EDITORIAL: “I Can’t Explain What SPARK Does.”

WARD 1 COUNCIL member Sabra Briere has repeatedly said she (and by extension, the public) cannot be certain that Ann Arbor SPARK is responsible for the jobs the entity’s employees claim their programs and services help create and retain. In April 2009, the chair of the Local District Financing Authority (the group that funds and oversees SPARK) told Council that the new jobs attributed to Ann Arbor SPARK in the LDFA’s annual report that year would have otherwise been created.

While it’s politically inexpedient for Council member Briere to question what it is SPARK does with its millions from county taxpayers, she’s doing so in an impressive way: by admitting her own ignorance. At a recent mayoral candidate event, she said, “I believe the biggest problem with SPARK is it’s hard for people to understand what SPARK contributes. I can’t explain what SPARK does.”

We appreciate that SPARK is a complicated organization, but taxpayers must know exactly what SPARK does and what officials there do with all public money received. Ms. Briere deserves thanks for admitting her own confusion so that the public’s questions may be answered.