Gearing up for participating in Detroit budget season

Documenters uncovered a lot in public meetings last week. Detroit City Council chose a new map that will redefine the seven council districts. It also approved trash and recycling contracts that expand pickup service across the city. License plate readers and other surveillance technologies were hot topics in both Detroit and Highland Park. Water department customers enrolled in Detroit’s water affordability program might have trouble recertifying their income.

Speaking of water: At a budget workshop, Documenters learned that the water department’s budget is nearly double that of the police department! We may live in the Great Lakes State, but that water doesn’t flow for free.

If you’d like to know more about the meetings we report on, click on the “Documented by” links below each segment to view the full documentation .

Housing

Detroit’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Board of Directors held an open discussion last week about concerns related to newly elected board member Alan Rosetto. Following his election in November, the board learned that in 2019, Rosetto was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor . Rosetto was present in the online meeting with his camera off. Interim Board Chair Candace Morgan never mentioned his name but did acknowledge that the board had acquired legal counsel to investigate the next steps for this “ongoing issue.”

Prior to the discussion, Morgan said all homeless residents deserve CoC’s attention, regardless of their criminal status. Board member Taura Brown said it’s possible to advocate for sex offenders without working alongside them. (Editor’s note: Taura Brown is a member of the Detroit Documenters Network.)

Board member Lydia Goddard said during the meeting that she finds the issue concerning. She asked for greater transparency and said members would feel more at ease if they knew action was being taken.

Detroit Documenters received a copy of the issue brief sent to the board and general membership, detailing what has been done so far and next steps.

2/5/2024 Detroit Continuum of Care, Board of Directors
Documented by Amelia Benavides-Colón and Tiffany Pilson

Finance

District 6 Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero held a training to help residents understand the city’s budget. In fiscal year 2024 , the city’s revenue was $2.63 billion, with a general fund of $1.32 billion . The general fund is the only negotiable part of the budget. It is primarily composed of tax dollars and used to fund the city’s departments.

Santiago-Romero said the way a city spends money is a reflection of its priorities.

Of the departments profiled in the presentation , the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) received the highest allocations at $677.14 million, followed by the Detroit Police Department at $388.83 million.

Mayor Mike Duggan will present the draft budget for fiscal year 2025 to City Council on March 7. The council’s public budget hearings begin March 11 , and it must approve the budget by April 30.

02/07/2024 #TeamGSR’s Building Power Training Series: City Budget 101
Documented by Alex Klaus and Anna Harris

Politics

2/5/2024 Highland Park City Council: City officials worked to explain why water charges went up for residents and businesses. Councilmembers unanimously approved a more than $15,900 grant to fund license plate reader technology; police said it has mostly helped them find stolen vehicles.

Documented by Amy Senese and Lauren Ridenour

For more on Highland Park’s water rate charges, see our extended reporting .

2/6/2024 Detroit City Council, Formal Session: Councilmembers approved trash contracts and a fee increase for residential waste collection. The council also approved a new district map and voted to support the preservation of the Belle Isle Boathouse. The vote on a more than $32,000 contract to purchase BolaWrap devices, a less-lethal weapon, for the police department was postponed for one week.

Documented by Asha McElroy and Heather Alder

For more on Detroit City Council, check out Malachi Barrett’s City Council Notebook for BridgeDetroit.

Utilities

2/7/2024 Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Board of Water Commissioners Committee meetings: DWSD Director Gary Brown reported some customers enrolled in the Lifeline Plan — the city’s water affordability plan — are having difficulty completing an annual recertifiation of their income using the state’s new computer system. Brown said DWSD and the nonprofit Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency are working with the state on a solution for those enrolled in the plan.

Documented by Amanda Duren and Nathaniel Eichenhorn

Policing

2/8/2024 Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, Evening Community Meeting: After Police Cmdr. Rebecca McKay presented only anecdotal evidence of the value of Project Green Light and license plate readers, public commenters urged the Detroit Police Department to provide statistical evidence of both technologies’ efficacy.

Documented by Carole Hawke and Gabriel Gamlin

For more on the Board of Police Commissioners, check out the latest BOPC Watch .

This story was written by Lynelle Herndon and Noah Kincade, with Documenters Amelia Benavides-Colón, Alex Klaus and Carole Hawke.

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