It's back to the drawing board for East Lansing leaders after voters rejected an income tax proposal at the ballot box. The proposal was to help pay off some of the city's $190 million debt.
The proposal failed by 458 votes out of nearly 4,700 cast. That comes out to a 53% to 47% margin.
East Lansing voters did pass a proposal to cut their property tax rate last night. But that is not going to happen. The proposal was written so that it would only take effect if the income tax proposal passed. The city now has to find another way to pay off their debt in long-term pension and health care costs
East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows told News 10 the immediate plan is too cut spending by 5%.
This means no new hires or replacements when city employees leave, and the mayor doesn't think that's way to go.
The people who voted "yes" are anxious about what's else is on the table with the income tax proposal dead.
Gary Bredahl is a retiree who lives in East Lansing. He told News 10 the income tax proposal made the most sense because East Lansing has one of the highest property tax rates in Michigan. East Lansing ranks as the 5th highest city in the state for property tax. Bredahl said he wouldn't mind paying that income tax, "I don't think it would've made a difference, I really don't. It's not that much money."
The creation of an income tax would have triggered a property tax cut. Something that Bredahl said he was looking forward too.
"Any relief we could get on our property taxes, would've been of interest to me," said Bredahl.
Others that voted "yes" on the income tax proposal said it was the most reasonable way to preserve the services that make East Lansing an attractive place to live.
Stan Kaplowitz lives in East Lansing, he said that now that he has read up on the proposal he is more equipped to make a smarter judgment call. He told us he voted yes because "in my feeling, it would be worse to have a loss of city services and infrastructures" said Stan Kaplowitz.
But as Tuesday's results show, a lot of people disagreed. Some of them told us the city should work with what it has. They said higher taxes would have put too much strain on their family budgets. One lady who did not want to be on camera said, this is especially hurtful for residents with low incomes who also have to pay for their housing and family needs.
Mayor Meadows said some voters may regret their "no" votes when they see the alternatives of cuts to services or higher property taxes. "I'm not sure the people in the community are going to support any of these proposals, this was the best way of proceeding," said East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows. In the end, he said ultimately the voters have to decide where they move forward.
