From Vivienne's address presented to the Ann Arbor Democratic Party, July 12, 2008
"I've been involved in community and public service for all of the 22 years I've lived in Ann Arbor. I was on the Solid Waste Commission, the Ann Arbor Budget Review Committee, and was a county commissioner for 8 years. I bring experience, knowledge, and well-developed skills to the job of representing the residents of the 5th ward on council.
But I'm also about change. This must be the word we hear most this election year. The kind of change most people are talking about in our current political climate means that we are not happy with current trends, don’t feel things are going right, think we need to take some different steps. That's the kind of change I represent. I got back into politics only because I believe that our city is taking a dangerous direction.
I had an interesting experience going door-to-door. People would say, "How many Republicans are on council?" I'd say, "None, they are all Democrats”." The answer was an incredulous "Really?" I think that a lot of our city's residents have a sense that the city is changing, and not for the better.
Here's what I want to change: I want to put a stop to decisions made by a few in secret that get approved with no public input. I could talk about the purchase of Tio's the other day, but I have an even better example. A few months ago the city issued an RFP for the sale and development of 415 W. Washington. Now, this had several important policy implications. First, just selling this piece of public property instead of keeping it for public purposes. Then, the implications to a future greenway and to flood prevention in the Allen’'s Creek Watershed. Then, the possible effect on the neighborhood. Also, several non-profit agencies had expressed interest in it.
How was it done? A small committee of staff and a couple of council members met in private for months. Council members, let alone the public, were not able to find out what was being decided. No drafts were ever released for comment. Finally, the RFP was released without council even having a chance to deliberate it. Now a select committee is reviewing three proposals and to my knowledge that is also being done in private.
I want to see members of our community actively involved in setting its direction. When I first moved to Ann Arbor, we had a large circle of citizens who served on boards and task forces that actually set directions and made recommendations. For example, the Budget Review Committee I was on included not one single elected official or staff person, though we had staff support. We were just an assortment of citizens with no particular stake in any outcome, just charged to review the city’'s budget status and make recommendations. We elected our chair.
Nowadays the task forces are heavily weighted towards inside players. For example, the Community Security & Public Space Task Force that came up with alternatives for city hall consisted of one City Council member, the Library director, 3 members of the Downtown Development Authority, the chair of the Planning Commission, a judge, and two development professionals. It was chaired by the city administrator. It is not surprising that they came up with the limited number of alternatives that they did. This was not a prescription for thinking outside the box.
I want to see that our government priorities are set toward meeting the needs of residents and local businesses. This is what we call service delivery. As far as I can tell, the current intent on council is to minimize the services the city provides even more in the future. To my mind, the first responsibility of a local government is service delivery. People understand instinctively that they pay taxes in order to receive services. They don't willingly pay taxes so that officials can promote their pet projects. It's okay to use taxes to promote the common good, but the public would like to agree with what that good is. I also don't think that most residents of the city are concerned with how many lists we are on as a wonderful city. We want to live in a wonderful city. That means that it affects our day-to-day existence in a beneficial way.
I'm also concerned about the use of ever-increasing fees to pay for services. The user fee concept is very tempting for government because it is a reliable source of income. Taxes fluctuate over time and property taxes are disliked by developers. But people who need basic services have no choice but to pay fees. Fees are regressive and hit low- and moderate-income people disproportionately. They can keep people from having access to services. As an example of that, consider the effect of increased park shelter fees on ability of families and non-profits to use those shelters.
I want to see a more open budget process in which the council looks at a longer-term picture, makes assumptions and sets priorities so that future budgets will be sound as well as this year’'s budget. We have been making too many commitments for 30-year periods and I fear that we have unduly burdened our future.
So that's the kind of change I want. I am running because I think that I have the institutional memory, the knowledge of government operation and the skills to work constructively with my future colleagues so that we can achieve a truly sustainable future that benefits our citizens."
I want to see that our government priorities are set toward meeting the needs of residents and local businesses. This is what we call service delivery. As far as I can tell, the current intent on council is to minimize the services the city provides even more in the future. To my mind, the first responsibility of a local government is service delivery. People understand instinctively that they pay taxes in order to receive services. They don't willingly pay taxes so that officials can promote their pet projects. It's okay to use taxes to promote the common good, but the public would like to agree with what that good is. I also don't think that most residents of the city are concerned with how many lists we are on as a wonderful city. We want to live in a wonderful city. That means that it affects our day-to-day existence in a beneficial way.
I'm also concerned about the use of ever-increasing fees to pay for services. The user fee concept is very tempting for government because it is a reliable source of income. Taxes fluctuate over time and property taxes are disliked by developers. But people who need basic services have no choice but to pay fees. Fees are regressive and hit low- and moderate-income people disproportionately. They can keep people from having access to services. As an example of that, consider the effect of increased park shelter fees on ability of families and non-profits to use those shelters.
I want to see a more open budget process in which the council looks at a longer-term picture, makes assumptions and sets priorities so that future budgets will be sound as well as this year’'s budget. We have been making too many commitments for 30-year periods and I fear that we have unduly burdened our future.
So that's the kind of change I want. I am running because I think that I have the institutional memory, the knowledge of government operation and the skills to work constructively with my future colleagues so that we can achieve a truly sustainable future that benefits our citizens."