Politics & Government
Judge Rules Plymouth Township Can Capture Detroit Zoo, DIA Millage Dollars
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed four bills on Tuesday preventing future money from being diverted in voter-approved millage proposals.
This article was posted by Nicole Krawcke. It was reported and written by Daniel Lai.
Plymouth Township will not have to pay back any money it captured from voter-approved tax levies for the Detroit Zoo and Detroit Institute of the Arts a Michigan judge ruled.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Daniel Ryan said on June 14 that Plymouth Township and eight other communities — including Wyandotte, Northville, and Dearborn — were within their rights to capture a portion of the millage to help with business growth in their Downtown Development Authorities.
The communities filed a lawsuit against Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz and the two taxing authorities set up to oversee the DIA and zoo millages earlier this year.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Ryan said capturing money for the special districts in the communities was "legislatively authorized," and the municipalities did not do anything wrong.
The share recaptured by Plymouth's Downtown Development Authority that Wojtowicz said should go to the zoo was about $8,000, according to The Observer.
During Monday night's meeting, City of Plymouth Mayor Dan Dwyer asked City Attorney Robert Marzano to look into the ruling to see if the city could retroactively collect what it paid.
Plymouth Township will not have to pay back any money it captured from voter-approved tax levies for the Detroit Zoo and Detroit Institute of the Arts a Michigan judge ruled.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Daniel Ryan said on June 14 that Plymouth Township and eight other communities — including Wyandotte, Northville, and Dearborn — were within their rights to capture a portion of the millage to help with business growth in their Downtown Development Authorities.
The communities filed a lawsuit against Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz and the two taxing authorities set up to oversee the DIA and zoo millages earlier this year.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Ryan said capturing money for the special districts in the communities was "legislatively authorized," and the municipalities did not do anything wrong.
The share recaptured by Plymouth's Downtown Development Authority that Wojtowicz said should go to the zoo was about $8,000, according to The Observer.
During Monday night's meeting, City of Plymouth Mayor Dan Dwyer asked City Attorney Robert Marzano to look into the ruling to see if the city could retroactively collect what it paid.
In an effort to prevent future issues with tax dollars earmarked for the DIA and Detroit Zoo, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed House Bills 4458, and 4461-4463 into law on Tuesday.
The bills prohibit a TIF or a Local Development Financing Authority from capturing regional property taxes meant to subsidize the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute for the Arts.
“Voters approved millages to support these cultural icons, and these bills guarantee that the voice of the voters in southeast Michigan is not only heard, but followed,” Calley said in a press release.
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