According to the poll results posted by Washtenaw County, the Water Street debt reduction millage lost by just 39 votes today, thanks in large part to an overwhelmingly negative response in the first precinct of Ward 1, where voters cast their ballots against the initiative 160 to 29. Given how close the race was otherwise, […]
Tag Archives: Steve Pierce
The debate over Ypsi’s proposed Water Street debt reduction millage
On August 2, voters living in the City of Ypsilanti will be asked to weigh in on a 2.3 mill tax that, if passed, would raise approximately $10,006,548 over the next 14 years in order to pay down debt related to the City’s purchase of 38 acres of riverfront property, referred to collectively as Water […]
Public forum on the Water Street debt reduction millage this Thursday
The last time we, the citizens of Ypsilanti, were asked to pass a tax increase in order to pay down the debt associated with the 38-acre Water Street redevelopment project, there was an attempt to bring representatives from both sides of the debate together for a fair, neutral forum on the subject. Unfortunately, as you […]
This weekend’s many violent crimes, what they mean about our community, and how we should respond
While I was away this past weekend, it would seem all hell broke loose in Ypsilanti. An Eastern Michigan University student athlete by the name of Demarius Reed was shot to death in an apparent robbery on Friday morning, after leaving a party at the University Green Apartments, at the 700 block of West Clark […]
City Manager Ralph Lange indicates that Ypsilanti is moving toward a hybrid police/fire scheme in which public safety officers will be expected to fight fires, save lives, pursue suspects and dispense lethal force
It would seem that Ralph Lange, our new city manager, has made up his mind that we should merge Ypsilanti’s Police and Fire departments in hopes of further delaying landfall of the category-five fiscal storm gathering on the horizon. He’s admittedly in a tough spot, and I’m sympathetic. He’s trying to radically cut spending, in […]