We're delighted you stopped by...
...to find out more about the city-wide, citizen-driven movement to amend Ann Arbor's City Charter. This site will tell you more about our petition drive. We invite you to read the information on this page, and explore the rest of the site. Let's jump right in! What's this Charter amendment drive all about?
It's pretty simple, actually. This Charter amendment drive is about giving voters a choice. Do you want to amend our city Charter to give voters the ultimate authority to decide whether or not to fund municipal projects financed with general obligation bonds?
General Obligation Bonds? What are General Obligation Bonds, and why should I care about them?
First, a simple question or two. Do you have any personal debt? A can loan, credit card, or mortgage, perhaps? How might your household budget be impacted if your personal debt were decreased by, say, half? What would the impact on your household budget be if you tripled your personal debt?
Municipal bonds are, then, a city's debt. A General Obligation Bond (GO Bond) is a municipal bond backed by the taxing power of the municipality issuing it. In short, these bonds are debt repaid through taxation of residents. "The logic behind floating...[GO] bonds...is that the citizens who benefit from the capital improvements over a period of time should help the City pay for them....GO Bonds are financed through property taxes." —December 16, 2008 Ann Arbor Planning Commission's 2010-2015 Capital Improvements plan packet.
An important distinction: GO Bonds are different from Revenue Bonds.
Revenue Bonds are issued for the expansion, repair and maintenance of, for instance, water and sewer systems and paid for with revenues generated by those services.
This proposed Charter amendment in no way prohibits our elected leaders from issuing Revenue Bonds, emergency bonds, special assessment bonds, or requires voter assent before these types of bonds may be issued.
Voters authorizing all GO Bonds...the rule, not the exception: Voters in municipalities in 40 states vote to authorize the issuance of all General Obligation Bonds.
In cities large and small, voters and elected officials work together to manage GO Bond requests through voter referendums. In such cities as Baltimore (MD), Madison (WI), Colorado Springs (CO), Salem (MA), Austin (TX), Albuquerque (NM), Chevy Chase (MD), Seattle (WA), San Francisco (CA), Cambridge (MA), Iowa City (IA) and Portland (OR) voters decide all GO Bond issues. In Portland, GO Bonds have been issued by assent of that city's voters for almost 50 years. Voter authorization of GO Bonds is nothing out of the ordinary, radical or untried; according to the Director of the Finance Research Center of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), "Historically, voter approval has been required to authorize the issuance of GO Bonds." In January 2005, City Administrator Roger Fraser, CFO Tom Crawford, Mayor Hieftje, and current Councilmembers Greden, Higgins, and Teall accepted a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from GFOA.
But we already vote on GO Bonds, right? Yes and no. Voter approval is required only if the city intends to increase the taxes that it levies in order to repay the bond principal and interest. If our elected leaders cut services, sell city property, and/or layoff police or firefighters in order to finance GO Bond payments, no voter approval of the bond issuance is required. The proposed amendment would require voter assent of all GO Bond issuances that would be backed in whole or in part by the taxing power of the city. Voters would choose whether to increase municipal debt.
Voters choose? That would "tie the hands" of our elected officals. Does voter authorization of GO Bonds adversely impact the ability of city government to function efficiently, and serve residents effectively?
Ann Arbor voters are routinely asked to authorize millages in our city—most recently for parks, street reconstruction and the School District. Does our voting on park funding proposals "tie the hands" of those who care for and maintain our parks? Does voter authorization of School District millages "tie the hands" of School District officials, and make it impossible for them to carry out the business of educating Ann Arbor's 16,000 students? Of course not.
Voter authorization of the recent School District millage required District officials to educate Ann Arbor taxpayers about the District's work and spending, and for officials to explain why the millage was necessary. Voter authorization of GO Bonds won't "tie the hands" of our elected officials, or hamstring our city government. Elected officials and city staff would educate Ann Arbor voters about the GO bond issuances, and justify the additional debt. Voters would then choose to allow the bonds to be issued, or not.
Voter authorization of GO Bonds doesn't interfere with representative government, funding, development, planning, or growth in any of the cities in the 40 states where the practice exists or has been adopted; it deepens voter participation and strengthens city government. There has never been a single drive to repeal voter authorization of GO Bonds in any city or state. Quite the opposite, over the past 30 years voters across the country have launched campaigns similar to this one and been successful. If we amend our Charter, our elected officials and city staff will still plan, develop funding options, and work toward the same avenues of municipal growth that they have over the past decades.
Remember: This proposed Charter amendment in no way prohibits our elected leaders from issuing Revenue Bonds, emergency bonds, special assessment bonds, or requires voter assent before these types of bonds may be issued.
Let's say we amend the Charter... How will GO Bond votes work?
Just like all of the other funding requests brought to Ann Arbor voters through referendum. Our elected officials and city staff will formulate a plan to put their GO bond request before the voters on the ballot. We'll vote on their request, and if a simple majority assents, City Council will be authorized to issue the GO bonds. All GO Bond requests may be suspended or amended at the pleasure of city officials. If a GO Bond request is denied by voters, elected officials may put the request before the voters again at a future date. If this amendment had been proposed and adopted in 2002, by 2009 Ann Arbor voters would have been asked to authorize over $92 million dollars in new debt.
Another first for A2: So why should Ann Arbor be the first city in Michigan to give voters the right to authorize GO Bonds?
Ann Arbor has led the way, politically, in many such instances. For example, our city's often-copied anti-discrimination ordinance was one of the first of its kind in the state and country. Ann Arbor was the site of the country's first teach-in against the Vietnam War. In 1990, we instituted an ordinance to protect abortion, should it ever become illegal in our state, and in 1974 we elected Kathy Kozachenko, and became the first U.S. city to seat an openly gay politician. Ann Arbor is a city of political, social and environmental firsts, and this Charter amendment would be yet another proud achievement for Ann Arbor's voters, and this hub of progressive politics we call home.
Want to Get the Inside Scoop On the Petition Drive? Here's How:
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We'd be pleased to hear from you! Want some more information, need some literature, want to host a yardsign, or to sign the petition? Email us, or call 734-478-7248. Click here to download a FAQ sheet in PDF format. Click here to download the GO Ask Voters postcard in PDF format.
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