Washtenaw County Commissioners have voted to exempt the capture of county taxes from the proposed expansion area of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.
The commission says it values the DDA but is hesitant to place more tax revenues in the hands of an unelected body. The DDA is looking to expand its border north from Kingsley to beyond Depot Street.
Commissioner Yousef Rabhi, who represents much of the affected area, says the use of tax dollars should be determined by those answerable to the voters.
“And at the end of the day, there’s a lot of great work that the DDA is doing to invest in infrastructure, to invest in services, all that great stuff. But to me, all of those investments should be made by a public body.”
All but Commissioner Jason Maciejewski and Chair Katie Scott voted for the resolution. Scott says opting out risks short-term gain at the expense of long-term prosperity.
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