TOP $ GOLD = FOR $1565 GOLD & SILVER

WE WILL TRY TO BEAT ANY OFFER BY AT LEAST 10% OR MORE!

CUTS

(734) 433-9900

1170 S. MAIN STREET CHELSEA

Chelsea Rare Coins

Sell Your Unwanted/ Broken Jewelry Here WE BUY ALL COINS & CURRENCY

New school disFederal sequestrict calling for tration impacts brand ideas Washtenaw See Page 1-B See Page 8-A

MASCOT

SPORTS

Abdellatif pins 4th in state wrestling See Page 1-D

The
50
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013 Weave the Web:
Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage. See most popular stories....Zingermans breathibng life into landmark Dexter farm.

1-800-666-0348
Minutes from Ann Arbor I-94 Exit 159

VOL. 19, NO. 10

City discusses tax for street lights

Special assessment could cost residents $52 in 2013
Krystal Elliot
Special Writer

Ypsilanti residents might be seeing an increase in taxes through a proposed special assessment on street lighting. The special assessment would shift funding of street lighting from the city onto Ypsilanti residents and business owners. Each of the 4,951 parcels within the city limits, including taxexempt property, would be required to pay an annual fee for streetlight operation and maintenance. Under the recommended proposal, this could cost most residents $52 for this fiscal year and $66 per year until 2022. As the city continues to face budget shortfalls, new measures are being discussed to cut spending, increase revenue and ensure fiscal stability. Its not something that anybody would like to do, but it is a basic service that were having a harder and harder time to pay for, City Manager Ralph Lange said. The yearly operation and maintenance of streetlights cost the city of Ypsilanti an estimated $523,000, which is about 5 percent of the $11.5-million general fund. Capital improvements in the form of upgrading the citys 1,719 street lights to more efficient LED lights, as a part of the Climate Action Plan adopted in July 2012, will add an additional $1.1 million to the cost over the course of the next seven years.

City Planner Teresa Gillotti and her team looked to other Michigan cities that have pursued special assessment districts to fund street lighting and developed several plans they think would be best for Ypsilanti and its residents. They were presented to city council at Tuesdays meeting. The city planning staff used Washtenaw Countys Geographic Information Systems to map out all of the parcels in the city, and placed them into either five or 10 categories, ranked by the length of their perimeter. They then calculated the percentage of the city area that make up each category, and divided the estimated $523,051 energy bill for 20132014 by the number of parcels in each category. In the five or 10 category scenarios, most residential property went into category one, which would receive the lowest fee. Larger properties, including Eastern Michigan University and most industrial entities, would receive a larger fee. The city of Ypsilanti would be responsible for its own property, which includes 65 parcels, paying a fee of nearly $36,000 beginning in the fiscal year 2014-2015. Another method was developed which would assess a flat fee on all parcels, regardless of the size. This would require all parcels to pay $105.65 for this year and $132.58 beginning in 2014, when capital improvement costs are added. While the city council largely agreed that a special assessment district is necessary for the fiscal stability of the city, concerns were expressed over the method. In order to legally assess for streetlight funding, it needs to be determined whether every parcel paying the fee directly benefits from the

streetlights. Mayor Paul Schreiber was concerned about challenge of tying the perimeter of a parcel to the benefit that it receives from the lights. Highland Cemetery probably doesnt have as many lights as another area of the same size, he said. Council Member Peter Murdock said that residents might not feel that they should have to pay for street lights if there is not one in front of their property. There are a lot of considerations and there is no perfect answer, said Gillotti. Not every parcel has a light but there is usually one close enough that youre benefiting from it. Lange agreed, saying that one can assume properties with larger perimeters would be surrounded by more lights. He said that assessing for perimeter and area is a better method than charging a flat fee for all parcels. Ypsilanti resident James Blair came out in support of the special assessment, but asks that everyone pay a fair share. He also expressed a concern about the taxes that he already pays as a resident. Shouldnt my millage go down if I pay this assessment? he said. We already pay the highest taxes in the area. Councilmember Sue Moeller was unconvinced that residents will agree to the assessment and said she has already gotten complaints. I dont think people will see a direct relationship between their property and the lights, she said. They dont understand why we need to do
PLEASE SEE TAX/3-A

Check out our video:

Caputo:Lions have had success in free agency

Click on the jobs tab on the home page of our h e i t go . c o m websiteror a g edirectly to http://jobs.heritage.com.

