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Leaf Collection Resolution Goes Up In Smoke But Debate Provides, Literally, Hours of Entertainment

leaves

by P.D. Lesko Ann Arbor City Council is, once again, on fire. When Ward 3 Council member Steve Kunselman proposed a change in the fee schedule related to permits for bonfires and controlled burns of prairie grass areas, Council marm Sabra Briere ahemed herself into the conversation to point out that Council rules require amendments [...]

May 21st, 2013 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,City Council,City Services,Featured,Politics | Read More »

Five Council Members Launch An Unprecedented Effort To Curb Cronyism

cronyism

by P.D. Lesko “We keep seeing the same names.” “It’s like there is some ‘professional class’ of board appointees.” “We need to draw from a larger group of citizens.” “I want to open the door for a closer examination of the appointment and confirmation process.” So the debate went on at Ann Arbor City Council’s [...]

May 14th, 2013 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,Boards and Commissions,City Council,Featured,Politics | Read More »

Emails Reveal DDA Threatens to Cut Money That Funds Job of Council Member’s Wife

Warpehoski

by P.D. Lesko There are five solid votes on City Council to bring to heel the members of the Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors. Those are the votes of Sumi Kailsapathy, Jane Lumm, Sally Hart-Petersen, Stephen Kunselman and Mike Anglin. The resolution needs six votes to pass, however. The DDA Board, comprised of a bushel [...]

April 29th, 2013 | Posted in Best of A2P,Boards and Commissions,City Council,DDA,Econ,Featured,Politics,Scoops & Scores!! | Read More »

Fighting Entrenched Cronyism One Vote At A Time

Cronyism

by P.D. Lesko At the moment, Ann Arbor City Council members are trying to assert their Charter-mandated authority over the Board of the Downtown Development Authority like a parent trying to discipline a hopelessly out-of-control toddler in the midst of an epic temper tantrum. John Hieftje stars in this drama as the ineffectual parent, the [...]

April 23rd, 2013 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,Boards and Commissions,City Council,DDA,Featured,Politics | Read More »

Will Unpopular Highrises Help Jack Eaton Unseat City Council’s Zoning Czarina Marcia Higgins?

Jack_headshot

by P.D. Lesko Today, Jack Eaton announced his candidacy first via email to a loosely-organized group of neighborhood activists, city and county politicians. He wrote, “I wanted all of you to hear it from me, because so many of you have encouraged me to do this.” The email listserv came alive with electronic cheers. One of [...]

April 17th, 2013 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,City Council,Elections,Featured,Politics | Read More »

Ward 3 Council Race Asks: Should We Prostitute Our Parks? One Candidate’s Votes = “Leave Your Money On the Dresser, Baby.”

gallup canoe

by P.D. Lesko Ann Arbor voters have been surly as of late. They want the potholes filled, their leaves collected, and their safety services funded. They don’t want their parkland used for parking. They don’t want to pay $45 million to build a train station. They don’t want Huron Hills Golf Course operations outsourced. They [...]

March 25th, 2013 | Posted in City Council,Enviro,Featured,Parks,Politics | Read More »

Police, Fire, Parks, Millage Funds & Pools Soaked By City’s IT Fund For Millions of Dollars In Assessments

Scam

by P.D. Lesko Dan Rainey, the City of Ann Arbor’s IT Director, raked in a six-figure salary as one of the highest paid employees in the city. Now, he’s off to work for former Ann Arbor Director of Public Services, Sue McCormick. Shortly after former City Administrator Roger Fraser took his pension and decamped for [...]

March 19th, 2013 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,Best of A2P,City Council,City Services,Econ,Featured,Investigations,Money,Politics,Taxes | Read More »

Auditors Catch Ann Arbor City Attorney Double-Dipping & New Council Members Press For Full Details

Postema

by P.D. Lesko Usually, employees get fired for filching money or abusing an employer-issued credit card. Except in Ann Arbor. Auditors past and present, in fact, have sent the city’s Audit Committee letters of warning about sloppy financial controls, employee misuse of expense claims for reimbursement, and abuse of city-issued P-cards (credit cards) for years. John [...]

January 25th, 2013 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,City Council,Featured,Politics | Read More »

“Let Them Eat Art!” Why Refusing To Kill The Percent for Art Program Could Mean the Ouster of More Local Pols

LetThemEatArt

by P.D. Lesko We begin with a fairytale: Once Upon A Time there were five Ann Arbor City Council members named Sandi Smith, Carsten Hohnke, Leigh Greden, Stephen Rapundalo and Tony Derezinski. They all unquestioningly supported Ann Arbor’s Percent for Art program. They did this while funding a $1 million dollar brass sculpture, which their subjects [...]

November 20th, 2012 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,Art,Arts & Leisure,City Council,Featured,Politics | Read More »

“Dark Side” Beckons & Local Pol Answers The Call

darth vader

Ward 1 City Council member Sabra Briere recently voted to kill a resolution intended to protect parkland from de facto sale through leasing—a strategy being used by John Hieftje and his Council pals to try to “repurpose” a several acre parcel of fragile river-front parkland on Fuller Road. First, Hieftje wanted to lease the land [...]

August 27th, 2012 | Posted in Ann Arbor Politics,City Council,Featured,Politics | Read More »

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