LIVONIA: Many challenges await new mayor

BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Getting it straight
An article in Friday's Local News section about the Livonia mayoral race should have said candidate Jack Engebretson is a Republican, and he got his start in local politics in 1988.

Education: Studied mechanical engineering at George Washington University. Withdrew in his third year to join the software development staff at a large computer company.

Occupation: Livonia City Council president; retired president and chief executive officer of a regional computer company.

Personal: Wife, Senie;two children, three grandchildren.

Background: Served four years' active duty in the Air Force as aflight crew member and three years as a U.S. Capitol cop. Was longtime chairman of the Livonia Planning Commission.

Livonians will elect a new mayor to replace Jack Kirksey, who cannot run again due to term limits.

For political junkies, this mayoral battle is one to watch. Livonia, after all, has produced some notable figures in southeastern Michigan politics: former Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara, current county Executive Robert Ficano, county Prosecutor Mike Duggan, former Metro Airport Director David Katz and former county Deputy Executive Mary Zuckerman.

The two candidates vying to replace Kirksey are City Council President Jack Engebretson, a Democrat, and Wayne County Commissioner Lyn Bankes, a Republican.

Whoever wins will barely have time to settle into the mayoral suite before tackling the many issues facing Livonia.

The city's population is hovering at just over 100,000 -- and 26 percent are seniors, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Graying residents are staying in their homes longer, which means minimal turnover for young families looking to relocate to Livonia.

Livonia is 97-percent developed, so little land is left to build new homes. Without children moving in, the Livonia Public Schools district has had to close schools. In addition, limited land curtails the number of new businesses that can be lured to the city. Commercial entities account for 40 percent of the city taxes. "They're not Novi; they don't have a huge shopping center, and they're not Plymouth Township, which has room to grow," said Eastern Michigan Universitypolitical scientist Dave Ivers. "Livonia is locked in onall sides. They can't go anywhere. . . . They can't grow internally, and they can't grow externally."

The state government is no help, either. State law caps tax increases for existing properties and this year, state revenue sharing -- which accounts for 20 percent of Livonia's general fund budget -- is down.

How the city's money is spent is a recurring theme for Bankes. She questions where an upcoming $300,000 increase in municipal fees, such as prices for playing on city golf courses, is coming from ;wonders about the efficacy of the Plymouth Road Development Authority, an economic development agency that focuses on this commercial corridor, and alleges Livonia collected $4 million extra for its new recreation center.

"There's a basic philosophical difference here," Bankes said. "Should taxpayers' money be in their pockets or in the government's pockets?"

Engebreston pointed to Bankes' fiduciary queries as evidence of her lack of familiarity about running a city.

"The mayor is not the dictator," he said. "The mayor can't do anything without council's advice and consent."

During this election season's various candidates forums, Bankes has voiced a bevy of ideas about how to improve Livonia. They include creating an economic development advisory board studded with local, state and national figures and raising Livonia's profile as a tourist destination, especially around the 2006 Super Bowl.

"There are ideas, and then there are good ideas," argued Engebretson. "There are ideas that make nice sound bites but don't have much to do with reality. When it comes to the real business of running the city, I would bring creative thinking and ideas to the table, not rely on a sports event three years in the future."

The candidates represent two local political camps.

Bankes hails from the city's old-gals network, which includes exiting City Clerk Joan McCotter (mother of Republican U.S. RepThaddeus McCotter) and Republican state Sen. Laura Toy. If Bankes wins, she'll be Livonia's first female mayor.

In 1998, Engebretson got his start in local politics when then-Mayor BobBennett appointed him to the Planning Commission -- an action later repeated when Kirksey took office.

Whoever is elected mayor will have to keep the city on track to meet challenges of the future and maintain the city's place in the region.