Wyandotte and other communities are fighting to keep part of the tax dollars for their downtown districts.
The Detroit Institute of Arts recently thanked voters for approving a millage last August to support the museum even as some communities continue a fight in court to keep a portion of those tax dollars. Voters in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties approved a tax of 0.2 mills for the next 10 years to help cover the museum's operating costs. In return, tri-county residents will receive free admission to the DIA for the next decade. In the meanwhile, the museum's fundraisers will work to build a sustainable endowment. "I cannot tell you what an important and critical vote that was," DIA chief operating officer Annmarie Erickson said after the 2013 Inside|Out communities were announced at the museum this month. "Your help really did an …
The majority of Wyandotte Patch readers criticized the action of withholding the money from the cultural institutions. What do you think? Should the money go to them or be kept here locally? Ultimately, a judge will decide as a lawsuit has been filed.
Wyandotte is one of nine cities asking a judge to decide a dispute they have with the Wayne County treasurer.
Now that voters have passed special millages for the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Zoo, all Wyandotte residents must pay the tax. However, the money collected from about two-thirds of the city’s population never gets to the DIA or the zoo. Instead, it’s kept locally to help fund the city’s Downtown Development Authority and other special taxing areas. And that’s by design, according to Wyandotte City Administrator Todd Drysdale, who is now trying to defend those actions in court. But he’s not the only one. Leaders of nine communities have banded together to file a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court, asking a judge to decide whether the practice is legal. The lawsuit, filed Friday, is against Wayne County Treasurer Raymond …
Andrew Przytula
4:05 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
you got that right their crooks put them in jail. i also did not vote for the zoo or dia. now we spend more tax dollars by going to court makes no sense. typical public servants theives. thay should be all removed from office. more ›