Client And Attorney

Ann Arbor City Council Member Sandi Smith, D-1s Ward, chats with City Attorney Stephen Postema during a break in Tuesday night's council meeting. Marijuana advocates called for Postema's firing before the meeting. Read the story here.

Retreat Repeat

City Administrator Roger Fraser says it might be time for Ann Arbor to consider getting out of the business of providing some city services. But that will be for the City Council to decide. "We have sort of an interesting challenge that's still ahead of us," Fraser told council members and other high-ranking city officials during another all-day budget retreat on Saturday. "If we can't afford to do everything we have been doing, what is it we're willing to modify?" Read the story here.

Fire In The Hole

Ann Arbor officials say they're open to considering implementation of a new paid on-call firefighting system as an option for cutting costs at the Ann Arbor Fire Department. The idea emerged today during an all-day city budget retreat as city officials brainstormed ways to address future shortfalls in the city's budget. The city's general fund budget currently totals $81.45 million. The fire department, with 89 full-time employees budgeted this year, accounts for about $13.8 million of that. The city's administration revealed a new forecast showing a $2.4 million shortfall for fiscal year 2011-12. Read the stories here and here.

Solemnly Swearing

City Clerk Jackie Beaudry swears in, from left to right, Mayor John Hieftje and Ann Arbor City Council Members Sandi Smith, Margie Teall, Carsten Hohnke, Tony Derezinski and Christopher Taylor after their successful re-election campaigns.