should be explaining specifically where the money will come from, and which things CAN be cut in our budget. If you're for it, you need to explain what exactly "it" is, how it will be implemented, what the rates will be, and also what the cost to the city will be for staff to enforce and process the tax. I'm all for it, in theory, but that would quickly change if it seems likely to be unfairly administered.

Brett: good summary of Mich. Ave. problems; that's what I've heard too.

I might add that the previously proposed flat income tax with a rollback of the millage for property owners will further disadvantage low income tenants who won't benefit from the rollback.

I certainly like Brian Robb and plan on voting for him. I think he is way more committed to our city than most people I know. He also strikes me as being the sort to be especially receptive to hearing concerns from people in the neighborhood.

Ingrid, I agree, and that's exactly what I was thinking of from previous proposals that made me think the income tax could go horribly awry.

...and while I'm here...

In conjunction with Ingrid's comment, and what I've already said on the matter, it hasn't escaped my notice that the only people I've heard protesting the income tax are middle- or upper-class property owners, who are the ones who could most afford it.

Discuss.

Brett, my understanding of the way the income tax would work is that it would provide certain types of deductions, credits, or setoffs (I'm not sure what label to use) for most who fall into the middle or upper class property owners. I can't remember the figure, but the actual cost that was cited to me by someone on City Council was very, very low and hardly objectionable.

It will cost non-property owners more, though, which is one of the basic inequities that cause me to disfavor it.

A primary concern I have is the impact on the district. Some of our teachers and staff work in the city, some don't. This creates inequity in the pay they receive, and I have already heard rumblings from union members that the district will have to equalize the inequity or we will have contract problems next time around. I don't think it is appropriate for the city to take away any amount of education dollars for any reason -- this money is intended for our kids, and by extension those that are paid to serve our kids -- not for the city.

And for every child that doesn't move her or leaves because of the income tax, the district will lose $7500 per year.

I also disfavor it for the obvious reasons. It won't solve our fiscal problems, only put the off for a few years. It will embolden Lansing that if they continue to neglect our state's structural deficit, localities will take care of the problem, which is essentially us endorsing their neglect. It will to a degree make Ypsi a less attractive place to move to, work in or open a business in. In this economy, we need to maximize our attractiveness to outsiders, not minimize it, seems to me.

Goodness gracious, sorry for the typos !

Trusty Getto,

As I said, the existing plans I've heard about an income tax don't seem fairly distributed, and the credits Ingrid and you mentioned for property owners are a perfect example of this.

From what I've read, Michigan is very far from being the state with the highest tax rates, and so I don't feel that an additional, intelligently formed income tax here in Ypsilanti would be quite the hardship some believe it would be. Yes, I agree that it might 'send a message' to Lansing that we can take care of ourselves, but Lansing's in a pickle as well, due to reduced federal aid, and probably has similar concerns, and the federal government in the meanwhile is spending half of its budget on killing people. There's widespread systemic errors in the way money is allocated and wealth is distributed, with a city like ypsilanti being somewhere near the bottom of the ladder.

So, I guess one additional thing I would say needs to be done above and beyond everything else, is for our city government to become more of an -for lack of a better word- 'activist' when it comes to regional and national economics; When I attended one of the town hall meetings about going into recievership, my feeling afterwards was that some saturday, ypsi needs to allocate school buses, and send a couple hundred protesters up to lansing to raise awareness (and, more specifically, embarass some politicians into action).

Back to the income tax, as I said, middle class property owners and above seem the most opposed, and in many (or most) cases, I'd argue that union members tend to be in the former category. I think it's a bit strange that the local city services unions would be against a tax that might improve their job security, but otherwise I regard the reaction you mentioned as to be expected. Keep in mind, also, that one of the goals of an income tax is to get money from those who work in ypsi but don't live here (at emu, for example) and who put wear on our infrastructure without pitching in to maintain it, which I think is reasonable. If that makes some people quit their jobs and go elsewhere for work, then I can't help but think it's a good thing, as it means more jobs for actual ypsilantians would then become available.

