Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.
Detroit’s $3 billion budget isn’t boring.
I always look forward to March because it’s a valuable chance to get much more acquainted with how city government works.
The City Council has 46 budget hearings where department heads outline their goals for the next year, explain how taxpayer funds are being spent and suggest tweaks to a budget recommended by Mayor Mike Duggan and pending council approval.
Sure, watching hours of slideshow presentations may not be the preferred way to spend an afternoon during March Madness. Thanks to a joint effort by BridgeDetroit, the Detroit Documenters and Outlier Media, you can keep basketball on the television.
We’re covering every single budget hearing and creating easy-to-navigate summaries of what all city departments are up to.
You can check out the full list here, but I wanted to share a few notable nuggets of information that have come out of this coverage.
- Funding for the Detroit Land Bank Authority could be cut in half, dropping by $5.5 million.
That represents a 25% cut in the overall budget. Detroit subsidizes a portion of the land bank’s budget, but city officials said less support is needed because the land bank has $30 million in surplus and $52 million total in reserves.
The budget cuts come amid tensions with the City Council, which has yet to approve a new operating agreement with the land bank. CEO Tammy Daniels said the land bank shouldn’t be living off its savings, but council members argued the surplus means Detroit can direct its limited resources elsewhere.
Daniels said it’s unclear how that will impact the land bank, but it will likely cause a reduction in maintenance, tree removal and end programs. Daniels said the land bank must balance its budget, matching revenue with spending as close as possible.
Daniels said the land bank’s programs are not designed to create a profit. For example, sales of side lots and neighborhood lots generated $560,000, but it cost $3.5 million to administer the programs.
The subsidy cut “will require us to shift away from our current mission-based programming and focus more on a market-based approach in order to replace that lost revenue,” Daniels said. That includes ending the occupied buy back program, which allows people living in land bank houses to become homeowners.
Daniels said the cut will also mean reducing compliance staff that help buyers meet requirements to keep deeds after buying land bank homes that need renovation.
The mayor’s budget proposes $1 million for 0% interest home repair loans, $1.5 million to remove lead hazards and $2.9 million for senior home repairs. Grant funds will add $5 million for 0% interest home repair grants.
- The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department will come up short of its goal to remove 10,000 lead service lines annually.
A lack of funding is causing the department to remove 3,500 lead lines unless it receives more state and federal support.
- A racial disparity study commissioned by the City Council in 2023 was never completed.
The council secured $350,000 to study whether discriminatory practices impact the contracting process. Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway was frustrated that the money wasn’t used and she wasn’t notified; she will seek to add funding to try again.
- Renovations of the Coleman A. Young Recreation Center should be finished by the end of March.
The Parks and Recreation Department will determine its reopening date. Residents have long awaited the center’s reopening.
Stay tuned for more reporting on how council members are making changes to Duggan’s budget recommendation.
Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this reporting project, including Koby Levin, Kayleigh Lickliter, Briana Rice, Paul Enns, Nia Harris, Yasmin Siddiqui, Lucy Smith, Tamia Davis, Gina McPherson, Katy Carlson, Nadia Ziyad, Jody White, Alex Klaus, Sneha Dhandapani and Noah Levinson.
Nonprofit pays for Duggan video
Duggan’s State of the City address opened with a pre-recorded video produced by a nonprofit group connected to the mayor’s political supporters.
The two-minute video outlined Duggan’s efforts to eliminate blight, reduce violent crime, balance the city’s budget, build affordable housing and create job opportunities. A disclaimer shows it was created by One Detroit for All of Us, a nonprofit organization led by former Detroit Police Chief Ike McKinnon. He served as deputy mayor under Duggan from 2013 to 2016.
John Roach, the mayor’s spokesperson, said One Detroit for All of Us paid for and produced the video, saving the city time and manpower. The Media Services Department “was managing pretty much every other aspect” of the Tuesday production, he said.
“Also, due to the turnaround time needed, it made more sense for the city to work with a nonprofit that was willing to pay for this supplemental video production with a team it hired, rather than go through a more time-consuming city procurement process,” Roach said in an email.
The group’s name is similar to a phrase Duggan returned to throughout past campaigns for mayor. Other board members include former Police Commissioner Annie Holt, former Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network board member Constance Rowley and Renae Moore, a compliance analyst for Dykema Law Firm.
