About 30 attendees gathered in the Henderson Room of the Michigan League Saturday morning for a policy discussion and workshop session hosted by Michigan Political Consulting. The event, available to all students, featured a talk with Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and workshop groups led by policy experts.
Taylor opened the event by discussing ongoing Ann Arbor initiatives, including A2ZERO, the city’s plan to reach carbon-neutrality by 2030. As the city continues to roll out these initiatives, Taylor said it is important to be cognizant of past inequalities to make sure the programs are able to help the entire community.
“It’s important that we use our services to improve equity within the community,” Taylor said. “That’s one incredibly important part of the A2ZERO program … We have a street tree program, we have an urban forestry management plan.”
Taylor then discussed Ann Arbor’s relationship with the University of Michigan, highlighting how the University doesn’t pay property tax on most U-M buildings. Organizations that are exempt from local property tax have the option to give their city compensation for this lost revenue in payment called Payment in Lieu Of Taxes. Taylor said the lack of a PILOT from the University creates tension with the city of Ann Arbor.
“The University does not pay a PILOT,” Taylor said. “They have graciously declined whenever (the city has) asked (of them), … but these conditions exist with other universities that pay PILOTS.”
LSA junior Daniel Klein attended the policy discussion and told The Daily he appreciated how the mayor presented a different view of Ann Arbor — one that can be hard to see as a U-M student.
“I think sometimes being a student here at the University of Michigan, we get so wrapped up in the University’s perspective that it’s hard to also remember sometimes that we have other neighbors,” Klein said. “So it was just great to hear what the city thinks and what the city is working on to make a more inclusive environment for everybody.”
After the discussion with Taylor, attendees were divided into small groups for workshop sessions. The workshops were led by various professional political consultants on topics ranging from budgeting campaigns to election strategy.
LSA sophomore Olivia Spaulding, one of the event’s organizers, told The Daily the event was intended to show students what careers in policy can look like.
“We wanted to sponsor an easily accessible event for students at the University of Michigan … to get a feel for what different careers and policies look like,” Spalding said. “When University of Michigan students think of what they can do with the policy major, a lot of them just think pre-law or working for a campaign.”
Daily Staff Reporter Ryan Kersten can be reached at ryankers@umich.edu.