FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2013
Nine Wayne County communities, including the cities of Dearborn Heights, Dearborn, Belleville, Wyandotte, Romulus, Northville, and Taylor and Van Buren and Plymouth Townships, on behalf of their administrations and their tax increment finance authorities, downtown development authorities and brownfield redevelopment authorities (19 entities in total), announced today that they have filed a complaint in Wayne County Circuit Court against the Wayne County Treasurer, the Wayne County Zoo Authority and the Wayne County Art Authority. The complaint asks for a declaratory judgment from the court as to the legal rights and obligations of the communities and their tax increment finance authorities with respect to capturing part of the Zoo millage and the Art Authority millage levied in Wayne County. The communities are basically asking the courts for clarification and to interpret state law as it is written.
At issue are the funds that these communities, as well as nine other Wayne County communities not represented in the lawsuit, capture from the total Zoo millage collected each year. The Wayne County Art Authority has also been included in this action because the Wayne County Treasurer has stated his intention to treat the new Art Authority millage in the same way as the Zoo millage. It is the hope of the communities that a ruling from the court will clarify the proper handling of both millages.
Plaintiffs have also filed a motion for a speedy hearing, asking the court to schedule a conference with the attorneys for the parties to establish a schedule for briefs and hearings to be submitted to the court.
Because the litigation is pending before the court, the judge in the case has requested that both sides refrain from commenting publicly about the specifics of the case.
Tax increment financing is an economic development tool that has been available in Michigan since the enactment of the DDA Act in 1975. There are several different types of municipal tax increment authorities that can capture taxes under Michigan law, each of which is governed by its own authorizing statute. The four main ones are those established under the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Act, Act 197, Public Acts of Michigan, 1975, as amended; the Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) Act, Act 450, Public Acts of Michigan, 1980, as amended; the Local Development Financing (LDFA) Act, Act 281, Public Acts of Michigan, as amended; and the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing (BRA) Act, Act 381, Public Acts of Michigan, as amended. When a DDA, TIFA, LDFA, or BRA is established, it is done so with the approvals of both the state and local authorities, including notice and opportunity for comment provided to all taxing jurisdictions and residents.
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The Dearborn Heights Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) was established in 1986 with a primary purpose to encourage the revitalization, redevelopment and reinforcement of the portion of Dearborn Heights located South of Michigan Avenue and West of Telegraph Road. So far, it has yielded over $60 million dollars of investment in the TIFA district. It is certainly a benefit to our residents to have such a program that returns their tax money to their neighborhoods through these various projects.
For those not familiar with the work that the Dearborn Heights TIFA has done over the years, we have prepared some highlights of projects done in various aspects of city life in the TIFA district. (These are approximate costs for the major projects completed.)
Fire Department – $1,685,000
Building improvements to Station #1 (on Telegraph at Annapolis); purchase of fire truck, 2 rescue squad vehicles, pick-up utility truck & various equipment based at Station #1; hydrants & e-lights installed in the TIFA district.
Emergency Management – $465,000
Flood warning system; emergency sirens; emergency operations center at Justice Center.
Department of Public Works – $1,430,000
DPW headquarters building & yard improvements; construction vehicles; recycling center construction; street lights; tree trimming; Ecorse Creek bank stabilization.
Daly Park – $306,000
Walking/jogging track; roller-blade/roller-hockey park; play structures; tennis courts; volleyball court; various grounds improvements.
John F. Kennedy Jr. (JFK) Library – $4,069,000
Construction of building; furniture & equipment; computer workstations; electronic sign; parking lot improvements.
Streets & Sidewalks – $2,362,000
Road improvements; bridge improvements; residential sidewalk replacement ($381,000); Beech Daly streetscape improvements; Van Born streetscape improvements.
Sewers & Waterlines – $16,675,000
Beech Daly sewer expansion project; waterline replacement & relining; sewer cleaning & maintenance.
Police Department / Justice Center – $21,740,000
Construction of Justice Center; Justice Center improvements & maintenance; Crime Prevention Officer funding; domestic violence & drug education; impound lot; police memorial monument.
City Services – $4,045,000
Contributions for administrative costs; Ordinance Officer funding.
Westwood Community Schools – $1,952,000
Administration building improvements; Robichaud High School improvements (windows, science lab, fire protection, emergency lighting, kitchen safety updates, interior & exterior doors, parking lot, track rebuild, bleachers, press box, concession stand, swimming pool, athletic fields); Thorne Elementary School improvements (windows, roof replacement, kitchen safety updates, interior & exterior doors); former Allen Junior High School demolition & site restoration.
Economic Development – $151,000
Business grants & incentives; feasibility studies; marketing studies; master plan contribution.
Property Acquisition & Restoration – $4,283,000
Purchase & restoration of lots containing blight, unsafe conditions, etc.
