Delivering Results.

Your tax dollars are in good hands. Ann Arbor has earned a stable AAA Bond Rating, continues to receive annual Government Finance Officers Association Awards, and has received yet another clean audit, with no internal control deficiencies or compliance issues. 

Ann Arbor's AAA credit rating -- the highest possible -- demonstrates our commitment to fiscal excellence. This distinction, earned through conservative revenue projections, strategic reserves, disciplined debt management, and transparent budgeting, enables us to secure the lowest borrowing costs for infrastructure investments. Our strong financial position enables us to weather economic uncertainty and maintain crucial services. This achievement demonstrates that with responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources, we can build for the future and protect what matters most to our community today.

Fund balance reserves in all funds are within policy guidelines. Our Pension and Retiree Health Care funds are 94% and 99% funded.

With prudent spending, careful risk assessment, and a smart growth strategy, we have eliminated our longstanding structural deficit.

Clean, reliable drinking water is non-negotiable. We conduct 175,000 tests per year to make sure that your drinking water is safe and delicious. Always. 

Maintaining and improving a decades old system requires no-nonsense diligence. In 2024 alone, we completed improvements to our 6 million gallon finished water reservoir, replacing aging valves, access hatches and piping and replaced more than 25,000 feet of water main in 2024. We’re repairing Barton Dam to solidify the downstream berm and improve stability.

We continue to lead the way with new ultraviolet disinfection systems and carbon filtration to protect against regulated PFAS compounds, unregulated PFAS compounds, and other emerging contaminants.

Finally, I am proud of our fight against the polluter to accelerate 1,4 dioxane cleanup. We forced them to double the rate of extraction and substantially expand monitoring. The EPA has declared the 1,4 dioxane plume a Superfund site and we are working with the amazing Representative Dingell to push the Administration to take action.

The quality of roads all over Michigan is unacceptable. We get most of our road money from the state, and Michigan has been 50th out of 50 states in per capita road spending for years. Still, we have devoted an average of $53M per year to our local/major streets, sidewalks and bridges. We have a long way to go but you’ve seen the improvement. More than 60% of our major roads are “Good or above”, only 16% are “Poor”. Overall, nearly 75% of our roads are “Fair” or above. It’s still not enough, so next year we are looking to accelerate road spending by at least $5M. Look for orange cones and more real progress. Everywhere.

We are blessed to live in a safe community, especially for a college town. Still, crime is real and it is unacceptable. 

I am extremely proud of the Ann Arbor Police Department and Ann Arbor Fire Department. Your officers and firefighters are hardworking men and women who come to the station every day, putting themselves at risk to keep people safe. Their jobs are hard and they deserve our gratitude. They have mine. 

Crime is down in Ann Arbor, for the second year in a row. AAPD is one of a handful of municipal law enforcement agencies in Michigan to receive accreditation from CALEA, the gold standard in third party public safety policy/practice review. 

Even as we value the work and dedication of our officers, we know the difficult history of law enforcement in American society. I fully support the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission (“ICPOC”), which provides civilian review of AAPD policies and complaint resolutions, and have led the effort to implement unarmed response. ICPOC is now in its 7th year connecting the community and the department, and we have secured funding for an unarmed response pilot that should be deployed in 2026.

The Ann Arbor Fire Department continues to provide outstanding fire suppression service. We have improved our responsiveness – the median turn out time is 1:51 min, with a median travel time of 3:42 min. We have completed our Fire Station Master Plan to improve workplace conditions, safety, equity, and to help effect our carbon neutrality goals and begun constructing the Mindy Kerr Fire Station, named after A2’s first female firefighter. Finally, we have initiated and expanded AAFD ambulance service to improve medical service response times and reduce transport waits. Better service for everyone.

If you look around Ann Arbor, you’ll see parks. A lot of parks. 10% of our land is parkland. Almost every home in Ann Arbor is less than ¼ mile away from a city park (all of Ann Arbor, I believe, if you count the UM Arboretum). These parks and natural areas are a large part of what makes Ann Arbor special – Tree City. Our efforts to protect and improve these jewels include: universal access improvements at Argo Livery, renovating and expanding Bryant Community Center, remediating pollution at Leslie Science and Nature Center, making Ann Arbor a Monarch Friendly Community, and implementing our Goatscaping Program at Gallup Park.

Hundreds of volunteers keep our natural areas beautiful every year. We treasure Ann Arbor’s 1,450,000 trees and have a leading Urban Forestry and Management Plan to keep our city, park, and neighborhood trees healthy and growing!