Detroit Budget Finance Audit Committee Meeting July 23, 2025

The Budget, Finance, and Audit Standing Committee of the Detroit City Council met on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at approximately 1:10 PM. This was the committee's last meeting before a summer recess, with the next meeting scheduled for September 3, 2025. The meeting included public comment, discussion of a feasibility study on taxing short-term rentals, fiscal impact reports on a misdemeanor prosecution ordinance and an electric vehicle charging ordinance, and the monthly financial report for the 11 months ending May 31, 2025.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting was moved and adopted without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ruben James Crowley Jr. (citing an alias) alleged election fraud against Councilmember Fred Durhal and made accusations regarding a resource center at St. Suzanne's and a property at 19321 West Chicago.
• Ronald Foster praised Councilmember Durhal's advocacy for underrepresented groups and requested attention to overgrown trees blocking stop signs at Homer and Tuxedo. He also made a lighthearted remark to Councilmember Jones.
• Betty A. Varner, president of the DeSoda Elsewhere Block Association, thanked Councilmember Durhal for his support and requested continued help with landscape boulders. She promoted an August 2nd event in Erasmus Detroit.
• Karen Winston commented on council punctuality, urged staff not to take constituent complaints personally, and asked whether council staff work during recess.
• William M. Davis advocated for increasing the $5 million allocation for general fund legacy retirees, suggested the city conduct exit interviews with closing businesses, and criticized the drainage fee as burdensome.
• Cindy Dara reported that the city demolished her fence without notice, leading to a default judgment against her. She asked for information and legal help for citizens. Councilmembers Santiago-Romero and Young responded that the demolition order had been rescinded and they would facilitate a meeting with the health department and ombudsman.
• Malik Shelton questioned a $56.737 million line item labeled "miscellaneous" in the city's FY2024 annual comprehensive financial report and noted interest payments on long-term bond debt ($71 million) are more than double what the city spends on health ($30 million). He linked this to the city's unhealthiest ranking.
• Bernard Manchunski (Detroit People's Platform) called for a stress test and revenue-estimating budget scenario assuming severe federal funding cuts, and urged that any county transit ballot proposal add new revenue for DDOT.
• Joanne Warwick expressed appreciation for council's work with Cindy Dara, alleged lies by city employees regarding tree cutting and election department hiring, and warned of equal protection issues if the city doesn't help residents like Dara.
• Carolyn Hughes echoed concerns about the $56 million uncategorized revenue, criticized proposed ordinance 6.3 as a fine increase without proof of deterrence, and asked about a $360 special fee on her tax bill.

Discussion Items

• Feasibility of Tax on Short-Term Rentals (Items 6.1 & 6.4): Marcel Hurt of the Legislative Policy Division (LPD) presented a study requested by Councilmember Mary Waters. He noted that short-term rentals are currently prohibited under Detroit's zoning code (Chapter 50, Section 50-12-492) unless used as home occupations. The city could not levy a tax without state legislative authorization and voter approval. A 2% excise tax is currently available only to Kent County. A correction was issued for an earlier error. The report also noted nine bills on short-term rental regulation introduced in the Michigan legislature from 2021–2024, none passed. Donnie Johnson, acting deputy CFO and budget director, confirmed OCFO also lacks capacity to design a tax collection system without a draft ordinance. Councilmember Santiago-Romero clarified that changes to both zoning (via a sixth text amendment being prepared by CPC and the law department) and state law are needed to allow a local tax. The committee voted to receive and file the items.
• Fiscal Impact – EV Charging Ordinance Amendment (Item 6.2): Donnie Johnson reported that EV charging revenues go into a special revenue fund, making the ordinance revenue neutral with no general fund impact. The committee voted to receive and file the item.
• Fiscal Impact – Misdemeanor Prosecution Ordinance (Item 6.3): The fiscal impact statement showed a negative impact in FY2027 because the program is currently funded by one-time ARPA dollars (FY2026). The law department explained the goal is to prosecute misdemeanors (e.g., assault and battery, retail fraud, larceny) in-house, improving justice for residents and diverting fine revenue to the city’s general fund (currently fines go to the state). Graham Anderson (Law Department) presented data on case volumes and fine potentials but noted fine revenue is difficult to project. Chair Durhal expressed concerns about sustainability and requested cost details for the case management system before a vote. Public hearing is scheduled for Monday, July 28. The committee voted to bring the item back on September 3.

Key Outcomes

• Consent calendar approved by unanimous consent.
• Items 6.1 and 6.4 (short-term rental tax study) received and filed.
• Item 6.2 (EV charging fiscal impact) received and filed.
• Item 6.3 (misdemeanor prosecution fiscal impact) brought back for September 3 meeting, pending further information on case management system costs.
• Monthly financial report (Item 7.1) received and filed.
• Item 7.2 (duplicate resolution) removed from agenda.
• Meeting adjourned to the call of the chair.