There are some similarities between Boulder and Ann Arbor, Mich., where I lived for a period of time. Each city is about the same size; each city hosts a world-class university; each city has serious traffic problems, especially on football Saturdays.

But there are some significant differences, too. Boulder’s population is listed at 108,090. Ann Arbor is a bit larger with its population of 120,782.

Now the comparison of budgets and city personnel is quite surprising. According to Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam, Boulder’s annual operating budget is $260,677,000 with a total of 1,447 fulltime employees. Ann Arbor’s administrative assistant to its mayor, Christine Schopieray, indicates that Ann Arbor’s annual operating budget is $130,240,000 with a total of just 729 employees.

With Boulder having twice the number of employees and twice the operating budget, can anyone in Boulder’s city administration explain what services we enjoy for all that money and staffing, services that are denied to the taxpayers of Ann Arbor? In other words why is there such a large discrepancy?

Richard J. Bowman

Boulder