Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence

The Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema, Mayor Bobby Hopewell, and City Attorney Clyde J Robinson met with William Johnston and William Parfet who agreed on a 70.3 million dollar donation over a three-year period.^[1][2] The goal of the foundation is to increase city funding while decreasing property taxes.^[3] Kalamazoo felt it was necessary to explore the idea of the foundation after the State of Michigan imposed restrictions on how cities can raise revenue and state revenue sharing declined.^[4]

The Foundation was approved by the commission and mayor by a 5–2 vote on Aug. 25, 2017.^[5]

City Commissioner Matt Milcarek believes the city should work to impose an income tax instead of continuing work on the foundation, something voters in Kalamazoo have rejected twice.^[4][6]