What is this petition about?
A narrow majority of City Council wants to borrow up to $31 million to pay for an expansion of City Hall and a proposed large courts/police facility linked to it. For such a large project, it is typical for the public to be asked to vote its approval for the bonds the City would issue in borrowing this money. However, City Council is presently planning to issue the bonds without a public vote. If enough petition signatures are gathered, the City would be required to get the public’s approval at an election before the bonds could be issued and the project could be built.
Why should the public vote on this project?
The public should vote because the project would drain much of the City’s existing cash and would require large annual bond payments that the City cannot afford without cutting existing services even further. This project is financed like purchasing a house. There would be an initial down payment (about $17,000,000) and extra annual payments of about $2.000,000 for 30 years. The City’s savings from not having to pay rent for its district court and some other offices that would be moved into the new project will be required for operation, security and maintenance of the new building. This means that the entire $2,000,000 will need to be paid each year with some combination of higher taxes, higher fees, and reduced services for our citizens.
The economic outlook is grim on every level; national, state and city. There will not be the money available for any new services in future years, such as helping citizens who are about to lose their houses because of the mortgage crisis or other social problems. Such a large change of our government’s priorities should only be made after extensive discussion and a vote of the citizens.
Do you have an alternative?
The law only allows us to petition to vote on the bonds for the proposed $47 million city hall annex. If we get enough signatures to place the bond referendum on the November election ballot, we expect there will be a public discussion of other alternatives that the current council majority has refused to explore. These include asking the county to negotiate another long term lease for court space, the proposal from First Martin to construct a building on the Fifth and Huron surface parking lot and purchasing a downtown office building, such as the City Center building.
If I sign this petition, am I stating that I am opposed to a new City Hall Annex?
No. Your signature only means that you want a vote at an election—a “referendum”—on whether or not the bonds should be issued.