The City of Ann Arbor has a lot on its agenda this week, including a possible vote on further police oversight and a need for the public's input on the city's next budget. WEMU's Patrick Campion and the CivCity Initiative's Mary Morgan will talk about these issues and more in this week's edition of "Civic Matters."
Mary Morgan brings a wealth of experience to the airwaves. While heading up the CivCity Initiative now, Mary was previously co-founder and publisher of the Ann Arbor Chronicle. Prior to that, she served as a reporter and editor for the Ann Arbor News when it was a daily, print edition newspaper.
This Week's Topics:
- Tonight's Ann Arbor City Council meeting includes a public hearing and possible final vote on creating a new police oversight commission. Competing visions for this entity were debated at council's Oct. 1 meeting. Tonight's council meeting starts at 7 p.m. at city hall, 301 E. Huron. Click here for the full agenda. You can watch online here and join the Twitterati with the hashtag #a2council.
- The city has launched an online survey to get a better understanding of residents' priorities, as staff begins working on budgets for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The survey asks whether you would increase, decrease or keep the same budget level for a wide range of city services, including street repair, police, parks, affordable housing and more. You can also rank how well you think local government is doing its job, and what your top priority is for the city. Click here to take the survey.
- On Monday, Oct. 15, the Washtenaw Health Initiative is convening a summit focused on our community's opioid crisis. An afternoon session for health professionals runs from 1-5 p.m. A session for the public starts at 5:30 p.m. The event takes place at the Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. According to the Washtenaw Health Department's August 2018 opioid report, there have been an average of 55 opioid poisonings – including deaths and ER visits – each month for Washtenaw County residents. Check out the county's opioid data website for more info.
- The Washtenaw County Health Department is offering grants to fund projects that create or improve access to healthier foods and/or safe and enjoyable public spaces for physical activity. The deadline to apply is Nov. 2. As much as $81,000 in total will be awarded, with grants ranging from $1,000 to $30,000. The funding is available through the county’s Building Healthy Communities program. Click here for more info about how to apply.
- With only 3 weeks remaining til the Nov. 6 election, the Washtenaw County Medical Society is hosting a candidate forum on Monday, Oct. 15 starting at 7 p.m. at the Ann Arbor City Club, 1830 Washtenaw Ave. The forum is free with an RSVP to events@wcms-mi.org. Click here for details.
- Also related to the election, this week's CivCity newsletter highlights info about candidates for the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education, including the "Candidates Comments" feature on Community Television Network. There are eight candidate for four seats on the board, with four-year terms.
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— Patrick Campion is the WEMU Program Director. You can contact Patrick at734.487.3363, on twitter @WEMUPC, or email him at pcampion@emich.edu
