February 20, 2006

Sterling Heights weighs tax

Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool had high ambitions for the city at its strategic planning session last week and presented new ideas to the City Council, but some council members and residents question whether taxpayers can afford the high hopes. At the crux of the session during a special City Council meeting on Feb. 14 was whether a new $43-a-year tax should be added to generate $26 million. Of that amount, $14 million would be used to build a new 60,000-square-foot police station across from 41-A District Court. And $12 million would go toward the renovation of the existing structure, which includes the Sterling Heights Public Library, said Steve Guitar, Sterling Heights interim community relations director. An additional $5 million would be used to renovate three city fire stations. Results of a recent survey spurred council members to introduce the idea. According to the survey, which was conducted by officials at Wayne State University and sent to 3,000 random city residents, 55% of respondents were in favor of the construction of a police facility.

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