Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

City Council members are raising concerns about air conditioning going down in apartment buildings across the city during an extreme heat wave. 

Council Member Mary Waters said she’s working with city inspectors to get the cold air running in Whitmore Apartments after a senior resident notified her. Council President Mary Sheffield left Tuesday’s session to meet with residents at The Jefferson Apartments, where residents also reported the air conditioning went down. 

“No one should be expected to live in such conditions,” Sheffield said in a statement. “Reports of apartments reaching dangerously high temperatures, unanswered maintenance requests and a lack of clear communication from building management are unacceptable.” 

Sheffield said the building’s management company told tenants that repairs will be finished by Thursday. She remains in communication with the property manager and the city’s Buildings Safety Engineering and Environmental Department. 

A statement from Friedman Real Estate, the building’s management, was posted online by a tenant who said they spent the night in a hotel after suffering in the heat. The statement included an apology to frustrated tenants and offered a potential rent credit.

A tenant who spoke with BridgeDetroit said their unit was 82 degrees even after they spent $389 on a portable air conditioning unit. They said the building management provided a limited number of portable units to pre-selected residents. 

Wayne County is under an extreme heat warning, according to the National Weather Service, with four consecutive days of “dangerously hot conditions” over 90 degrees. Temperatures reached a high of 95 degrees on Monday and the heat index was projected to reach 104 degrees. 

Despite a midweek cooldown to the 80s, the temperatures are expected to be back in the 90s by this weekend.

Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has found more people visit the emergency department as temperatures rise above 80 degrees. Much of Detroit is considered highly vulnerable to extreme heat, especially in neighborhoods with less tree cover and more asphalt. 

A 2021 study estimated 47% of Detroit residential structures had either no access to air conditioning or window units. Another 2020 study focused on Detroit found the odds of heat-related illness increase for people with no AC. 

Waters said the situation is dangerous for Detroiters, especially older residents living in high-rises. 

“Seniors will literally lay there and die,” Waters said.

WHAT PAGE ARE WE ON? 

Today’s notebook covers the June 24 formal session. 

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REPARATIONS REPORT NEEDS MORE TIME, AGAIN 

Detroit’s reparations task force was given a third extension to deliver a set of policy recommendations to the City Council, putting it a full year behind the initial deadline. 

The task force was formed in April 2023 and had 18 months to produce the report, with an original deadline set for October 2024. The council agreed to push the date back to March, then to June, and the deadline was extended to Oct. 31 after Tuesday’s vote. 

Project Manager Evan Daugherty said the work is “75% done” but said Desiree Ferguson, a writer hired by the task force to draft the report, requested more time as the June deadline approached.

Daugherty said the writer will have to navigate legal pitfalls that have caused other municipal reparations initiatives to face legal challenges. Daugherty said the task force is particularly concerned with how to determine eligibility. 

“Members have talked about legal action that may be taken against us,” Daugherty said. “Members have been speaking about tailoring recommendations to be race-based in the impact but not necessarily the language, so we’ll be able to withstand (lawsuits).” 

Daugherty outlined several priorities for reparations policies that Detroiters supported in a recent survey that received more than 1,000 responses. Top priorities include:

• Home repair grants for Black residents up to $40,000 
• Prohibiting Wayne County from “giving away” homes of Black Detroiters
• Increasing access to healthy food by funding community co-operative grocery stores
• Reducing taxes by 10% for 10 years for Black homeowners who were overassessed from 2010-16 
• Upgrading Detroit Public Schools Community District buildings 
• Boost teacher hiring at DPSCD
• Invest in infrastructure and public transportation 

Eighty-percent of Detroit voters supported a 2021 proposal to create housing and economic development programs benefiting Black residents. The task force stumbled in its first year but leaders say they group is on firmer footing after filing vacancies and navigating internal disagreements. 

Daugherty said the task force has $172,967 left in its budget. The council allocated $350,000 initially and boosted the budget by $66,000 last year.

The task force spent $186,677 on salaries for Daugherty, Ferguson and former Project Manager Emberly Vick. It also spent $35,807 in operating expenses and $14,280 in fringe benefits, including payroll taxes.

