Ypsilanti City Manager Ralph Lange wants to bolster the city's police and fire ranks, and dedicate more of his time to economic development.
Those needs are reflected in the two-year city budget Lange has presented to City Council which, having concluded a pair of budget sessions, will now fine-tune the spending plan.
Lange wants to give his assistant some of his duties - along with a $10,000 pay raise - and spend $55,000 to hire another city planner so that he and planner Teresa Gillotti can focus on economic development.
Lange says the city needs $4 million worth of development on Water Street by the end of 2016 to help pay down debt on the property.
