taking a stand: 2007
You could file this under self-fulfilling prophesy as the opponents of the income tax proposal published the above message in late 2007. Some important facts: The previous City Council approved $220,000 for the AATA service agreement for fiscal year 2009. The current council members have steadfastly held to approving only $158,967 for AATA service. ($73,072 short)
http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/08/21/aata-ypsi-to-focus-on-cost-cuts/
As the then-supporters of bus service noted in 2007, “the only way we are going to maintain funding for public transportation is to keep the pressure on. It is up to us to continue demanding that public transportation is a basic service to be funded by the City. It takes the votes of four City Council members to cut services. Let’s see how they really vote.”
The citizens of Ypsilanti were promised that a vote against the proposed income tax would not impact public transportation options and services. Regardless of that issue, many city council members stated that public transportation was not at risk. Now they are stating otherwise. The needs of the city to maintain these important services remain constant whether or not our elected officials keep their promises.
The city of Ypsilanti will be considering whether to drastically cut public transportation at a City Council meeting scheduled for September 8th, at 7 PM. Advance Ypsilanti (AY PAC) urgently encourages the City of Ypsilanti to maintain current service levels of public transportation as provided by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA). We believe that public transportation is a vital part of a healthy and vibrant community. Without maintaining AATA routes, the city of Ypsilanti will lose significant resources, community support and important services to both individuals and businesses.
posted by J. Gawlas