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Record of Proceedings

Budget, Finance and Audit Standing Committee Meeting - September 10, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, September 10, 2025
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, September 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 37:48

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:06

Councilmember Frederick Holithair.

0:08

Present.

0:08

Councilmember Coleman Young the second.

0:10

Member Vice Chair Young did indicate that he would be absent from today's session.

0:14

So his absence is excused.

0:15

The clerk was on note.

0:17

Councilmember Gabrielle Santiago Romero.

0:19

Present.

0:20

Mr.

0:20

Chair D.Corm.

0:21

Thank you, Mr.

0:22

Clerk, and good afternoon to you and good afternoon to you all.

0:25

Next we will move to approval of the minutes.

0:27

Members have been provided the minutes from last meeting.

0:29

Is there a motion to do so?

0:30

Motion.

0:31

Hearing no objections, that action shall be taken.

0:34

We'll go directly into public comment.

0:36

Seeing no members of the public here in the committee of the whole, we'll go directly to virtual public comment.

0:41

Each member of the public will have two minutes for public comment.

0:44

If you're joining us via the Zoom feature, please indicate so now by raising your hand via that Zoom feature if you wish to participate in public comment.

0:53

We're getting ready to close public comment.

0:55

Public comment going once.

0:58

Public comment going twice.

1:00

Public comment going three times.

1:03

Public comment is now closed.

1:05

Good afternoon, Mr.

1:06

Payne.

1:07

How many callers do we have today?

1:11

Good afternoon, Mr.

1:12

Chair, honorable committee members.

1:13

We have eight callers today.

1:15

Eight hands raised.

1:16

Each uh member of the public again will have two minutes for public comment, and we ask you to state your name for the record, then proceed.

1:22

Uh, who is our first public commenter?

1:26

Mr.

1:26

Chair, our first public commenter is fair elections.

1:29

Fair elections.

1:30

You have two minutes for public comment.

1:32

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

1:38

Uh good afternoon.

1:39

This is you matter, but fair elections matter.

1:42

Please get the name right.

1:45

Um so I'll say this again.

1:48

Well, first of all, I'd like to object to this contract to Acom.

1:52

There's a bunch of imported people.

1:55

Why aren't we hiring of uh Detroit people?

1:58

And then I haven't had a chance to look at your budget stuff.

2:02

But um I would like to just let everybody know, everybody within the sound of my voice.

2:08

I listened to a real softball interview with that Mitch Album did with uh Mayor Mike Duggan yesterday.

2:15

And Mayor Mike Duggan was talking about as if Mary Sheffield is gonna be his successor.

2:21

Well, like I said earlier today, news flash there's a general election and in November 2025.

2:27

Mr.

2:27

Durh, what do you think about that?

2:29

And you really should check into the uh proof the the serious evidence of election fraud because you think Melissa Love, who comes in there every single day is lying, and she said cheated votes are real, cheated votes are real.

2:42

I am the evidence.

2:43

Nobody's suing her for the election department lied about me, but Mary Sheffield's people won't look into it.

2:51

They lied to me and said they were full, and I knew that wasn't true.

2:55

And so I called a friend of mine and I said, Hey, did you uh sign up to work for the election?

3:00

Yeah, he said no.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
American Rescue Plan Act████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Public Comment████████████████████20%
Public Transportation█████████9%
Retiree Benefits██████6%
Elected Officials Compensation████4%
Property Taxes███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Budget, Finance and Audit Standing Committee Meeting - September 10, 2025

