The Lansing City Council received Mayor Andy Schor's budget proposal for the next fiscal year that calls for using state funds to make investments in road and sidewalk repairs and hire more city police officers.
The council also approved a funding plan for a performing arts center downtown and voted down the sale of a city-owned parking lot to be used for a potential affordable housing project.
Schor's budget proposal
The mayor's budget calls for $297.3 million in spending, a 3.6% increase compared to Lansing’s current budget. Schor said while income tax revenues remain flat, property tax revenues are up, and the city has seen an increase in support from the state.
The proposal sets aside nearly ten million dollars to renovate major streets.
Schor said he’s also asking the state legislature to pass a bill that would allocate a portion of state sales tax revenue to go towards local public safety investments.
“I'm proposing 15 new police officers along with dollars for Advance Peace to be pushing that forward with violence interrupters, a real time crime center analyst," he said. "These are things that we are proposing hoping that that will pass as the (state) budget moves through.”
Other plans within his budget include hiring an arborist to manage city trees, hiring two additional firefighters and an $800,000 allocation of state funding to support those experiencing homelessness.
City councilmembers will begin working through the budget in the coming weeks. The group has until May to approve a final document outlining city expenditures and revenues.
The Ovation funding plan
Lansing City Council also allowed a plan to go forward funding a performing arts center in the city’s downtown.
The council voted 5-3 to approve a brownfield plan, capturing any increases in local property tax revenue to support a larger vision for what’s being called the Ovation, a venue that officials say will be able to host more than two thousand people for concerts and special events.
A number of public commenters told the council that the building, which will be constructed on South Washington Avenue, would attract more visitors downtown and create a space for national performers to visit in Lansing.
Some residents and councilmembers in opposition expressed concerns that costs could rise for the facility, forcing the city to subsidize the facility to keep it running and force city taxpayers to foot the bill.
Councilmember Trini Pehlivanoglu said the city needs to think big if it wants more musicians and artists to make a stop there.
“If we don't make the best possible product, how are we going to attract those acts?” she said.
Parking lot sale for potential housing
The council rejected a plan to sell a city-owned parking lot to a real estate company for a potential affordable housing project.
The real estate company Boji Group offered to buy the lot at 425 Grand Avenue for $760,000. Officials said the purchase would support a Lansing Housing Commission plan for a development that could include market-rate and affordable leases.
The council opposed the plan 6-2, with councilmembers Peter Spadafore and Brian Jackson supporting the action.
Many members said the city should sell the lot at a higher price. Officials said the city paid $960,000 to purchase the property, located across the street from the CATA Transportation Center, with the $760,000 price coming from a more recent appraisal.
Councilmember Ryan Kost said residents have also complained about poor conditions at Lansing Housing Commission living spaces, adding that the group has sold properties to private companies in the past.
“And now they want to build more properties. Logically, that doesn't make any sense to me,” he said.