Ann Arbor officials aim to address City Council’s bad reputation in community
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
Posted Dec 16, 2020
Council Member Ali Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, speaks during the Ann Arbor City Council s annual retreat and budget planning session Dec. 14, 2020.City of Ann Arbor
Facebook Share
ANN ARBOR, MI After two years filled with political fights among City Council members over everything from water rates to new development to firing the city administrator, public confidence in Ann Arbor city government is low.
In a recent city survey, only 57% of residents offered positive ratings about overall confidence in city government, down from 63% two years ago, and 60% offered positive ratings about city officials being honest, down from 66%.
Listen to the story.
The strategic plan calls to educate city residents on how to reduce their carbon footprints to help achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by the year 2030. The city also wants to add 980 new units of affordable housing by the year 2026. Mayor Christopher Taylor says another goal is to be more inclusive and diverse.
Mayor Christopher Taylor: We need to make sure that everyone knows that Ann Arbor is a welcoming place. It’s a place that values pluralism and people of all kinds. We need to make sure that we’re affordable. We know that economics are one of the reasons why we are a more segregated community than we want to be.
Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County officials ask Whitmer to support Superfund cleanup
Updated Dec 11, 2020;
Facebook Share
ANN ARBOR, MI After several years of talking about the idea, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County officials are finally seeking a federal Superfund cleanup of the Gelman plume.
City and county officials sent letters to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday, Dec. 11, asking for her support and concurrence to petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to place the dioxane plume on the National Priorities List. It marks the latest chapter in a decades-long saga.
The city and county join Ann Arbor and Scio townships, which have been in favor of seeking a Superfund cleanup for years.