Wayne County screwed by Detroit (my title)

DETROIT -- Just hours after learning that voters approved a tax increase for their school, Wayne County Community College District officials looked at their wish list: A performing arts center in Belleville, a new building in northwest Detroit and souped-up technology throughout the college.
   Despite a heavy no vote by suburban residents, the 10-year, 1.5-mill property tax increase was approved, 141,376 to 137,896. One precinct in Hamtramck has not been counted, but that vote was not expected to change the outcome.
   In Detroit, where voters picked a mayor and City Council members, the measure passed by a 2-to-1 margin on Tuesday. But less than 20 percent of suburban residents supported the millage increase.
   College Chancellor Curtis Ivery said Wednesday he plans to reach out to suburban communities and increase services in those areas. About 62 percent of the 15,085 students enrolled this term live in Detroit. Cities with the next largest representation include Taylor, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Inkster, Belleville and Romulus.
   There are six campuses -- three in Detroit, and one each in Harper Woods, Belleville and Taylor.
   "We have to get beyond the notion that we are not doing (enough) in any one location. The objective is to be more responsive and competitive in every area that we service," Ivery said.
   He plans to add career-oriented programs at the Downriver and west side campuses, including classes in surgical technology, facility maintenance, radio and television technology and architecture.
   Ivery said the college put the measure to voters as quickly as it legally could after the most recent failure, and the college spent about $100,000 for special elections in nine communities that would not otherwise have had elections Tuesday.
   Robert Price, who lives in Brownstown Township, voted against the increase Tuesday even though he had voted for an almost identical proposal last year.
   "It's not that people don't support higher education. It's that people didn't like the tactic used," said Price, 37, who has two associate's degrees from Henry Ford Community College. "How can a college in financial straits spend $100,000 of taxpayer money to get this special election?"
   But Nina Bernard, a nurse at Detroit Receiving Hospital, was for the millage.
   "It's given a lot of people in the city opportunities," said Bernard, who earned her nursing degree at the college.
   The 1-mill levy voters approved in 1998 raises about $20 million annually. The increase will raise from $32 million to $34 million in each of the next 10 years, Ivery said.
   About half of the school's $49-million budget is generated by the current tax. The rest of the money comes from state aid and tuition. The district includes nearly every community in Wayne County except Dearborn, parts of Dearborn Heights, Canton and Van Buren townships and the areas of Livonia covered by Schoolcraft.

From a letter in The Detroit News, I couldnt agree more

I was doing a little research from home regarding the WCCC issue and came across the following statistics from last years WCCC millage attempt ... These are posted on www.waynecounty.com/clerk/ElectionReport_1.asp - I actually found the 2000 data by searching for WCCC and came up with the following -

2000 WCCC Millage results -

Votes Detroit
83275 - NO
166306 - YES
Votes "Out County"
174812 - NO
70114 - YES

If you compare this to the Suburban community numbers from today there were roughly 17,500 YES votes and 78,000 NO votes in the Out-County areas. I make that a suburban YES to NO ratio of about 4.5 to 1

Considering that this proposal was passed today by 1,264 votes (135,770 Yes : 134,506 No) all that would have been required in the Suburban communities was an
additional 1550 suburban voters to show up at the polls and this proposal would not have passed, assuming the ratio stayed the same which seems reasonable
when you look at the numbers for 2000 and 2001. It is obvious that the $100,000 that WCCC paid to get this proposal on the ballot when the majority of their
opposition had no reason to go to the polls has paid off quite nicely. Unfortunately this creates a very clear polarization of Detroit vs. the Suburbs on the issue which will not prove productive for Wayne County in the future.

As I stated earlier I gave WCCC a Yes vote on the millage proposal in 2000 and would like to support low cost higher education for our community but the tactics
used by WCCC management to push this millage through should not be condoned or rewarded.

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