Comments:

Ypsidixit - 2007-09-28 01:15:17
The panel began with short statements on their respective positions.

Pete Murdock outlined his background and said that in his experience, in general govermental tax policy was "don't tax me, don't tax thee, but tax the people behind the tree." He said EMU students were the people behind the tree. He said he thought the city felt that students didn't pay their fair share of city services. He said a tax was a bad deal for the city as a whole.

Alli Sheppard said students don't want the extra burden of a tax. She pointed out that since voter registration records were used to determine residence in the city, registering to vote in Ypsi was making those who registered here vulnerable to a possible tax, whereas resident students who don't register would not be vulnerable to a tax since the city would lack that student's residence info. She said this put a chilling effect on students' willingness to register to vote, and to vote.

Chris Bylone said he was divided on the tax. He said grad student instructors get $7,770 a year, of which 1% (the proposed tax) would be $77.70. He said that didn't seem like much to some, but to him, and other poor students, it might mean the difference between buying a gallon of milk or not. He said EMU already has student retention problems and that a tax might turn prospective students away.

Paul Schreiber said he agreed with putting students first. He said if the tax doesn't pass the city may be forced to cut 6 police and 6 firefighters, and stop paying for bus service. He said the city's already trimmed its administrators from 30 to 21 and police [officers or office staff?-not sure] from 58 to 51. He said EMU is "one of our shining jewels."

Greg Jones said the Student Senate would be voting on whether it would support the tax next week and that as their rep., he couldn't express an opinion till then. He said if prospective students are considering EMU, Western, and Central universities, a tax here might drive students away. He also recognized that cuts in services might also make the city less attractive for prospective students.

Cheryl Farmer said that the general fund has been dwindling "due to factors beyond our control." She pointed out the importance of things like building inspections, citing the sewage problem incident at Highland Apartments and an apartment complex in AA that lacked heat and electricity. She said because EMU has the tallest buildings in Ypsilanti, the city was forced to buy a truck with a specially long aerial ladder, yet the city is reimbursed, by the state, for only 1/3 of the funds it spends to give city services to EMU. She said penisons, IRAs, and Social Security payments would not be taxed. She said the tax, said to patch things up till 2012, should carry the city into a rosier state economic climate. "By that time, the whole statewide picture should be better." She said Ypsi has passed millages for libraries and roads, and that this tax was a similar move to protect something valuable in the city.

After each panelist made their statement, a question period started.

Question: about the 2 mil property tax rollback, to be put into effect with the income tax. Mayor Schreiber said that the council had decided that property owners needed relief and that council had passed an ordinance to give a 2 mil rollback.

Question: what do students contribute to the community. Ms. Sheppard said students contribute many service projects, energy, and spirit. She said she makes choices to go places and buy things within Ypsi. Chris B. said that because the Eagle ID card contained many discounts for local businesses, it helped contribute funds to those businesses. Mayor Schreiber said students contribute a lot. he said that the city has taken steps to involve EMU and cited as an example that a seat on the Depot Town DDA had been held (but was now vacated) by an EMU administrator.

Question: what's an alternative to the tax? Pete Murdock said it wasn't his group's responsibility to come up with an alternative, but to highlight the flaws in the tax plan, which he characterized as just "kicking the can down the road" without really solving anything. Mayor Schreiber said the tax would lift Ypsi from among the lowest-revenue cities to the middle, on average. He said, "It's not a good solution but it's the best one at our disposal."

To a question I failed to record, Cheryl Farmer said that Michigan's problems are deep-rooted and that one Senator Harry Gast [sp] said there's a structural problem with the budget and that things wouldn't be solved soon. Paul Schreiber said that 22 Michigan cities have an income tax, including Lansing, Ionia, Grayling, Albion, and Flint. Question: how will this affect students? Greg Jones said that among the cities citied, few had a university. He said a tax would not be a positive selling point, though lack of police and fire might be a consideration too. Cheryl Farmer said there's a $1,000 exemption and indicated that that might be amended upwards a bit, since at a certain point, it isn't worth the city's time to collect miniscule amounts of money. Chris B. said that when he was choosing a school, he carefully considered which one would give him the best income potential while he was a student. He said students "have so little income as it is." He asked if students might be exempted from the tax. [Ypsidixit was curious to note Mayor Schreiber reacting to this query with body language, of leaning back in an apparently impatient manner in his chair plus facial expression that expressed what I interpreted to be exasperation or a rejection of Chris's question]. Ed Koryzno said no, Michigan law stipulated that a tax must be applied uniformly, with only the exemptions the law. Mayor Schreiber addressed Chris in saying that the Michigan legislature was currently in session and that "if you want to object, you know where they are."

