Ann Arbor Cuts Cops With $1.5 Million Surplus Sitting in Arts Budget

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 8/16/2011 | Tom Gantert

[Vinnie]

Bingo. Revenge for not getting their desired money.

[BfloGuy]

I don't know the situation in Ann Arbor, but the mere act of cutting police and fire is not inexcusable. They may well have been over-staffed -- it's possible.

In my little corner of rural New York State, the roads are crawling with county sheriffs and state troopers. It's beyond all common sense. This is a pretty peaceful area. Their main function seems to be setting up speed traps and DUI checkpoints.

We've let ourselves become over-policed in a lot of places.

[pterional]

I drove through Ann Arbor last week. It had been ten years since I had been through Ann Arbor and I was shock at what I saw. The city has graffiti issues, the downtown looked tired and run down, primarily a non student minority work force in fast food restaurants, and low income housing. I guess the people of Ann Arbor are going to reap what they sowed.

[PLMerite]

“Are “Dead Body Outlines” considered ‘Art’?”

Did something like that once. Came upon some skid marks on the street, had my fried lie down in front of them and outlined the “body.”

[agere_contra]

The city has graffiti issues

Dude, that's the art.

[TexasRepublic]

“Financially supporting the arts is not a proper function of government.”

True, and worse, it usually is not even good art.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks MichCapCon.

[grellis]

MICHIGAN PING LIST

Please freepmail me if you wish to be added or dropped from the mitten ping.

[cripplecreek]

Ann Arbor, 3 square miles of utopia surrounded by reality.

[Abathar]

I lived in Ann Arbor back in 86-89, my buddy and I did that in our parking lot one drunken night. We had some police tape from downtown that was strung up earlier we swiped, so we taped off a corner of the parking lot with it at about 3 a.m.. I outlined his body in tape, poured red paint mixed with milk (we were drunk) on the ground and I threw some empty 9mm casings around the ground and put tape around those too. (Our apartment building shared a parking lot with the Islamic center of Ann Arbor just off of Plymouth rd, they all drove by it staring for two days before someone cleaned it up)