Ann Arbor will decide how to fund public art in Nov.

Last night, the Ann Arbor City Council voted to put a four-year art tax question on the November ballot.

AnnArbor.com reports the council approved the question for the ballot 10-0, with council member Margie Teall absent.

City Council estimates the 0.1 mill will cost each homeowner about $11 per year, and accrue $459,273 in the first year.

The city of Ann Arbor already has an ordinance that funds public arts called the Percent For Art Program. In this program, when Ann Arbor funds a capital improvement project, the city must allocate an amount equal to 1 percent of the project's budget to public art.

If approved by voters, the Art in Public Places Millage would replace the Percent for Art Program, but if voters strike the tax down, Percent for Art will remain in place.  

Sponsors of the mill tax say it will give the city's Public Art Commission with more flexibility to sponsor a wider variety of art projects including temporary installations and performance art.

Ann Arbor.com reports that council member Council Member Jane Lumm expressed that she disliked making voters choose between two art funds, without the option to reject both.

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom