Commission sets Oct. 5 public hearing to consider 20-year DDA plan extension

Mount Clemens commissioners voted Sept. 8 to call a public hearing on Oct. 5 to consider an amendment that would extend the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) plan's duration by 20 years.

City Manager Don Johnson introduced attorney Jeffrey S. Aronoff, retained by the DDA, who said the resolution before the commission merely calls the hearing and does not itself amend the plan. "It doesn't amend the plan itself," Aronoff said, explaining that any amendment would later be adopted through the city's ordinance process and would require publication and standard ordinance procedures.

Aronoff explained that the proposed amendment pertains only to the plan's duration; no changes to project priorities or the district boundaries are included in the hearing notice. Commissioners asked why the hearing is being set well before the plan's expiration date; Aronoff and staff said there is no procedural problem with setting the hearing early and that the commission retains ultimate control over the plan. He also clarified a slip of the tongue in the motion that referenced October 5, 2019; the correct year is 2020.

Commissioners raised public questions about the tax-increment financing advantages the DDA provides and whether those captured taxes would be lost without a plan in place; Aronoff said the authority to capture tax-increment revenue continues only so long as the plan is in effect and that the commission can later amend duration if needed. The commission set the hearing date by roll call vote; no ordinance was adopted at the Sept. 8 meeting.