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City Council
Deer Management Consultant’s Work Draws High Praise and Harsh Criticism
by P.D. Lesko with reporting by Maddie Fetchiet
BETWEEN DEC. 2014 and June 2015, Project Innovations, a Farmington Hills, Mich. consulting firm owned by Charlie Fleetham, was paid slightly less than $40,000 total by Ann Arbor. Despite…
$587,000 City Contract Goes to OHM Advisors— Company Employs Two Expert Witnesses for the Defense in FDD Lawsuit
by P.D. Lesko
A PENDING LAWSUIT against Ann Arbor for its Footing Drain Disconnect program begun in 2001 has the potential to cost taxpayers tens if not hundreds of millions in damages. Ann Arbor’s City Attorney once predicted the suit…
Council Members Kept in Dark About Specifics of Sweetheart Deal for Staffer Who Resigned
by P.D. Lesko
IN JANUARY 2015, City Administrator Steve Powers told Council members that Building Dept. staffer Ralph Welton had resigned. Council members took that to mean that Welton had left the employ of the city and its payroll.…
Sweetheart Deal: Suspended City Employee Collects Pay for Months and Vests for Retirement
by P.D. Lesko
Download a copy of Ralph Welton's Separation Agreement here.
While City Administrator Steve Powers announced Welton’s “resignation” in Jan. 2015, the Separation Agreement signed by Welton and city HR Director Robyn…
Council Member Lashes Out at Residents: You’re “Afraid of Tall Buildings….”
by P.D. Lesko
At the Jan. 5, 2015 Council meeting, speakers at two public hearings urged officials to lower the maximum height in a zoning change proposed by city staff to accommodate a property owner whose 1.6 acre parcel borders a…
A2Politico: Fear of Heights
by P.D. Lesko
FROM SETBACKS TO obscure acronyms such as D-1 and D-2, it might be tough to understand how 11 adults could possibly have anything to snipe at each other about while discussing zoning regulations. However, on Jan. 5, the…
Keeping Tabs—Locals to Watch in 2015: #a2council
Julie Weatherbee—U-M IT Systems Trainer, wiles away Monday evenings on Twitter commenting on City Council mmetings.
Julie Weatherbee is, in turns, clever, funny, acerbic, rude and politically nerdy. Twice monthly, she watches City…
Annual Retreat Reveals Council Members’ Priorities for Ann Arbor Out of Step With Residents’ Priorities
by P.D. Lesko
At their annual retreat last week, Ann Arbor Council members shared what they want Ann Arbor city government to focus on, and how the members, who are politically divided, can work together to get the job done in the coming…
Let the Dysfunction Games Begin? Vote to Exclude CPA From Budget Committee, Repetitive Pleas for Concision
The Dec. 1 City Council meeting included members grappling over their own rules, a failed floor motion to put Council’s only CPA on the group’s Budget & Labor Committee and a lengthy debate centered around limiting members’ speaking…
Ann Arbor League of Women Voters’ Hosting Candidate Forums
WITH LESS THAN a week before the deadline to register, The League of Women Voters (LWV) is reminding all Michiganders that their voices are important and if they haven’t registered to vote yet, now is the time. The last day to register to…