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Ann Arbor council rejects $1.73 million phase‑2 municipalization study vote
Summary
Council deadlocks on a professional services contract to study buying DTE assets after hours of public comment; related staff preparatory actions also failed.
The Ann Arbor City Council voted down a proposal on March 3 to hire NewGen Strategies and Solutions LLC for a phase‑2 electric grid valuation and municipalization study, rejecting a $1,728,000 contract that would have advanced work on whether the city should acquire DTE Electric Company assets.
Supporters said the study was necessary to give residents independent information before considering municipalization. Milton Baker, a resident who spoke during public comment, urged council to “empower us with this information by voting for it tonight.” Several other residents — including Ella Edelstein, Mike Nowak and Isha Khan — urged the council to move forward, citing reliability, climate and equity concerns.
Opponents and some council members said the city’s current fiscal and political uncertainty made a large new allocation imprudent. Council members who voted no raised concerns that acquiring DTE assets could cost hundreds of millions to more than a billion dollars and that litigation and…
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