Ypsilanti's city council voted against putting a Water Street debt millage on the November ballot. The decision was made early this morning during a special meeting.
There will not be another Water Street Millage tax issue on the November ballot. Ypsilanti City Council this morning voted unanimously against giving voters a second chance to approve the 2.3 mil tax request, after rejecting it exactly two weeks ago. Council will consider bringing the tax issue back for discussion at a later date, but says it needs more time to better educate voters on the issue. The next scheduled election for Ypsilanti is in 2018...so the millage could be put on that ballot unless the city has a special election before then.
The city had been seeking passage of the tax issue to pay down about $14 million in debt from the Water Street Redevelopment project. The measure failed by 39-votes on the August 2nd primary election ballot.
City officials had warned that without the revenue generated by the tax, serious service and personnel cuts would have to be enacted. Those plans remain under discussion while the city continues the process of hiring a new city manager to replace the now-retired Ralph Lange.
Listen to the audio above to see what voters who are both in favor of the millage and against it have to say about today's decision.
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— Jorge Avellan is a reporter for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him javellan@emich.edu
