Good afternoon, Councilmember Frederick Hall III.

Present.

Councilmember Coming Young the second.

Member Vice Chair did send a memo indicating that he'll be absent from today's committee.

So his absence is excused.

The clerk will show note.

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

Present.

Mr.

Chair, there's a corn.

Thank you very much.

And good afternoon to you, Mr.

Clerk, Madam Parliamentarian, and all who are here.

We will now 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 uh taken.

We have a pretty short agenda today.

Uh noting that we do have a 115 p.m.

public hearing.

Uh, and then we will have the report uh for the NEZ uh for New Hudson's Tower uh as promised.

Uh want to uh congratulate all of my colleagues uh who have been re-elected uh and who are returning and to the new folks who have been elected, and then obviously our new mayor uh elect uh mayor Sheffield.

So uh just a very interesting night.

How government works and politics works and voting works, uh, and change is destined to come.

So with that, we will move uh into public comment.

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

We ask that they state their name for the record uh and then proceed.

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

Uh, good afternoon, Mr.

Payne.

How many callers do we have?

Good afternoon, Mr.

Chair and honorable committee members.

Uh we have ten raised hands.

Ten raised hands, okay.

Uh, we're getting ready to cut off public comment.

Public comment going once.

Public comment going twice.

Public comment going three times.

Public comment is now closed.

Uh, who's our first caller, Mr.

Payne?

Mr.

Chair, our first caller is not that Karen.

Not that Karen, you have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Hello.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes, Karen Winston.

Um, thank you for your punctuality, and I thank you for the two minutes of public comment time.

Um, congratulations to those who won and who chose to run again, and to those who did not win or did not choose to win again.

Good luck in your future endeavors.

So um, today is the Detroit retirees meeting.

Um, not the one that you guys chaired, it's the DR Dara meeting.

And I've been attending that for the past six, seven months or so.

And there's a group of people who are very concerned.

We're very concerned about our um, you know, about our pensions and about the clawback and whatnot.

So we got a letter uh this last week in the mail, it may have been this week in the mail, that speaks of uh allowing us an opportunity once again to make a lump sum and to pay that uh bill off.

Otherwise, it's gonna fly it's uh actuated, so it's gonna last for the rest of our life.

So I think that's a rotten deal for someone to have to repay something that they had no wrong in doing.

And the city is doing so good so well, we balanced our budget so much.

It seems it must be on the promise of just continuing taking that money from our you know from our pensions.

That's not fair.

Um, hopefully, when you guys get ready to draw your pension, they won't do it and come back and say, oops, we gave you too much money too.

I'm sure you'll be able to see how um how much salt that would be put in a room, a wound once you satisfied your uh commitment to the city.

So um the fast track resolution to get on a list is not good.

We do want our money back.

We don't want to die um owing, you know, still knowing and owing that money back to the city.

I choose not to make that lump sum payment.

I'm gonna make them draw it out.

I'm gonna make them take me to my grave, taking that money.

Thanks for the time.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Brother Cunningham, you have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Brother Cunningham, are you there?

Here my shandy Ramasan Yara Maka Yara Masa.

Ura Mashandira Mason Dokoy Rabasa.

Here it is in the Giero Boshondo Go Yadabasam.

Go Yara Masa.

Maka.

Sandara Mashandala Maka Yara Masa.

Masandya Ramaka.

Either my sandyara masandaka Yaramasa.

Here my Shandara Masanda Garabasa.

Here they be Shindikid Shindik Yodoboso.

Here I'm a Shandra Mashandy Rama Shandara Maka.

Shandala Mashandra Sandyada Masa.

Sandy Rama Sandara Maka.

Uhama Shandyara Masandara Maka Yadabasa.

Shindekyondobosondoku Yarabasa.

Here my Shandara Masandela Mashandyara Mason Dogo Yarabasa.

Masandara Maka Yada Masandera Maga Yadama.

Here my Shandra Masandara Maka Yarabasi Yadabashandara Maka.

Here Mashandira Maka Yara Masha Yara Mashandara Mashanda.