I don't understand what anyone plans to do about our budget, short of a) an income tax b) actually getting a headlee rollback or something similar or c) cutting our budget- which the actual list of 'cuttable' things is still very vaguely defined, and so when I keep hearing the voice of George Bush senior's "Read my lips- No new Taxes," I can't help but feel that it's a myopic view, or else possibly an outright lie.

...and since I haven't actually said anything about Brian Robb, to whom this thread is dedicated, let me add that I can't vote for him, as he's not in my ward, but that I do think especially his desire for transparency in guv'ment as well as upping the technology in city hall are both worthy goals.

That having been said, I'm not sure, as 'just' a city council member, if he'd be in a good position to implement them, and I would be much happier to see him hired as, say, the city manager.

Brett: The points you raise are, as always, apropos. I think any tax that would be an actual fix would be a much easier sell to the public, but it's hard to favor a tax that will create a degree of inequity, will impair already problematic public relations, yet not really address the underlying problem.

I'm not a "no new taxes person" so much as I'm a "let's not think throwing money at our problems will solve them." If the structural deficit at the state level continues, then we need to solve the problem, not put a band-aid on it. I think we need creative solutions that don't have the effect of merely creating a different set of problems that then need solutions of their own.

Back to Brian -- I like his transparency, I like his thoughtfulness, I like his interest in bringing the community into the process before big decisions are made, and I think he is the right guy for the job. I'll be voting for him, that's for sure.

Greetings, We are responding to a blog from July 12th that asked when is BOWERBIRD MONGO at 210 Michigan Ave open? We are open Friday and Saturday evenings from 5pm until at least 8pm (usually later). We also open by appointment. Why the wierd hours? We both work fulltime jobs and are just getting this store thing rolling! We will continue to hunt high and low for antiques and cool old stuff as long as you keep coming to see us. WE WILL HAVE EXTENDED HOURS DURING HERITAGE FESTIVAL WEEKEND:FRIDAY, SATURDAY, & SUNDAY. Thanks to all the GREAT local folks who have supported us tiny business owners TRYING to help turn Ypsilanti back around in our own small way (opening a store in a vacant storefront). With Best Reghards, Ward & Joyce

Ward & Joyce: Thank you for visiting and commenting. I look forward to visiting Bowerbird Mongo. Would you kindly please tell us more about your store? What cool items might I find there? Ypsidixit has a hankering for antiques, and so hopes to find some treasures there.

Brett has commented that the city has given incentives to outside developers (in one instance to address brownfield remediation) while offering nothing to local business owners. During this campaign, of course, you will hear no mention by Karen & Eric Maurer of the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Exemption that city and DDA staff researched, prepared and shepherded through to approval that yielded an 8-year tax break for their development of 200 W Michigan. Together with Stewart Beal, they were challenged to create a bankable deal for this redevelopment. With the property tax reduction (passed by City Council on April 20, 2004) they were able to make the numbers work to close on financing with the bankers.

But you won't hear a whisper of this during the campaign. (Apparently it is considered "off message" by certain candidates.)

I believe that the simple fact this required a lengthly process of city and DDA staff researching and preparing and approving what sounds like a fairly complex tax break for a single property, pretty much proves my point.

There needs to be a simple tax incentive for all new local businesses in all locations, and it needs to be publicized, and easy to implement. As I've said before, I also don't see things getting better without some systems of rent caps.

If I'm correct about the specific brownfield remediation you're referencing, I don't recall that even being an issue in the decision process until after the fact, and since then it's been repeated by the mayor and others as the the primary reason for the development, which I don't personally believe to be true.

Tax incentives (i.e., abatements) are available only as authorized by state law. There are TIF (tax increment finance) districts that may be used for DDAs, brownfields, LDFAs (such as the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Smartzone) and then outright tax abatements authorized for industrial properties, personal property (such as what Pittsfield and Ann Arbor townships are rushing to enable for Google) or a variant of the brownfield legislation, the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Exemption. Remember, these all have to be approved by the state which is why the process is cumbersome and complicated. The City cannot simply itself deem to reduce the assessment of individual property taxes to the best of my knowledge. Maybe we should ask Murph to comment on this discussion...maybe he'll want to wait until after Thursday.