Just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, Detroit City Council President James Tate described the process as “kind of anti-climactic” as he and his fellow council members adopted the city’s 2027 fiscal year budget.
The council approved the 13th straight balanced budget for Detroit after a long meeting that typically ends in applause. But Tate humorously told his colleagues and city staffers — analyzing and deliberating changes to the budget since March — that they were “kind of quiet,” followed by laughter. Then there were applause all around.
The deliberations over Mayor Mary Sheffield’s first budget proposal, totaling more than $3 billion, included a number of increases to current and new departments and initiatives hitting her priorities in her first several months of office.
Lower revenues and surplus dollars restricted the council from making significant funding shifts. However, the nine-member legislative body, with a couple of new faces this year, managed to make some moves: They additionally approved a closing resolution with a long list of requests for the administration.
The city faced slow growth in revenues due to dwindling corporate income tax revenues, calling for a more financially conservative budget for the coming 2027 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Major increases include $1.9 million for the 13th check for legacy pension retirees; $2 million for traffic calming measures on the east side; $1 million for the Life and Legacy program to resolve tangled homeowner titles; $1.5 million for capital improvements for the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History; $1 million for the city’s forestry division; $300,000 for security at city parks and recreational centers; $1 million for the dead, dangerous and diseased tree program; and $1 million for the City Council budget.
“We accomplished a whole lot in a little bit of time, and it is our sincere hope that what we do within this budget reverberates for generations,” Tate said before adjourning the meeting. “Detroiters have been counting on us to get this right, and I believe that many Detroiters will be pleased realizing that not all of the things that we want to see done — and residents want to see done — will be accomplished in this budget. But we’re going to be right back at it.”
He also gave praises to Legislative Policy Division Director David Whitaker, Executive Policy Manager Irv Corley, City Planning Commission Director Marcell Todd, Jr. and staffers across departments, along with Sheffield, for their intense work throughout the budget process.
The City Council also identified some budget cuts, including $3.5 million from the blight remediation budget; nearly $3 million from police operations and $1 million from city capital projects.
The council also spent about an hour discussing the city’s Media Services Department budget, which sought $4.2 million, an increase from the $1.5 million adopted budget for the 2026 fiscal year, BridgeDetroit reports. Councilmembers brought Director Brittni Brown into the final session to address concerns regarding providing content and telecommunications support for council members’ events on top of the mayor’s appearances.
The department seeks to eventually hire two more graphic designers for a total of five, and additional photographers and videographers. District 5 Councilmember Renata Miller proposed a roughly $300,000 allocation to the department, though several members asked Brown how she expects to commit toward council members needing the support, in which she said she expects at least one to two staffers will be dedicated to the council. However, Brown said she also is dealing with challenges around covering the City Planning Commission meetings.
Officials shared frustrations over scheduling and cancelations due to the mayor’s overlapping agenda, despite following an internal process to request help. Council President Tate said council members cannot constantly accommodate by rescheduling events. However, Donnie Johnson, the city’s deputy budget director, advised against the funding, adding that it has 38 staff for the 2027 fiscal year budget.
“This would be an additional large recurring add to the general fund, which we simply can’t afford,” Johnson said. “In order to afford this, I will have to increase the reductions to the (Detroit) Police Department.”
The council ultimately decided against the additional funding, though they said they expect to continue discussions about it for the following year.
District 3 Councilman Scott Benson said he advocated for numerous investments in his strategy to boost wealth generation and financial stability for residents. He described his “key wins” of investing $500,000 for the Life and Legacy program and $200,000 to continue the “Dining with Confidence” program. Benson also worked to secure $300,000 to establish park patrol security at recreation centers and parks, and $300,000 to hire three new code enforcement officers to combat blight throughout Detroit.
Besides supporting the investment in the Wright Museum, Benson also supports a $185,000 investment for holiday installations and events throughout the city, a capital plan to modernize all 38 of Detroit’s fire houses, and urged officials to develop a funding model to pay for “two, new world-class super libraries and a complete refurbishing of the Detroit Public Library’s main branch,” according to a news release from Benson’s office.
District 7 Councilman Denzel McCampbell said he worked to secure various commitments to expand food access for seniors, boost after-school programming, enhance bus stops in his district and provide a truck traffic study. He added that he aims to ensure a participatory budgeting process is set up in Detroit within the next year.
McCampbell said he was proud to secure $4.5 million in funding for a new recreation center at the Brennan Recreation Area of Rouge Park.
“I am looking forward to the partnership with the Detroit Pistons in their commitment to provide $20 million in additional funding to build the center and make improvements to the existing Brennan Pool building. I am also proud to have secured funds to enhance education for residents around code enforcement to promote clean and beautiful neighborhoods,” McCampbell said.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.