Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett. Big thanks to Kayleigh Lickliter for helping me keep eyes on part of Tuesday’s meeting.
City Council members who spent a year pushing for changes to Detroit’s contract with the Land Bank Authority were surprised to learn their power is limited.
Marcel Hurt, a member of the council’s Legislative Policy Division, said council members can’t change the three-year agreement submitted by Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration. Instead, the council could only vote yes or no.
“This really puts the city council in a position where it feels like we have no power whatsoever,” Council Member Latisha Johnson said last week during a meeting of the council’s Planning and Economic Development committee.
“It really feels like there’s not much that (the City Council) can do as it relates to any amendments or changes to programs or operations as it relates to the disposition of land in the city of Detroit.”
Last week, the committee scheduled a long-awaited conversation over renewing a memorandum of understanding that expired in December 2023. The memorandum is a contract that defines services provided by the land bank and the city. It declares a blight emergency in Detroit.
The land bank’s board of directors must also approve the agreement. One member of the board is appointed by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the other four are appointed by Duggan.
Legislative Policy Division Director David Whitaker said Tuesday that council priorities were never formally agreed on. Johnson said she expected these negotiations to play out in committee meetings, but felt “shut down” last week.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to send the contract back to the committee and negotiate changes with Duggan and the land bank. It’s unclear how long that could take.
“The key word here is negotiation, and we’ve been trying,” said Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero. “Our office has submitted some recommendations, and they have not been accepted.”
Meanwhile, Council President Mary Sheffield requested a report on what it would take to dismantle the land bank. Whitaker said the mayor would have to agree on a resolution passed by the council. The land bank would also need six months’ notice.
“I understand they provided some value but I would like to see most of the land bank’s operations phase back into the city of Detroit,” Sheffield said. “It operates in some regards as a city department, but there’s no transparency or accountability.”
The first agreement was struck in 2013, amended by the council in 2015 and renewed in 2020. The land bank has been able to continue its work without an active contract because it has powers granted under state law.
Council President Pro Tem James Tate said the council was divided on whether to amend the contract or hold off until Duggan’s successor takes office in 2026. The latter option would cause the land bank to operate for another year without a contract in place.
Tate said the council hasn’t reached a consensus on what needs to change. That makes it difficult to negotiate for tweaks in the agreement produced by Duggan’s administration and agreed to by the land bank.
Tate said there is still an opportunity to make changes. Council members plan to craft one document that includes recommendations agreed to by the full body.
Several members have ideas for amendments. Council Member Mary Waters is perhaps the loudest voice on the council seeking changes.
Waters submitted amendments last November focused on the land bank’s Occupied Buy Back program.
The program is meant to sell land bank homes to people who lost their homes to foreclosure but stayed, victims of real estate or landlord fraud, or those with another connection to a land bank house.
Waters said she’s found evidence of people having their homes sold out from under them. Waters sought to better notify residents when their home is added to the buy back program and give them a first right to buy the house before it goes up for auction.
“Let me just say: Member Waters is not happy with this. We’ve been going through this stuff – and I want to call it something else – for months, only to find out we can’t make the changes that we’re recommending,” Waters said last week. “Why in the ‘you know what’ did we not know this before?”
Sheffield joined Waters in calling for limits on the land bank’s role in administering housing programs.
Sheffield said the city’s Housing and Revitalization Department should handle the buy back program while the land bank clears titles and performs other duties the city can’t take on.
Council Member Scott Benson advocated for the land bank, saying it’s done essential work to put property back into good hands.
“No municipality has the ability to manage a portfolio of lonely, unwanted properties at the scale of Detroit,” Benson said. “When people talk about how terrible they are, they need to remember that there are close to 60,000 parcels of property that have been returned to productive use.”
Water said colleagues can “kiss up to the land bank,” but residents need protection.
Benson said he’s not overly friendly with the land bank. He influenced the creation of a “rule” to tear down land bank homes if residents file a complaint with his office.
Residents who called into Tuesday’s meeting criticized the land bank for a variety of issues.
Advocates from Detroiters For Tax Justice emailed recommendations to council members. They suggested renewing the agreement every two years, better archiving board meetings and giving the council power to select land bank board members.
Critics have called the land bank an ally of private investors, arguing it selectively amasses property for development projects backed by the Duggan administration.
Detroit resident Catherine Montgomery said neighbors have been passed over for land bank property sold to outside investors, only to end up cutting the grass and maintaining land that goes abandoned. Montgomery said the land bank is also too slow to demolish dangerous buildings.
Richard Clay, another resident who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, said the land bank is used to “steal property” from Black Detroiters and put it in the hands of white developers.
“All of these residents today and you can’t find two of them to support the land bank getting a new (memorandum of understanding)?” Clay said. “The signs could not be clearer. The residents have spoken. The City Council needs to make a stand.”
