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Copyright 2002
The Detroit News.
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 Max Ortiz / The Detroit News
Kirsten Galka, a 10-year Livonia resident, views the city as being receptive to diversity, despite having the largest percentage of whites in cities with a population of 100,000 or more.
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Aging Livonia competes with newer suburbs
City struggles to finance, maintain services, facilities
By Craig Garrett / The Detroit News
LIVONIA -- Jeanette Newman returned to Livonia two years ago after retiring to Florida in 1980.
Across town, Amy Lawson packed her family's bags, preparing to move to Port Huron.
The two residents -- separated in age by 43 years -- represent a vexing generation gap in a city that has evolved from small manufacturing hub for Midwestern cheese and farm produce to model suburb to aging economic powerhouse.
Newman, 75, likes the safe streets and good senior programs. Lawson, 32, wants to live in a vibrant neighborhood with kids who can play with her young children.
"I like it here, but there just aren't that many kids," said Lawson, a speech therapist with Dearborn schools who often ferried her children around town so they could have playmates.
Livonia, for decades one of the most prosperous communities in the United States, enters the 21st century with the potential for decline that many older, inner-ring suburbs face. Because the population is shifting to growing communities like Canton Township, older suburbs like Livonia face a decline in services, schools, public buildings, quality roads and the intangible loss of vitality that characterized such cities in the 1950s and 1960s.
And because of its age, Livonia and other inner-ring suburbs are faced with the daunting task of competing with younger communities that promise the advantages that Livonia once offered -- open space, better-paying jobs, lower taxes, growing schools.
Largely built in the 1950s, Livonia's streets, sidewalks, sewers, public buildings and safety equipment are aging, and repairs and upgrades are costly. Perhaps more devilish, the city's industrial base is mostly decades old, provoking some companies and merchants to consider whether it's better to renovate or pack up and head west to communities with more space to expand. Canton, Plymouth, Northville and Van Buren townships all have siphoned business and valuable tax dollars from inner-ring suburbs.
Canton's taxable value has soared to nearly $3 billion in the past 10 years. Even with a decades-long head start, Livonia's taxable value is about $5 billion.
Just as confounding, the city is home to one of the oldest populations of residents, a phenomenon that contributes to a shrinking school system. The city's elderly population is estimated to double to about 40,000 in 20 years. Livonia leaders holding to the city's reputation for excellence increasingly must rely on tax hikes that were unnecessary just a few years ago, sometimes a tough sell to seniors living on fixed incomes.
And new amenities like parks, soccer fields, ball diamonds and high school field houses that keep Livonia competitive with booming communities cost millions of dollars. The city's new $30 million recreation center opens next year. The center was built with a tax hike that will cost the owner of a $200,000 house several thousand dollars over the next 20 years.
Good schools and modern indoor recreation facilities attract new, younger families.
"We want to maintain diverse demographics, and we believe that the rec center will help us do that," Livonia Finance Director Michael Slater said.
Best foot forward
Newman, the Florida retiree, sees Livonia as a city that always met her family's needs. When her daughter was younger, the city's schools were packed with children, nearly 40,000, in the early 1970s.
Lawson, the mother of two small children who is moving to Port Huron, sees the age of the community as a drawback. Some residents have lived there for decades, and many city services are targeted to the older residents. Child bike safety classes and some summer programs were quietly dropped in the past couple of years as the number of children continued to plummet, Lawson said.
Leaving for Port Huron was a business decision made by her husband. And the move is bittersweet.
"There are lots of things we're going to miss," Lawson said.
Livonia's huge industrial base has allowed the city and school district to keep taxes relatively low, with homeowners paying a rate of 32 mills and commercial and industrial properties paying 49 mills. Those rates are in line with competing communities.
But officials are now regularly asking Livonia voters to tax themselves more to keep the city competitive. In 2000, voters approved a tax increase for new athletic complexes at the city's three high schools, a year after the city won voter approval for the new rec center.
Next month, the city will tap voters yet again, this time for $4 million a year for 10 years to repave every street in the city. While the road millage would cost the average homeowner less than the cost of a gallon of gas a week, the tax requests are quickly adding up.
Despite the challenges, Livonia Mayor Jack Kirksey said his city will continue to prosper. But the next generation of leaders will have to work harder and smarter than their predecessors. The key to the city's economic survival is catering to its merchants and employers who operate nearly 6,000 businesses ranging from manufacturing plants to fast-food restaurants. Businesses contribute nearly 60 percent of Livonia's tax base.
"It may sound simplistic, but it'll be a question of what can we do as a government to make our businesses feel wanted," the mayor said. "The competition is fierce, especially when they're being courted (by areas) with green space and room to expand. Why would they stay if we didn't present our best?
An impressive past
Livonia was settled in the early 19th century largely by transplants from western New York. Many became sheep farmers who later switched to dairy herds and ultimately produced fine Midwest cheese.
The city eventually evolved into an economic powerhouse, becoming home to manufacturing plants and thousands of suppliers. The city's taxable value of nearly $5 billion is more than half of Detroit's, though Livonia is 10 times smaller in land size and population.
Though the industrial corridor has paid big dividends in terms of jobs and tax revenue, Mayor Kirksey said he and others in the past two years have developed a new list of businesses the city would like to attract. Service industries and other businesses like printing, technology and warehousing/shipping are on that list. The city has factored in tax incentives to further entice businesses.
Gary Grout, general manager of Dearborn Lithograph in Livonia, said city officials offered to assist in a company expansion two years ago.
"This isn't something new" in Livonia, Grout said. The city's encouragement to Dearborn Lithograph and its 26 workers to remain in Livonia has been ongoing for years, he said.
The story at Dearborn Lithograph is common, said Jeff Bryant, the city's economic director.
"The key is being aggressive and consistent," Bryant said.
Populace rise and fall
As new businesses moved into Livonia in the 1950s, its population soared, tripling during that decade to 66,000. To keep up with the growth, the city's school district added a new classroom each month for a decade. At its peak in the 1970s, Livonia had about 38,000 school children. Enrollment has since dropped to 17,000, with the district losing an average of 100 students a year since 1999.
Livonia's growing senior population bothers some because schools are critical to attracting younger families and employers.
School authorities have started closing some buildings and are trimming back costs to offset the loss of state aid with each lost student. Although the school district's budget is reeling, the district will continue to compete with western Wayne County districts, selling itself on its high test scores and quality of life, school officials said.
Some observers say Livonia would boost its competitiveness if it could shed its image of being closed to minorities. The city earned the distinction of having the highest percentage of whites among American cities with more than 100,000 people after release of 2000 census figures.
Livonia officials bristle at the label, saying nonwhites always have been welcome in the community. Young families of any race will be important to Livonia's future success, they say.
There are signs of their outreach effort.
"I've seen a lot more people of other races, not just African Americans, in the last couple of years," said Kirsten Galka, an African-American nurse and college instructor who has lived in Livonia for a decade. "I've found (Livonia) to be very receptive."
You can reach Craig Garrett at (313) 561-9646 or cgarrett@detnews.com.
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