Question: How much of hte tax monies will be used for administering the tax? Ed Koryzno replied that a Plante and Moran study said 3%, but the city thought it would be more like 10%.

Question: how is residency determined? Ed Koryzno said with voter registration.

Question: what about Water Street revenues coming in? Mayor Schreiber said that we do not expect revenue in the near future and that the project lost its last developer "due to the stale business cycle." He said the first bond payment will be in 2010. He said that in 2005, the Blue Ribbon Committee had made 3 basic findings: that the city was well-run in general, that there were some cost-cutting measures that could be made, and to implement an income tax. Cheryl Farmer said the Water Street project was planned for a long-term result for a brighter future, and "would not contribute a dime for years." She pointed out that Milan was in a similar bind. A developer had quit a planned project, and a $14 million bond for an expanded wastewater treatment plant was now coming due.

Question: Are there other organizations opposed to the tax? Pete Murdock said the Ypsi Chamber of Commerce, the Huron Valley Labor Council, and that the UAW was considering opposition.

Question: What is the city doing to replace companies that are large employers? Mayor Schreiber said that as a Visteon worker, he's seen a trend to go overseas. He said the city is attractive, with such features as the Crossroads Festival, EMU, and a proximity to I-94, US-23, and Metro Airport.

Question: Is there a shift in the residence halls to not wanting to register to vote? Ms. Sheppard said not sure.

Question: What happens when the tax expires? mayor Schreiber said the city will start to make cuts, such as no street maintenance. Chris B. said that if the Michigan government shuts down, EMU will miss a state payment of $7 million. Ed Koryzno said the city would lose state monies, too, in case of a shutdown.

Question: Has the city determined what levels of service are actually necessary and who determines what is an essential service? Mayor Schreiber said that police, fire, and streets were a priority, whereas recreation had been cut in 2002.

Question: Did the plan count the # of students who'd pay tax? Ed Koryzno: no. Pete Murdock: there are other ways of determining residency than by voter registration. The residency protocol can be changed.

Question about use of tax funds: Mayor Schreiber said "there won't be any staff vacations to the Bahamas." He said that if the tax didn't pass, they'd likely cut 6 police, 6 firefighters, the bus subsidy. He said, "so far, the city has shown excellent fiscal stewardship."

Question: what's the relationship between registering to vote & paying the tax? Ed Koryzno: if you don't register, there's no way to determine residency. Pete pointed out that if you work here, as many students do, you will pay the tax.

Question: will the tax restore services? Mayor Schreiber spoke of the importance of paying the bus subsidy. He stressed this importance. He also said tax revenues would be used to create a new city job, a person who would serve as a liason between the Friends of the Freighthouse and Rutherford Pool and other Friends Of volunteer gorups. Pete asked whether Paul hadn't been opposed to the bus subsidy before. Paul said, "I wasn't on Council at that time," and said eventually we'll get a regional millage.

Question: how essential are the bus services? Mayor Schreiber said they were "very essential" for people who live in AA and work in Ypsi. He said a fare increase is a bad idea, and that although it had been approved by council earlier, last year, he was against it.

The meeting wound down and after closing remarks, dispersed.
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Unfiltered - 2007-09-28 10:01:29
Why would EMU want to cooperate with the city after this attempted cash grab? For all the talk about EMU and the students being "jewels", they city is acting like they are an ATM.
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Ypsidixit - 2007-09-28 10:23:22
Untitled: Here are some numbers I found interesting:

The total EMU student enrollment is 22,974, most of whom either live and/or work in Ypsi I imagine. That is only slightly less than the total population of Ypsilanti.

Add to this the total number of faculty and staff: about 2,000. Faculty salaries for 2006-2007:

Instructor: $53,137
Assistant professor: $56,330
Associate professor: $63,122
Professor: $79,967

The median household income in Ypsi is $28,610.
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