What page are we on?
Today’s notebook covers the Jan. 21 formal session.
Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.
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Good news homeowners: The value of Detroit homes grew by $1.4 billion in the last year, Duggan announced Tuesday.
Homeowners saw an average increase of 19% from 2023-204. Overall home values grew from $2.8 billion to $10.1 billion since 2017.
Detroit prepares for immigration crackdown
Santiago-Romero is coordinating help for Detroit migrants who could face deportation under the new Trump administration.
She posted a video to Instagram after Tuesday’s meeting from her car, warning that immigration officials are “roaming our streets” and knocking on doors. Santiago-Romero said she’s meeting with ICE officials to learn more.
Santiago-Romero confirmed that Detroit is not a sanctuary city in light of national concerns about Trump deploying federal immigration enforcement agents to deport residents.
In the meantime, Santiago-Romero said she’s informing undocumented residents about their rights in anticipation of more targeted action.
“If you are a resident and ICE comes to your property, you do not have to open the door. The only way you have to open the door to ICE is if they have a warrant signed by a judge,” she said.
Contact Michigan United at 1-877-507-7774 or the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center for legal assistance.
All of Michigan is within the jurisdiction of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to its proximity to the border with Canada.
Santiago-Romero said Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told her that the city will not aid ICE with immigration raids. However, ICE officials will be made aware if police are investigating a crime committed by someone who turns out to be undocumented.
Santiago-Romero held a training session last week to prepare residents for the deportation crackdown promised by Trump, who was sworn into office on Monday.
“Under this administration, there is a real fear of raids,” Santiago-Romero said.
Sanctuary cities generally do not cooperate with the federal government to enforce immigration laws. Cities often will declare themselves a sanctuary city through resolutions, which Detroit hasn’t done.
However, Santiago-Romero noted that police are prohibited under the City Charter from asking the immigration status of a person seeking help, witnesses and victims to a crime, or to enforce immigration law.
Schools, churches and other businesses are committing to keep their doors closed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents without a warrant, Santiago-Romero said.
Tate says “there is a huge level of fear and anxiety for many of our immigrant populations.”
“We are in the process of identifying what type of assistance can be provided to those who have immigrated,” Tate said.
Waters abandons election skepticism
Jackson noted that Waters once questioned whether fraud impacted her August 2024 primary loss to U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit.
But Waters said she dropped any skepticism she had about the result once she learned more about the process.
Waters earned 27,408 votes in the three-way Democratic primary but came up 17,138 votes short. Thanedar earned 55% of the primary vote then beat his Republican challenger with 69% of the vote. The results were confirmed by county and state canvassers.
Waters had briefly questioned her loss. Her campaign issued a press release two days after the August 2024 election stating Waters would call the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the processing of absentee ballots.
The Wayne County Clerk quickly explained the issue. A faulty firewall required local clerks to physically transport vote tallies to the county office instead of sending them electronically.
I ran into Waters at a Kamala Harris campaign event a few days later. She told me she was still confused by the situation and was seeking more information. Since then, Waters’ questions have been seized on by election skeptics.
Waters said Tuesday she wasn’t a victim of fraud.
“I didn’t say they cheated,” Waters said. “I needed to understand the lateness of those ballots. That was explained to me.”
Why did Sheffield change solar vote?
A few readers asked me last week why Sheffield changed her mind and authorized the second phase of Duggan’s solar neighborhood initiative. I didn’t have an opportunity to speak with her after the meeting, so I reached out to her office to find out.
Sheffield was among three council members who voted against measures needed to acquire land and contract with companies for solar farms in the first phase. Last July, Sheffield said the city should have considered other strategies for producing renewable energy like roof solar panels.
She also criticized DTE Energy for lobbying against a bill that would allow residents to join community-owned solar arrays and receive bill credits for the energy produced. Detroit’s solar initiative will only provide power to government buildings.
”One can only surmise that DTE did so because community solar would decrease their profit and benefit residents. In stark contrast, this proposal increases, of course, DTE’s bottom line.” Sheffield said in July. “It seems that DTE and these other companies are benefiting a lot more.”
Last week, Sheffield voted to approve additional 35-year contracts with DTE Energy and Lightstar Renewables to operate solar arrays in the Greenfield Park and Houston-Whittier/Hayes neighborhoods. She also approved a resolution justifying the use of eminent domain to acquire land, declaring the solar initiative an “essential service.”
Sheffield, in a statement sent to me Monday afternoon, said she’s “not convinced” the solar initiative is the best way to advance clean-energy strategies or use vacant and occupied residential property. However, she said residents largely support the chance to receive energy efficiency grants or sell their property.
“With that said, the Administration engaged residents through an extensive outreach campaign and my team and I personally knocked on doors in the Phase 1 neighborhood,” Sheffield said.