He was Shandyada Mashan Yara Mashanda.

Whoa Mashandira Masandara Masha Hallelujah.

Hallelujah Sandara Maku Yara Basha.

Here my son that Yarabasa.

Here is Shindekid was a Thank you, Brother Cunningham.

Next caller, please.

Mr.

Chair, next caller is slow down zoning change rush job.

Slow down zoning change.

Rush job, you have two minutes of public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Good afternoon, and thank you for the two minutes, man.

Be heard.

You may ma'am.

Okay, well, this is for every Detroit resident uh listening, and please put it out on blast.

I now have evidence of the conspiracy about this zoning rush job, because we are appealing the North and the BZA improperly granted variances for North End Landing that was secretly planned around the most impact who would be most impacted residents, but none of the members of this city council cared about that.

And so they just wrote the most nasty nasty thing in the court, saying that people's purposely trying to stall a desperately or whatever needed development, saying some stuff that is absolutely not true.

They deserve a bar complaint for saying false things, totally ignored, just like you all have ignored Detroit City Code 50-2-6-6, which requires that the BZAs have transcripts made of all their proceedings, which are triggered by who the developers who filed for the variances in the first place, not the pesky residents they're trying to roll over.

They're supposed to have those transcripts regardless of whether an appeal is filed or not.

But none of y'all on city council will take a serious look at that.

Detroit City Code 50-2-66.

Instead, we are the victim of lawfare.

And so it's obviously, Mr.

Durha, that you're trying to ram this through.

Tell us, do you have a job with the developer after?

Is that why you're doing this to us?

When you know the vast majority of residents do not know what is on the table that the COO is pushing this, that no one is explained why the banks won't lend to people when they lend they they finance Sonia Mays, a small minority black developer, and this is disgusting, folks.

They're trying to take away your right to go to the courts, and this is our billionaire developers filing nasty stuff against us.

Thank you, Miss Worwick.

Always appreciate conspiracy theories.

Uh, if you happen to know my next job, let me know because I'm not sure yet either.

So I appreciate you though.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Mr.

Rue.

Mr.

Rue, you have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Mr.

Rue, are you there?

I sure am.

And guess what?

The gig is up, Fred Duha.

And you and Steve Wasco been over there flotting and scheming and trying to set down the better housing facility.

Now I'm gonna shut down the whole city of Detroit.

I'm gonna turn it upside down, Fred.

You're a liar.

A cheater, a fraud, and Gabriela Santiago Romera is a liar, a cheater, and a fraud.

And the new mayor, the mayor elect Mary Sheffield and her daddy, who cheated me out of 2500.

Get married, find out about young blood.

And real.

Now, Mr.

Rue.

I ain't no 13 year old kid no more.

I'm a 58-year-old grown grandfather.

And I got a granddaughter.

And I got time to play with y'all no more.

I care about the kids.

I love the kids.

I got kids that is grown now.

They got companies and businesses.

I taught them what I knew about construction.

Now they got companies that are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, but they ain't getting no city contracts.

The project of densification is getting ready to run into a monkey ranch.

Monkey Ranch Root.

Me.

Now you know what I'm talking about, Fred.

Don't sit there and look like you don't know what I'm talking about.

See, Gabriella is a liar.

She read no findings on allegations of voter for by anonymous citizen report on May the 9th.

Because when I brought the report to you on the 22nd, you didn't have it.

How did she get it?

Mr.

Roo.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is phone number ending in 6-9.

Phone number ending in 6 9.

You have two minutes for public comment.

Uh before we do that.

Hello, can you guys hear me?

Yeah, go ahead.

You may you may proceed, sir.

Go ahead.

Okay, great.

I just want to say um prayer is powerful.

Uh make sure you all continue to pray for Cunningham.

Neither one of the parties is doing anything for poor people.

They're both full of it.

Black people have been voting Democratic their whole life and is still poor.

And Republicans don't do anything for poor people either.

NBA basketball player, real talk Charles Barkley from Alabama.

Thank you for my time.

Thank you.

