THE
Summer Daily
I
len t..ents I we've rages
.. ,
Vol LXXXIII, No. 48-S
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Thursday, July 26, 1973
Ten Cents
T weive Pages
Ivy. i i i. r Div. .. r .. ... _ -r ... --s ,. r
Raises to total between 15-30%
Fleming
confirms
massive
fee hie
What's so funny?
John Ehrlichman, former assistant to the President takes time out for a bit of
humor yesterday while waiting for the Senate Watergate hearings to begin. (See
related story on page three.)
Businesses o w
delinquen t land
By GORDON ATCHESON
While most people regard paying taxes
as an unpleasant necessity they dutifully
perform annually, a number of companies
with real estate holdings in the city have
yet to settle up last year's property tax
obligations.
Eight companies owe about half the
city's $1.3 million in delinquent property
taxes for 1972. Three of those concerns
have debts over $100,000 each.
KASSAB-JOSEPH, INC., a Toledo-based
firm, has outstanding taxes totaling $126,-
000, the single largest debt. Close behind
are the owners of the Maple Village Shop-
ping Center and Tower Plaza Apartments
whose obligations are $121,000 and $117,000
respectively.
The local Ramada Inn has about $73,000
in delinquent 1972 property taxes. Sub-
stantially lesser amounts are unpaid on
land interests of Consolidated Operations
Corp., Summit/Hamilton Management
Co., Traver Lakes Inc., and Milgor Co.
REPRESENTATIVES OF MOST of
these companies have offered reasons why
the taxes have not yet been paid, some
seven months after they came due.
Summit/Hamilton executive Duane Ren-
ken, who also serves as president of the
Ann Arbor School Board, explained that
the company merely manages property
for the owners. Although the city sends
tax statements to the company, "in most
cases" they are forwarded to the indi-
vidual owners who are legally responsi-
ble for payment, according to Renken.
RENKEN, HOWEVER, has not paid
the property tax on his own home. More-
over, nearly 213 of the local property taxes
collected finance schools, which the School
Board oversees.
Kassab - Joseph spokespersons could
not be reached for comment. The corpora-
tion lists a Toledo address to which tax
statements have been sent, but the tele-
phone company reported no listing for the
organization.
David Auer, a partner in Maple-Jackson
Associates which owns and operates the
shopping center, would not discuss why
the taxes on the property have not been
paid.
HE CLAIMED THE matter constituted
"private business" between the city and
himself. "My reasons are my own and
when we get the money we will pay," he.
added.
Auer also charged the city with over
assessing the property for tax purposes.
By DAN RIDDLE
President Robben Fleming told
The Daily last night he expects the
Regents to approve unprecedented
tuition hikes averaging nearly 24
per cent per semester for all stu-
dents in the 1973-74 academic year.
The Daily learned earlier yester-
day that the proposed increases will
run as high as 30 per cent for grad-
uate students and vary between 15
taxes
Tower Plaza building manager Ronald
Hall, who represents absentee owner Peter
Kleinpell of Flint, said the structure con-
sistently loses money but prior to last year
the owner had put additional funds into
the enterprise to cover taxes.
HALL FURTHER POINTED out that
the interest rates for borrowing money to
pay the taxes would be higher than the
overall penalties established for delin-
quent tax accounts.
The city currently surcharges payments,
which fall due on Dec. 31, one per cent
of the total bill the first month late and
two per cent the following month. Those
taxes not paid by Mar. 1 are turned over
to the county treasurer's office as "delin-
quent."
The county charges a four per cent
"collection fee" plus %12 per cent per
month until payment is made, up to a
three year limit. After three years, any
property with outstanding taxes is put
up for tax sale.
"THE OVERALL INTEREST rate on
taxes is somewhat less -than borrowing
money, consequently some taxes do not
get paid," City Treasurer John Bentley
said.
See LOCAL, Page 11
and 30 per cent for pre-professionals
and undergrads.
VICE PRESIDENT for Academic Af-
fairs Allan Smith confirmed the approxi-
mate figures and echoed Fleming's pre-
diction that the Regents will approve the
across-the-board proposal sometime today.
The record hikes will effectively place
freshmen and sophomores in a cheaper
fee range from juniors and seniors.
According to administration sources,
the underclass group will pay 15 per cent
higher fees per semester, while tuition
for resident juniors and seniors will jump
approximately 29 per cent.
NON-RESIDENT upperclassmen will
take a fee increase of better than 22 per
cent.
Tuition for medical and dental school
students will leap 26-27 per cent from
the-past year's levels, and in-state law
students will be hit with a 30 per cent
rise.
Their out-of-state counterparts will pay
20 per cent higher fees.
ADMINISTRATION spokespersons gave
no immediate explanation for the differ-
ence in some of the resident versus non-
-resident rate hikes.
In real terms, for example, the big
boost will push yearly tuition for an in-
state junior from $696 to about $900. The
non-resident freshman fee for a full year
will jump from $2260 to around $2600.
Fleming said he would withhold com-
ment on the record hikes until their offi-
cial publication today.
PRESENTATION OF the proposal to the
Regents hinged on action taken yester-
day by the state legislature on Fleming's
request for a $24 million raise in state
appropriations to the University.
The state Senate slashed Fleming's fig-
ure but a House-Senate conference yes-
terday voted to boost appropriations by
about $8.7 million. This was substantially
higher than Governor Milliken's original
recommendation of $7.2 million-a figure
Smith had earlier termed "meager."
The long - expected, announcement of
huge fee increases is in large part a re-
sult of a June 18 Supreme Court ruling
which effectively voided the University's
residency requirements.
See 'U', Page 10