Moore manages dozens of funds that politicians use to raise money, including two other pro-Duggan nonprofit groups that paid for ads supporting his past mayoral campaigns: Our Neighborhoods First and Save Detroit Jobs. Dykema attorneys also provided legal services to previous Duggan campaigns and created Put Progress First, another nonprofit pitching Duggan for statewide leadership.
Tax filings show One Detroit For All of Us was formed to “engage in activities necessary for the preparation of the mayor-elect” to fulfill their duties and promote citizen participation in local politics. It’s registered at an address in the Renaissance Center.
Tax forms show $128,500 in contributions were collected in 2019, $71,631 in 2020 and $22,500 in 2021.
The 2021 filing is the latest available. It shows $29,571 was spent on policy research and promotional materials regarding key issues to the city, $10,000 went to Detroit Progress Fund and $3,361 was used to cover funeral expenses for city employees who died of COVID-19.
Detroit Progress Fund is another nonprofit created to promote the city of Detroit’s turnaround and support the mayor’s agenda. It collected $469,381 in 2023 and also lists Moore as an employee.
What are candidates saying?
Here’s a roundup on what mayoral candidates have been up to this week.
Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. joined me on Detroit Next to talk about his platform. I pressed him a bit about how he expects to build 10,000 new housing units when it took $1 billion and five years to build half as many.
“It’s a herculean task, but I don’t believe there’s a hurdle we cannot overcome to achieve that,” Kinloch said. “When you ask foundations, they’re distributing hundreds of millions of dollars. Just imagine if we had a holistic vision that people can see.”
Saunteel Jenkins, a former nonprofit CEO and City Council member, appeared on Frankie Darcell’s nationally syndicated iHeart Media program. Darcell previously interviewed Kinloch and Council President Mary Sheffield about their mayoral campaigns.
They also discussed a heated incident between Jenkins and Sheffield at a senior home in February. Sheffield was recorded on video accusing Jenkins of leaving the council for selfish reasons. Jenkins said Sheffield “blindsided” her at an event Sheffield wasn’t scheduled to attend.
“We need a leader who is mature,” Jenkins said. “This campaign has barely even started. If that’s how you perform under pressure, what happens as mayor? We have to show up and be our best selves at all times.”
Jenkins released her six-point policy platform, which includes: Stronger neighborhoods, public safety, more jobs and opportunity, small business, public transit and strong schools.
Sheffield posted an endorsement from Jerome Crawford, a Wayne State Law professor and chief legal officer for Pleasantrees. Crawford enjoyed charcuterie and conversation at one of the home visits Sheffield’s campaign has been organizing. He said Sheffield has been thoughtful about community and development.
“We are in an era where we’ve talked a lot about development and I’m in an industry, the cannabis industry, that does a lot of development,” Crawford said in an Instagram post. “It’s fun to be able to see how do we bring those worlds together.”
City Council Member Fred Durhal III and his family visited Savoy in East English Village to highlight his support for small businesses in developing commercial corridors like Warren. Durhal also answered questions in a series of Instagram videos.
Durhal was asked to quantify his impact on District 7. He said he’s helped open two recreation centers and supported the redevelopment of the former American Motors Corporation headquarters and former Hawthorne Suites motel.
Attorney Todd Perkins is planning a formal campaign kickoff event at 6:30 p.m. April 2 at Considine Little Rock Recreation Center in the North End.
Who’s making the ballot?
Notebook readers know the official field of candidates won’t be set until after the April 22 filing deadline. That’s when candidates must turn in signed nominating petitions to the Department of Elections.
Thirty-two people requested petition forms to start collecting signatures to qualify for the August mayoral primary ballot. As of March 28, only Sheffield has the necessary 500 signatures certified.
Sheffield was first to turn in her petitions on Feb. 12. Businessman Jonathan Barlow turned his in on March 11.
James Harris, an at-large City Council candidate, turned in the necessary signatures on Feb. 25. He’s the only at-large candidate to have his signatures certified so far.
In District 2, incumbent Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway and challenger Roy McCallister Jr. both submitted enough valid signatures to make the ballot.
Incumbent City Clerk Janice Winfrey submitted her signatures on Jan. 8.
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