Anti-millage signs removed, replaced

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - An Ann Arbor "community standards officer" took down anti-school millage signs in front of a township residence, only to learn that he was outside his jurisdiction, according to a report in AnnArbor.com.

Scio Township resident John Boyle told AnnArbor.com that he placed four signs in his front yard urging residents to vote "no" on a Washtenaw County school millage request next Tuesday. When an Ann Arbor city enforcement officer tried to confiscate the signs, Boyle informed him that he was not within city limits, the report said.

"It was just utterly astounding," Boyle told AnnArbor.com. "The officer said, 'You're violating community standards.' And I said, 'Whose standards?' And he said, 'The city of Ann Arbor.'"

Boyle said that when he retrieved his signs from the officer's truck, he saw the officer had confiscated a number of other anti-millage signs, but no signs supporting the millage.

City Administrator Roger Fraser said he has personally apologized to Boyle for the incident, AnnArbor.com reported, and called it a case of human error which was not politically motivated. He said sign removal is generally based on right-of-way restrictions.

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District is asking voters to approve a new 2-mill tax Tuesday that would raise about $30 million annually for school districts countywide.

SOURCE:
AnnArbor.com, "Scio Township resident claims city officer overstepped bounds by removing anti-school millage signs," Oct. 20, 2009

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Michigan School Money Primer: Local Property Taxes by Type," May 30, 2007