AWARD FOR MALIK SHABAZZ

Community activist Malik Shabazz is the first person to receive the Delores Bennett Community Warrior Award. 

Sheffield said Shabazz was honored for spending 40 years “boldly showing up consistently and unapologetically’ to register voters, organize residents and expose drug houses and merchants selling expired produce. Sheffield said it was important that Shabazz receive recognition “while you’re here,” noting he survived a heart attack and other health issues. 

Shabazz was in good spirits, standing from his wheelchair to take a photo with council members and community partners. He reflected on his brush with mortality, saying at one point he was clinically dead. 

Shabazz, founder of New Black Panthers Party/New Marcus Garvey Movement, said God deserves the glory for calling him to service. 

Council President Pro Tem James Tate called Shabazz the “godfather” of Detroit’s Community Violence Intervention program. Tate said he also laid the groundwork for community involvement in government decisions.  

“You’re known to say things that were controversial, on the edge, but sometimes that’s necessary to get folks’ attention,” Tate said. “You gotta rattle some cages — 99.9% of the work you’ve done has created an impact in our city that has been immeasurable.”

Other council members said Shabazz inspired their involvement in city government.

“I used to watch you on television. I’m in this here now,” Whitfield-Calloway said. “I understand that it takes courage to do what you do and what we do here. It’s no easy feat.” 

Council Member Coleman Young II said Shabaaz was “like a superhero at night,” thanking him for making “the ultimate sacrifice of your life and well-being for our greater good.” 

SALES TAX STUDY SETS STAGE FOR STATE PUSH 

The City Council commissioned a study of several local taxes to arm Detroit’s lobbyists with a foundation to argue for changes in state law. 

A $200,000 contract with the Citizens Research Council of Michigan was authorized to provide economic and policy analysis examining the feasibility and potential of local option taxes. The report will include a survey of cities with similar taxes, a review of the regulatory environment in Michigan and estimates of potential revenues and the economic impact on residents. A report is due by next January. 

Multiple tax options will be studied, including an entertainment tax on downtown activities and a “half-penny” sales tax Sheffield has promoted during her mayoral campaign. 

“This report is the start point to have a comprehensive understanding of what that (preferred) option is,” Sheffield said. “There’s a lot of different things on the table that we’re talking about.” 

Legislative Policy Director David Whitaker said any proposal could face challenges earning approval from state lawmakers. Whitaker said the proposal could face “Detroit fatigue” — lawmakers rejected a major tax reform plan championed by Mayor Mike Duggan last year — so any local tax bill would need to have a positive effect for other cities. 

The study is meant to bolster the argument and address questions that legislators are likely to pose. 

“If you’re trying to make an argument to the state, you need the most powerful advocate that you can to get on the topic,” Whitaker said. “Getting the Citizens Research Council to give a comprehensive report should be helpful. There’s no question that the city needs more revenue, so this report is designed to make the argument.” 

Council Member Coleman Young II is a former lawmaker who unsuccessfully introduced a $3 tax on sports and concert tickets. The 2018 bill lacked support to advance. Young warned colleagues to be aware of “significant forces” that will oppose tax increases. 

Council Member Fred Durhal III, another former state lawmaker who is also running for mayor this year, asked for the report to study the economic impact on low-income residents. Durhal said a half-penny tax could be “extremely regressive” for residents who earn $30,000 or less. 

“When I was in the Legislature we proposed a one penny gas tax that fell flat on its face,” Durhal said. “Voters rejected it. Members of the Legislature that are not from Detroit are generally apprehensive of imposing a new tax on themselves.” 

Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway said she’s working with lawmakers like state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, to implement an amusement tax. Whitfield-Calloway also floated the idea to Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, who introduced bills in 2017 and 2019 that lacked support. 

Whitfield-Calloway noted that Grand Rapids raised its hotel tax from 5% to 8% to fund a new soccer stadium and events amphitheater. She said the momentum is building in Detroit thanks to its winning sports teams and interest in bringing a WNBA franchise to the city. 

“This is the opportunity, when the iron is hot, to strike,” Whitfield-Calloway said. “I’m thinking it’s going to go this time. It may not have been appropriate years ago, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen now.” 

Whitaker said he’s met with members of Duggan’s team in the finance department, who “want this report to happen.”