Ann Arbor voters will decide five city ballot proposals on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Election results are pending. This article will be updated as election officials release vote totals.

Two proposals renew existing property tax millages. Two amend city charter procedures. The fifth, Proposal E, asks whether the city should create a municipal electric utility and its governing board, a question that has drawn lawsuits, campaign spending and sharp disagreement among elected officials.

Here is what each proposal would do.

Proposal A: streets, bridges and sidewalk repair

Proposal A would renew an existing tax of up to 2.125 mills for street, bridge and sidewalk repair and replacement and sidewalk construction, according to the city's elections page. The levy would cover 2027 through 2032, replacing the current cycle that expires after 2026. It is estimated to raise $19,236,316 in its first year.

City records trace earlier versions of the millage to the 1980s and describe it as the principal funding source for street and bridge repairs, supplemented by state and federal grants.

Proposal B: new sidewalk construction

Proposal B would renew a separate tax of up to 0.20 mills for building new sidewalks, also running 2027 through 2032. It replaces the expiring 2021-2026 levy and is estimated to raise about $1,809,900 in its first year, according to city ballot language. The millage funds gaps in the sidewalk network, according to the city's supporting memorandum.

Proposal C: petition signature counting

Proposal C would change how the city counts signatures on candidate nomination petitions. Under the current charter, if a resident signs petitions for more than one candidate seeking the same office, all of that person's signatures are thrown out. Under the proposed change, only the earliest-dated signature would count. If two or more bear the same date, none would count. The change appears in the city's proposed charter amendment.

City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry told The Michigan Daily the change would prevent a candidate's accepted petition from being disqualified after another candidate later files duplicate signatures.

Proposal D: when elected officials take office

Proposal D would move the start of an elected official's term to noon on the first Monday of the month following the election. The current charter language specifies the first Monday after the election itself. Beaudry told The Michigan Daily the change aligns with a new state law that says local candidates can take office no sooner than Dec. 1.

Proposal E: municipal electric utility

Proposal E is the most contested item on the ballot. It would amend the city charter to require Ann Arbor to establish a municipal electric utility and a nine-member board to govern it, according to city ballot language. If approved, five board members would be elected in 2028, with four more appointed by City Council, according to the proposed amendment reproduced by Ann Arbor for Public Power.

The nonprofit Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2) gathered more than 5,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot, Michigan Public reported in August.

A 2023 city study estimated acquiring DTE Energy's local distribution assets and business, excluding substations, would cost between $281 million and $1.15 billion, according to the city's study explanation. That range does not include all costs of establishing and operating a utility. A2P2 Executive Director Brian Geiringer has said the proposal creates a framework for a future feasibility study and possible transition, not an immediate purchase of DTE equipment, WEMU reported.

City Council voted 10-1 on Oct. 5 to oppose Proposal E and direct City Attorney Atleen Kaur to challenge it in court, The Michigan Daily reported. The city filed a lawsuit on Oct. 26, arguing the proposal amounts to a charter revision rather than an amendment, according to A2P2's Oct. 31 response and Michigan Public's Oct. 29 report. A2P2 disputes the city's argument.

Councilmember Cynthia Harrison, the lone vote against the council's opposition resolution, said the city should respect the citizen-led petition process, The Michigan Daily reported.

DTE Energy has funded an opposition group, the Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition, which had $1.8 million in campaign funding, The Detroit News reported Oct. 12, citing Washtenaw County campaign finance reports in its article republished by AOL.

How to vote and track results

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can find their polling location on the Michigan Voter Information Center website. Election Day Vote Centers for same-day registration are open at City Hall, the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) and the Duderstadt Center, according to the city clerk's office.

The city expects to post partial unofficial absentee results before 9 p.m. Tuesday. Those early numbers will reflect only ballots tabulated before Election Day and will change as remaining absentee ballots are counted, according to the city's elections page. Results will be posted on the Washtenaw County Clerk's results website, according to the city's election preparation guide.