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Council members clarify Livonia Built bond vs. millage and schedule public Q&A sessions
Summary
Council members explained that the proposed Livonia Built plan uses municipal bonds (up to $150 million) and a millage to finance debt service; several council members announced upcoming town halls and online resources to explain impacts to residents.
Council members spent part of the meeting clarifying earlier public confusion about the Livonia Built bond proposal and announced public outreach events to explain what voters will see on the ballot.
Council member Donovan described the financing structure: the city would issue municipal bonds for up to $150 million (initial draw $100 million with an additional authority of up to $50 million) and the millage would fund debt payments. "If you think about the bond as being, like, your mortgage and the millage would be the payments that we're collecting," Donovan said.
Council members and staff encouraged residents not to rely solely on social media for information and pointed to Livoniabuilt.org for FAQs and a tax-impact calculator. Several council members announced in-person and virtual events: Council member Donovan said he will host a town hall on May 28 to answer questions; Council member Budzinski announced multiple Q&A dates including June 14 (budget discussion), June 17 (7 p.m.) and other outreach events aimed at explaining the proposal and answering residents' questions.
Council described the plan as an information priority and asked staff to include clear talking points and updated FAQs so residents can understand whether the ballot measure asks them to approve a bond issuance, a millage to pay debt service, or both. No formal vote on the bond structure occurred at this meeting; the discussion focused on outreach and clarification.
