The Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository was launched in August 2009 as a location to store and make public documents relevant to local governance. University of Michigan emerging technologies librarian Patricia Anderson reviewed it recently, with this observation:

So, what do you think would tend to be the government documents most sought and least available? Yes, the information from our immediate local government for the towns and villages where we live. People want to know about the streets they live on, the businesses they shop in, the buses they ride, the schools their children attend, the parks they play in. That information is incredibly difficult to find and access.

After the jump, a brief review of the most popular documents retrieved over the last month, including details from the city budget process, the development plans for the Library Lot, and the Seventh and Washington streets pedestrian island.

City of Ann Arbor budget

The city of Ann Arbor is going through a difficult budget planning cycle, with the city facing a reduction in property tax revenue. City Council is in active budget discussions; here's some of the documents that are being reviewed by staff and council.

City Positions, Salary, and Benefits, FY 2010 & 11 . Two reports from a FOIA request that show all city positions and their salary and benefits for fiscal year 2010 and 2011.

Roger Fraser's presentation to city of Ann Arbor employees. On Jan. 11, the City Administrator gave a presentation to city employees at the Michigan Theater regarding this year's budget cycle; this is a copy of it.

Feb. 8, 2010, Ann Arbor City Council budget working session documents. At its Jan. 25 working session, Council received materials for the Community Services Area related to the “big ideas” initially identified at Council’s December 2009 offsite retreat. This additional information was provided to council for its Feb. 8 working session.

Library Lot proposals

The City of Ann Arbor is considering proposals for the development of the Library Lot site. The two proposals from Acquest and Valiant have received the most consideration.

Seventh and Washington streets

Seventh and Washington streets pedestrian refuge sign repair. A report complied in response to a FOIA appeal by city staff and provided by Fraser on the reinstallation of signs after crashes at Seventh and Washington streets at the pedestrian refuge island there. The FOIA was denied on the grounds that the original request was a request for information, not for records; the information was provided nonetheless.

What's missing here

There are surprisingly few documents in the collection from state, federal, and university sources relative to local governance. One of the criticisms leveled at the press regarding its coverage of the local area is that it has such a local focus that it never looks at comparable cities in comparable situations around the country to assess how things are elsewhere with an eye towards how things could be diffferent here.

Edward Vielmetti asks questions in such a way that a response is expected within the five business days specified in Michigan FOIA law. You can reach him at 734-330-2465.