Belleville DDA attorney gives lesson on legal aspects of DDAs

Kevin Kilby, who serves as attorney for the Belleville Downtown Development Authority, gave a lesson in Development and the Tax Increment Financing Plan at the DDA’s regular meeting on March 20.
Kilby has been Belleville DDA attorney for the past 10 years and he said he has given this presentation in the past. He said there are several newer members who have not heard it, so he was invited to do it again.
He is with the McGraw Morris lawfirm in Troy and has been practicing since 2005. TIFs are his specialty and he only practices municipal law.
It was noted the Belleville DDA currently gets $915,000 income through TIF.
Kilby told of the newer reporting requirements that requires the DDA to have a site on the city’s website, if the city has a website. The DDA is required to post all contracts, minutes, list revenues, and other documents, and to hold informational meetings for stakeholders twice a year.
Kilby said usually no one comes to these informational meetings, but they are required.
He said if the DDA is in violation of the rules, it can lose its tax increment funding.
Kilby said under the new law, the DDA can only spend money within the DDA district.
He said DDA members with questions may call Assistant City Manager Steve Jones and Jones will assemble them and relay them to the attorney. Kilby said other DDAs had individuals calling separately with questions, which gets out of hand since he bills for each call.
In other business at the March 20 meeting, the DDA:
• Gathered outside to view samples of two companies’ LED signs that the DDA is considering to replace the LED part of the sign at High and Main streets, which has failed. The person who originally installed the LED sign 16 years ago was present for the demonstration. He promised to turn off the failed sign on his way out of town, and he did. The DDA will discuss the signs at the next meeting and select the sign they prefer;
• Voted to replace on the check signing list the name of Kelly McWilliams, who stepped down as vice chairperson, and replace it with Mike Gatteri. Secretary Denise Baker said she was called by the bank about official check-signers and learned that the names of people no longer on the DDA or deceased were still on the list;
• Discussed briefly the new budget that is being put together. Baker had asked for suggestions for line items for committees and Treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams asked for $20,000 for the art committee. Chris Donley, chairman of the marketing committee, asked for $50,000 so they could hire a professional firm to help with a five-year plan;
• Heard Valerie Kelley-Bonner say she knew nothing about what Donley was describing and so she announced she was relinquishing her membership on the marketing committee. She asked for better communication in the future;
• Approved $3,000 as a grant to the free Music Lakeside concert series, now in its 15th season. The Van Buren Township DDA agreed to match up to $3,000 of what the Belleville DDA granted the concert series. The request for the grant was from Ken Voigt, the city’s mayor who sits on the DDA as liaison from the city. Mayor Voigt was not present in person at the DDA meeting, but was attending by Zoom;
• Heard chairperson Alicia McGovern announce that the next meeting, and those thereafter, will be held at the Belleville Area District Library. She said she would not be present for the next meeting on April 17. Treasurer Richardson-Williams also announced she could not attend that meeting;
• Heard DDA member Kelley-Bonner urged everyone to “love on each other.” She said the recent shooting murder at a bar in Romulus was her family;
• Heard Richardson-Williams say she was on the team that picked out the art that will be leased to the city for a year, starting in May. She said the committee felt moved to compete with the new Balloon Dog sculpture next to the bridge. They have selected statues of animals: a giraffe, gorilla, and goats at the Secretary of State;
• Heard a suggestion from the audience from Dinara Strikis that if they are going to have a goat day this year, they could have a community GOAT award: Greatest of All Time; and
• Was informed by Jones that the agenda sent to them of six items of General Business was reduced to just three because splitting the cost of the goats trimming the brush at Horizon Park with the city could be handled internally, as could the aeration and weed and feed of Horizon Park. The decision on the LED sign would be made at the next meeting. Jones also said the plan to revote to clarify the address of which parcel was purchased at the last meeting was not necessary, because the attorney said it was clarified before the meeting ended. In addition the request for a grant from Music Lakeside was added at the last minute.