“So I, in good conscience, could not deny residents an opportunity to improve their and their families’ financial trajectory and overall quality of life through an opportunity they wanted and in some instances needed.”
Sheffield said she’s committed to invest in neighborhoods and repopulate them with infill housing while backing renewable and green energy initiatives.
2025 candidates keep surfacing
Durhal is planning to make an announcement about his ambitions for mayor on Jan. 29 at the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan.
Detroit attorney Todd R. Perkins announced Tuesday that he is officially running for mayor.
Other candidates include Sheffield, former council member and nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins and businessman Joel Haashiim.
State Rep. Joe Tate formed a campaign committee last year. Triumph Church Pastor Solomon Kinloch is expected to make an announcement early this year.
Several more City Council candidates have filed paperwork to run for offices in 2025 since our last update.
Licensed clinical mental health therapist Cyrus L. Wheeler filed to run as an at-large candidate, joining Jackson and Waters. Wheeler is the founder of the nonprofit From Felons to Professionals (F.F.T.P.)
Roy McCallister filed to run in District 2, setting him up for a showdown with Whitfield-Calloway. He represented the district before Whitfield-Calloway beat him in 2017. She beat McAllister again to become reelected in 2021.
Whitney Clarke filed to run in District 5, taking on Kevin “Coach Kellogg” Jones and Michael Clemmon.
Alexa Bush confirmed as planning director
Alexa Bush was confirmed as Detroit’s next planning director after being appointed by Duggan late last year.
Bush was interviewed by council members last week after Duggan notified the council of her appointment on Jan. 6. The council voted unanimously to make the appointment permanent.
“I’m really excited to continue to build on what has been started in terms of thinking about what economic recovery looks like for the city and particularly its neighborhoods,” Bush said last week.
Bush studied architecture at the University of Virginia and later worked for the Ann Arbor office of Smith Group, a prominent engineering firm based in Detroit. She joined the Detroit Planning Department in 2015 and helped restructure the department after the city’s bankruptcy ended.
Bush spent three years working at the Kresge Foundation before Duggan appointed her to replace Antoine Bryant, who took a job with architectural firm Gensler at the end of 2024. Bryant is facing an ongoing ethics investigation tied to his approval of a mural contract.
Bush said she’s ready to dig into ongoing master planning effort. She said the department needs to consider climate resiliency moving forward in the context of heavy rain storms that caused repeated flooding events. Bush predicted more residents could experience extreme heat in the summer.
Bush said land use policies will have a big impact on the city’s ability to attract manufacturing businesses and incorporate technological innovations.
Whitfield-Calloway asked how Bush would balance development with preservation of cultural assets. Whitfield-Calloway said officials who aren’t from Detroit and don’t understand the city’s history and culture have caused the demolition of important historic properties.
“We tear down everything we don’t try to preserve,” Whitfield-Calloway said. “We don’t try to restore. We make promises that we don’t keep. I’ve seen a lot of buildings that should never have been torn down.”
Bush agreed it’s important to find ways to preserve and “bring new life” to historic buildings. She said the Planning Department is working on its first comprehensive preservation policy document. It will focus on improving strategies to identify and maintain historic resources.
“The architectural assets that exist in this city are just phenomenal,” Bush said. “We don’t build buildings like we used to. It matters to the story of who we are. Young people today, and people in the future, will be able to understand our past by having that physical link through the built environment.”
Bush agreed to advocate for better public transportation infrastructure, as roughly a third of Detroiters don’t have access to a car. She said the Planning Department will work with other agencies to improve regional transit.
Retiree bonus checks arriving as promised
The City Council approved a $10 million injection of funds to give city retirees a one-time bonus check.
There are roughly 10,792 people in the General Retirement System and 8,319 in the Police and Fire Retirement System. Each system received $5 million to pay living retirees and beneficiaries.
The money is divided evenly, so each GRS retiree receives $463 while each PFRS retiree receives $601.
John Naglick is deputy chief financial officer for both pension systems. He told the council last week the payment is meant to help legacy retirees that were “the most hurt during the bankruptcy.”
“This has been long promised to the retirees,” Naglick said.
Bonus checks were provided in the city’s fiscal year 2025 budget. Naglick said the council is approving a change to the city’s pension plan, which requires court authorization.
Scrap over free speech
Detroit’s first director of entrepreneurship was appointed to advise Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on policies to prevent racial discrimination in Michigan.
Justin Onwenu will represent young Black residents and leaders in health, wellness and environmental advocacy.
The leadership council acts in an advisory capacity to the governor and develops, reviews, and recommends policies and actions designed to eradicate and prevent discrimination and racial inequity in Michigan.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct at-large city council candidate Cyrus Wheeler’s job field.