The Budget, Finance and Audit Standing Committee of the Detroit City Council met on September 10, 2025. The meeting opened with roll call (Councilmember Coleman Young II absent, excused), approval of the previous meeting's minutes, and public comments from eight callers. Several agenda items were discussed, including financial and ARPA reports and policy matters.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved by unanimous consent.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Fair Elections (Ms. Warwick): Objected to a contract with ACOM, urging the city to hire Detroit residents. Raised allegations of election fraud and criticized officials Mary Sheffield, Janice Winfrey, and the elections department.
  • Karen Winston ("Not That Karen"): Representing city retirees, called for retirees to be made whole after 12 years of pension and healthcare cuts. Stated that a $464 increase is insufficient, that overtaxation of $600 million should be returned, and urged action on homelessness and senior issues.
  • William M. Davis: Echoed retiree concerns, detailing a pension cut of 4.5%, loss of cost-of-living adjustments retroactive to 2013, and medical benefit cuts for those under 65. He stated overtaxation exceeds $1 billion and criticized Mayor Duggan’s 40% pay raise versus a $20,000 average retiree pension.
  • Carolyn Hughes: Raised concerns about speed hump contracts awarded to white men, tax issues, stadium deals benefiting outsiders, and corruption in city operations. Supported election fraud allegations.
  • Brother Cunningham: Urged support for public transportation and encouraged elected officials to bring community members to meetings.
  • Joyce E. Jennings: Advocated for city partnership with Detroit Public Schools to provide reliable public transportation in areas where schools have closed, citing safety and affordability issues. Also called for insurance support for city retirees who worked in high-risk jobs.
  • Mr. Rue: Unable to connect due to technical difficulties; comments to be submitted via email.

Discussion Items

  • Unfinished Business – Line Item 5.1 (OCFO Financial Report): Councilmember Santiago Romero requested a one-week bring-back for the financial report for the 12 months ended June 30, 2025. Motion approved.
  • ARPA Reports (Line Items 5.2-5.7 & 6.1): Mr. Corley of the Legislative Policy Division presented the status of ARPA (OPERA) funds. He noted a format change and that the city has obligated all $826.7 million in ARPA funds as of December 31, 2024. As of June 30, 2025, the city had spent $84.4 million on payroll and $491 million on contractual services (the transcript initially stated a total of $5.75 million, which appears inconsistent with the breakdown; the sum of those items is approximately $575 million). As of September 8, 2025, spending reached $613 million (74% of total). Mr. Corley also reported on the council ARPA appropriation: several contracts are obligated but actuals are pending, expected by end of September. A second round of reassigned ARPA dollars is anticipated by early October. The reports are available on the city council website.
  • Line Items 5.8 & 5.9 (Property Tax Rate Flyer): Mr. Corley requested a two-week bring-back to finalize an informational flyer for real estate agents on property tax rate adjustments after property transfer.
  • Line Item 6.2 (Admissions Tax Report): Mr. Corley requested a two-week bring-back to allow the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and the OCFO to provide input on the report evaluating a local option admissions tax on sports and entertainment venues.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved.
  • Line item 5.1 (financial report) to be brought back in one week.
  • ARPA reports (5.2-5.7, 6.1) received and filed.
  • Line items 5.8 and 5.9 (property tax flyer) to be brought back in two weeks.
  • Line item 6.2 (admissions tax) to be brought back in two weeks.
  • Meeting adjourned at the call of the chair.

Meeting Transcript

Councilmember Frederick Holithair. Present. Councilmember Coleman Young the second. Member Vice Chair Young did indicate that he would be absent from today's session. So his absence is excused. The clerk was on note. Councilmember Gabrielle Santiago Romero. Present. Mr. Chair D.Corm. Thank you, Mr. Clerk, and good afternoon to you and good afternoon to you all. Next we will move to approval of the minutes. Members have been provided the minutes from last meeting. Is there a motion to do so? Motion. Hearing no objections, that action shall be taken. We'll go directly into public comment. Seeing no members of the public here in the committee of the whole, we'll go directly to virtual public comment. Each member of the public will have two minutes for public comment. If you're joining us via the Zoom feature, please indicate so now by raising your hand via that Zoom feature if you wish to participate in public comment. We're getting ready to close public comment. Public comment going once. Public comment going twice. Public comment going three times. Public comment is now closed. Good afternoon, Mr. Payne. How many callers do we have today? Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, honorable committee members. We have eight callers today. Eight hands raised. Each uh member of the public again will have two minutes for public comment, and we ask you to state your name for the record, then proceed. Uh, who is our first public commenter? Mr. Chair, our first public commenter is fair elections. Fair elections. You have two minutes for public comment. Please state your name for the record and proceed. Uh good afternoon. This is you matter, but fair elections matter. Please get the name right. Um so I'll say this again. Well, first of all, I'd like to object to this contract to Acom. There's a bunch of imported people. Why aren't we hiring of uh Detroit people? And then I haven't had a chance to look at your budget stuff. But um I would like to just let everybody know, everybody within the sound of my voice. I listened to a real softball interview with that Mitch Album did with uh Mayor Mike Duggan yesterday.

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