Scio Twp. Board of Trustees Votes to Dissolve Its DDA

by P.D. Lesko

At its Aug. 12, 2024 meeting, four members of the Board of Trustees of Scio Twp. voted to dissolve its Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Clerk Jessica Flintoft and Trustees David Read, Kathleen Brandt and Kathy Knol voted to dissolve the DDA. The move came as a shock to DDA Board members, as well as Scio residents. In discussing the move to dissolve the DDA, which Scio Twp. created and funded 37 years ago, Clerk Jessica Flintoft suggested that officials’ desire to do away with the DDA’s capture of property tax funds under the original sharing agreement between the Township and its DDA may have been behind the move to dissolve the Authority.

Flinhoft said, “The DDA brings in as much revenue as the general fund does from property taxes. I have some long-standing concerns over the last few years about the capacity of the DDA. I have come to understand the issue as more of a structural issue. I have come to understand the difference between the plan and the purpose of the DDA.”

The resolution to dissolve the DDA states: “Recent federal policies are expected to increase poverty and hardships for working families, exacerbating the need for affordable housing, nutrition assistance, and basic healthcare. Now more than before, the Township must be responsible, ethical, and efficient in managing public funds. Adoption of Ordinance 2025-06 allows the county, school district, library, and township public servants to be responsible for the administration of these limited taxpayer monies. The purpose of the DDA has been fulfilled, and it is time for the Board of Trustees to end this capture of voter approved millages.”

According to a financial projection accompanying the resolution to dissolve the DDA, the Scio Twp. DDA had liquid assets of $6,065,945.02, and liabilities of $2,334,336.79 meaning that with the dissolution of $3,731,608.23 of DDA liquid assets would be refunded to the Township.

Aside from the Township’s desire to end the DDA’s capture of property taxes, the other issue that drove the members of the Board of Trustees to bring forward a resolution to dissolve the DDA was the DDA’s capture of millage funds meant to go toward the bonding of a new fire station. The Board of Trustees crafted an additional millage that incorrectly allowed the DDA to capture funds from the special millage and, as a result, ended up short of funds required for the new fire station.

Scio Twp. residents and DDA Board members spoke at the meeting.

Jay Holland, a member of the DDA, said: “I have been on the DDA Board for 20 years. The DDA has fought blight. I’ll admit that on the whole the DDA has lost its way in the past few years, and I apologize for that. I can’t believe the Trustees can be so short-sighted as to eliminate the Scio Township DDA. I think it’s irresponsible and reckless. I am very disappointed.”

Holland ended his comments by submitting his resignation from the Board of the DDA and said, “Goodbye and good luck.”

Alex Thomas, a member of the Scio Twp. DDA Board appointed in May 2025, also spoke. Thomas said, “I’ve learned a lot in the past six months. I think the work of the DDA is very important. There is a lack of communication between the DDA and the other entities of local government—certainly to include the Board of Trustees. We [the DDA] want to fix that. We want to make sure we are a collaborative partner. I would just suggest that we don’t need to do this [dissolve the DDA] now. I would urge you to consider pumping the brakes on this. I don’t agree with the assertion that the mission of the DDA has been completed. Let’s work together.”

Scio Twp. resident Pam Boyd called in and commented on the dissolution of the DDA. “I think how you’re going about this is unprofessional. I’m wondering if you’ve done outreach to residents. Who is going to do the work the DDA does? We voted for you, but we didn’t vote for you to be idiots. Table this and do some outreach [on the dissolution of the DDA].”

Clerk Flintoft referred to having a DDA whose purpose has been completed as “poor governance.”

It was clear from the discussion between the Trustees that previous to the introduction of the resolution to dissolve the DDA, there was no plan for how the Township would take over the responsibilities (landscaping and grass mowing within the DDA area, for example) of the DDA.

Trustee Kathleen Brandt, like Flintoft, said that for the previous three years she has stated that the DDA has “fulfilled its mission.” Brandt said that the “DDA should be doing what its purpose is, and they got away from that.”

Like Brandt and Flintoft, Trustee David Read pointed out that under Act 57, the enabling legislation that permitted the creation of the DDA, requires that a DDA must be dissolved when its mission has been completed. “It bothers me that the DDA is not keeping its [strategic] plan current.” Read pointed out that the DDA had last updated its strategic plan in 2008.

In 2020, two Ann Arbor City Council members introduced two resolutions the goals of which were to dissolve the Ann Arbor DDA. A resolution to dissolve the Ann Arbor DDA was placed on City Council’s Oct. 20, 2020 agenda, but then pulled when members of the public showed overwhelming support for the DDA.

In June 2023, the city of Otsego, MI dissolved its DDA. In July 2023, Northfield Twp., MI dissolved its DDA, as well.