And with that, we'll take a pause.

We will call our 115 p.m.

public hearing to order.

We will now recess our 115 p.m.

public hearing to the call of the chair.

We're back at public comment.

Next caller, please, Mr.

Payne.

Our next caller is Tyson Gersh.

Tyson Gersh, you have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Hi, can you hear me?

I can.

Great.

Thanks.

Um what do I even want to say?

Uh I am trying to track down the BZA's response to Callaway's March 17th, 2022 question where she specifically asked via memorandum.

Uh, what is the BZA method of recording a meeting, video recording, court reporter, other?

What is the fee for a copy of a BZA hearing charged to a person or corporation wishing to appeal a decision to Wayne County Circuit Court?

Um that item ended up in the budget and finance committee.

On uh, I think it was sorry, I'm trying to find it right now.

Um basically, like at the March 30th on March 30th, but there's no record of the BZA's response.

There's no minutes posted from that hearing, and the video from that hearing is also removed.

It sounds like uh the answer to a lot of our questions are within those now unavailable documents.

Um, and then I guess with regard to other we I think the city's gonna make some changes about how it's reporting spending.

Um there's like we if you guys are using public tax dollars to purchase things.

We should know how those dollars are being spent.

Um, the city historically has had some good programs.

Uh the Detroit Open Checkbook Platform was really amazing and transparent, but it hasn't been updated since the end of what 2021.

Um, and the you know, the OCP contracts and purchase order lists on the open data portal is pretty incomplete.

Um we we should be able to know how the city's spending money.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Jadante Smith.

Jadante Smith, you have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record, sir, and proceed.

Hello, Matt.

Be heard.

You may, sir.

Uh so I just want to say uh congratulations to uh all the all the new incoming uh city council members, board of police commissioners, um, and also mayor elect Sheffield.

I want to say uh you have citizens out here who are gonna hold your feet to the fire.

There is no excuse for not taking care of residents that have lived here for years and years and years.

I just left a discussion um about the mayoral race and just the election overall.

There was a terrible turnout.

100,000 residents coming out to vote, terrible turnout.

People are not uh they're not reached out to, they're not talked to.

Scott Benson, I made you a promise a couple days ago.

I'm gonna hold on to that promise depending on what happens.

But I I think I think that recall which is coming.

I just talked to another community leader in district three, and I'm gonna go all across the district showing that video that Tacti does in Kronos for from Kronos.

And I'm also gonna check in those thousand properties in that list that I have from the room family, and I ain't gonna stop.

Anybody who was in these positions of leadership, you deserve to be held accountable to the residents that have to live in the city and have to deal with these solar farms, these solar race, losing generation of wealth.

I have a house that's been in my family for 64 years, and I can't get any assistance with fixing a house.

Good to see you last night, Fred Durhaw.

Thank you for giving me your number.

I'm not gonna hit you up on anything unprofessional, or I'm not gonna blow your phone up.

I also want to say um the fact that we have uh a mayor currently who has done all this corrupt stuff in the city of Detroit, and we we scared to say his name.

Mike Dugan ain't done nothing good for black residents in his entire life.

Any type of his any any of his political endeavors or anything he has done, we should be supporting Garland Gilkhrist in his run for governor.

I have some personal issues with Garley Gilchrist.

Uh, and I uh I talked to him last night at Mary Sheffield's event, and I was glad to say that I'm I'm gonna support him and help him get to be governor.

Also, I was gonna say it was kind of shocking how I was given the VIP ban last night and got to walk around, even though I definitely supported Kenlock, and I definitely was holding up like a Rolex, but I just want to say I'm not gonna stop fighting for the people.

I see the rest of my time.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Smith.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Renard Moswski.

Renard Monsunski, you have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Runardsky.

Hey, can I be heard?

You may.

Okay.

Renard Moshewski, District 6th resident.

I'm also organizer with Detroit People's Platform.

Um, the reason I'm speaking out uh to the body, first of all, I want to congratulate all council members that were re-elected and new council members and of course Mary uh Sheffield, who was our mayor elect.