Join us on Twitter:
Become an Ypsilanti Courier follower. Click on the Twitter tab on the home page of our website or go directly to http://twitter.com/ HeritageNews.

Huron Harmonizers to go a cappella at annual dinner

By Jim Pruitt
Heritage Media

Arrest made in shooting on US-23

By Ben Baird
Heritage Media

The Ypsilanti Courier is looking for Community Bloggers!

If you live in the greater Ypsilanti area and are interested in writing about local events, news and views or even your own interests and hobbies, please contact Michelle Rogers at mrogers@heritage.com.

The Marketplace:

Food, fun and singing will be on the menu when the Huron Valley Harmonizers host Chords and Cuisine. The cabaret-style shows are set for 2 and 6 p.m., Sunday at the Stony Creek Methodist Church, 8635 Stony Creek Road in Ypsilanti. This is the seventh year the outfit has hosted the concert, which serves as one of its main fundraisers. The show is a mix of barbershop quartet singing, bluegrass and other styles. Anyone can come and have a good time, HVH Vice President William Stutts Jr., said. We do some songs with a doo-wop sound, Stutts said. Its entertainment for the entire family. This is not your fathers barbershop music, like the type seen in The Music Man. Stutts said the quartets feature newer songs as well. A ticket buys a meal, a concert and a visit to a dessert bar. The meal is pasta with alfredo for vegetarians, Stutts said. The desserts are made by the members of the troupe or their wives. Tickets are available at hvharmonizers.org. General admission is $20; teens, students and seniors (65 and older) are $15 and children 12 and younger are free. This is the fourth year for the tiered-ticket system, Stutts said. It frees up young families who want to feed their kids and get a show, Stutts said. Each show lasts about 90 minutes to two hours, he said. The meals are served at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and the performances begin around 20 to 30 minutes later. At intermission, the dessert bar is opened. Capacity is 100, but both shows generally bring in a total of 125 to 150 people, Stutts said. We would like to sell out, he said. The concert is a way for the Harmonizers to reach out to the community. The group wants to expose more

Photo by Jim Pruitt

A quartet from the Huron Valley Harmonizers, an Ypsilanti-based Barbershop Quartet-style group, sings at the Relay For Life Valentines Day Dinner at Lafontaine Saline dealership. people to quartet singing. No one knows we are out there, Stutts said. Its a fantastic hobby. Most members were either invited to a meeting or heard the singing. Stutts said. Most guys who do it, say they wish they had known about it 10 years ago, he said. Many guys had not performed before people before. In addition to the Harmonizers various quartets, other performers include Novelty Shop, a Sweet Adelines-style (female) quartet. The act features comedy and song.
PLEASE SEE QUARTET/3-A

A 28-year-old Ypsilanti man was arrested early Feb. 27 for allegedly firing a sawed-off shotgun at motorists along US-23 at Michigan Avenue and is now facing felony charges. Police responded at about 12:36 a.m. when a 911 caller reported that a man wearing a black trench coat was standing near the bridge shooting at traffic with a firearm, according to the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety. No vehicles or people were struck in the incident. Elmore Tarice Ray was apprehended without incident after Pittsfield Township police found him walking westbound along the highway, according to a police press release. Investigators backtracked along his footprints in the snow and located a sawedoff shotgun, which was collected as evidence. A preliminary examination of the evidence against
PLEASE SEE SHOOTING/3-A

Local ads are just a hop away at the MIcentral.com marketplace. While you are there, you can check out all the special supplements of Journal Register Co. newspapers in Michigan. Click on marketplace on the home page of our website or go directly to www.marketplace.micentral.com.

INDEX
Editorial Classifieds Sports Page 6-A Page 2-B Page 1-D

Death Notices Page 10-A

News Tip Hotline: 734-429-7380

Printed on recycled paper