It's time to put an end to Ann Arbor's Greenbelt program

An open letter to all council persons:

It is high time to end the Greenbelt program and therefore stop taking $2,000,000 annually of taxpayer money. I think a very large majority of everyone can agree there has already been enough greenspace purchased in the last many years.

This program started when Ann Arbor was growing rapidly with lots of land being bought and developed for housing. There is NO more need for developing land and in fact many parcels that were bought for this purpose are now bankrupt and still sit as greenspace. The program has outlived its usefulness.

Now I read that the council voted 9 to 1 for expansion. A thank you to Jane Lumm, who is apparently the only council person with common sense enough to look out for the Ann Arbor taxpayers. This is an absolutely INSANE use of taxpayer money while members of the City Council and everyone else complains about having to lay off city employees, needing more funds for fixing streets, and other much more important uses. It’s time to learn fiscal responsibility, just as the state and federal governments must do.

David Singsank
Ann Arbor