YPSILANTI, MI - Ypsilanti officials say voter approval of a millage to repay debt associated with the city's Water Street Redevelopment Area will benefit the city's budget and improve how Ypsilanti provides services to residents.

Mayor Amanda Edmonds said she and city staff are thrilled about the millage approval and, with a permanent plan now in place to address the Water Street debt, the opportunity to discuss what city services can be reinstated.

"We're excited for what this means for our community going forward," Edmonds said.

There were 1,517 votes in favor of the proposal and 867 votes against the proposal, out of 2,385 votes cast. About 15 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the Aug. 8 election in Ypsilanti.

According to Ypsilanti's 2017-2018 city budget, there was a shortfall of $931,589 that resulted in the loss of three police officers, two firefighter openings, paid interns, delayed equipment purchases and facility improvements.

The budget cuts were needed to make annual payments on the Water Street debt, which average around $700,000 per year. The city purchased the nearly 40-acre parcel for redevelopment but the work was delayed due to contamination issues and failed development deals.

"What needs to happen next is council will have a good chunk of this next year to consider what services have had to be cut, what to restore and to what extent," Edmonds said.

"This basically is stopping the hemorrhage that has been happening with our budget and services over the years."

Ypsilanti resident Josh Budde, who shared his view of the millage in an email to The Ann Arbor News, said he is leery of a tax to pay off the Water Street debt, but acknowledged the property has become a "millstone around the neck."

"I hope for the best, and I sincerely hope that the city uses this millage money wisely and it allows the city to grow," Budde said. "With the tax rates as high as they are in Ypsilanti, I hope people can continue to find properties here alluring, and that the city can continue to see improvements."

Adam Gainsley, campaign manager of Citizens for Ypsi, said the approval of the millage has given him a "huge feeling of relief, above all else."

"It was a stressful debt to watch the city have to carry - it's a relief to finally take this off our shoulders," Gainsley said.

Citizens for Ypsi is a committee started earlier this year to help promote the 2.3 mill proposal.

"We were very happy to have it passed," said Gainsley, adding the millage is important to the financial health of the City of Ypsilanti.

Previous proposals to address the Water Street debt were tied to income taxes or not specifically related to the property, Gainsley said. An identical version approved this week was on the ballot in November 2016 and was rejected by 39 votes.

Opponents of the bill organized another community group called Stop City Increasing Taxes, created in 2006, which has campaigned against millages and proposals concerning the Water Street debt. The group argued residents should not be responsible for the financial decisions made by city officials years ago.

Peter Church is a spokesperson for Stop City Increasing Taxes and said those in support of the millage were using scare tactics to push the proposal through.

A previous road millage ended earlier this year and residents will see their taxes rise once again with the Water Street millage, Church said.

"One of the things we can look back and be proud of is where we are at right now," said Church, pointing out there is no city income tax or larger millage rates as a result of earlier campaigns to pay off the Water Street debt.

The millage will take effect as part of the next city budget, with the City of Ypsilanti's fiscal year starting July 1. It would be seen on residential tax statements as early as summer 2018.

The millage would end in 2031 or earlier if the debt plan has been paid off.

The millage approval appears to be a sign of upward movement for Ypsilanti, Gainsley said, with businesses opening and more people moving to the community.

"Ypsilanti is growing," he said. "We're certainly feeling some of the growing pains going along with that. I think people are thinking about the future a lot more than they have in the past, and thinking about the stability in the city."

Edmonds attributed the success of the millage to residents who stepped up to talk about the proposal and the options available to the city when it came to the Water Street property.

"That's what made this work, there was a group of community leadership who engaged and educated our electorate on this issue," Edmonds said. "There were a lot of details, and it was not easy to understand."

There was also the effect that paying off the Water Street debt from the general fund had on community services, she added.

"Citizens are feeling service cuts over some years. They finally really see and understand that," Edmonds said. "People are tired of having Water Street holding us back."

Gainsley acknowledged there was some "ill will" toward previous members of the Ypsilanti City Council but Citizens for Ypsi campaign refocused with a message about the impact the Water Street debt has on all city residents and services.

"The community has really come to understand this is not going away," Gainsley said. "This debt is really slowing our city down and needed to be taken care of in a more responsible way than just paying out of our own general fund."

City officials are working with a foreign company that proposed in June to develop Water Street into a huge residential and retail development designed to attract immigrants, primarily from Asia.

The project proposal is a $150 million to $300 million mixed-use residential and retail property with an Eastern-inspired structure and philosophy. Up to 3,000 people could live at the site called International Village.

The investors are currently in a due diligence period, and have until Sept. 21 to deliver an answer on whether it will develop the property or not.

Edmonds said some people see the International Village proposal as hope for the future of the Water Street property, and proof the area is still of interest for outside development.

If the development proceeds, Gainsley said it would be a huge boost for the city to hand over environmental remediation efforts on the property and to have Water Street developed as one large project instead of broken into smaller parcels.

Gainsley said he is "cautiously optimistic" that Water Street could one day start generating property tax revenue and possibly cut the millage short, ahead of the 2031 deadline.

"This could make this millage a lot easier on the city," Gainsley said. "If at any point, the property starts to generate tax revenue, those are required to go to the bond payment. We're hopeful over the next three, four, five years, we'll start to see tax income come in and we can start paying the taxes."