Did that backwards, anyways?

Um want to um inquire about the budget process.

Um, usually around this time of the year, departments are making their requests um in their budget reports and what their um anticipated needs are for the next year.

But since we're moving into a new um administration, just wanted to know have this body and specifically this council been apprised of the process and will there be usual budget hearings um that will lead into the next um financial year as well.

Um, this is really important that I asked this because um the citizens have really been instrumental in the budget process, and we were able to get our priorities met, though not all of them, and I know the other callers may disagree.

Everything has not been met, but um, when it comes to certain crucial services like public transit, we did organize and mobilize um at the budget tables and committees like this, and at the hearings to ensure that the city prioritizes um our tax dollars into a needed public service that we need so greatly.

Detroit is the lowest funded transit system in the United States.

Haven't come back from Portland last week.

Um, it's amazing what you can do when you actually um have you you you know you prioritize your residents and your citizens, and you don't put a class barrier on transit as being an option rather than something that people want to ride as well.

So we put more investment in the shelters, bus stops, and infrastructure and operations.

Our city can compete with the likes of Portland, Chicago and others.

I see the rest of my time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is phone number ending ending in 039.

Phone number ending in 039.

You have two minutes for public comment.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Phone number ending in 039.

Are you there?

Okay.

Phone number ending in 039 going once.

Going twice, going three times.

Why don't we stick on to the end of the queue?

We'll try to come back to them really quickly.

Next caller, Mr.

Payne.

Mr.

Chair, that concludes our public comment.

Okay.

039 is your time.

If you are there.

Are you there, caller?

Going once again, going twice again.

Going three times again.

We please submit your comments to the clerk's office.

Uh and we will note that.

Uh so that concludes public comment.

We will now call back to order our 115 p.m.

public hearing for the purpose of expanding the existing boundaries of the Bagley Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Homestead NEZH area.

This uh is an opportunity to express your support or opposition to the expansion of the NEZH area joining us for our 115 PM public hearing.

We have Mr.

Alvin Horn, our assessor.

Good afternoon, sir.

Please state your name for the record.

Good afternoon, ma'am chair, Mr.

Chair.

Not starting off too well.

Not too well, Mr.

Horn, not too well.

Good afternoon, members of the committee.

Alvin Horn, Deputy CFO and Assessor for the City of Detroit.

Okay.

And if you would like to proceed, Mr.

Horn, just to tell us a little bit about our 115 p.m.

public hearing that is in front of us today.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

The purpose of this hearing is to consider the expansion of the Bagley NEZ area.

Um the ability to expand an NEZ is exclusive and exclusive responsibility for Detroit City Council, both to see um Detroit City Colt and Public Act 147 make that quite clear.

It is the responsibility of council to consider this matter and it's their exclusive decision.

There are 499 parcels that would be affected by this expansion.

Of those 499 parcels, 255 are potentially eligible for this NEZ tax abatement.

The average taxable value of those 255 parcels is 20,659.

That would result in a tax saving, an average tax savings of 243.

I would, however, remember remind the committee that there are 116 properties which have a taxable value higher than that.

So they would see uh a higher tax savings.

In addition, there were eight properties which sold in 2025.

When those properties uncap, if this is if this uh expansion is approved, they would see a tax saving of $812.53.

In addition, the 24 properties, I'm sorry, the 12 properties that were purchased in 2024 would see a tax savings of $833.23 if this expansion goes forward.

There would be a loss to see if Detroit if the abatement is changed.

Uh currently the taxable value of those 255 properties is $6,527.40, which equates to a tax of $476,105 and 14 cents.

If the abatement is if the abatement is approved, the taxable value collected would fall to 405192.45.

So it would be a loss in 2025 tax dollars of 70,912 and 69 cents.

The intention is to make the ex the tax abatement retroactive to 2024 for eligible taxpayers.

To the state of Detroit.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Mr.

Horror.

Uh do we have uh any questions about this?

I know we spoke about this in depth a couple weeks ago before we sent uh this to formal for introduction.

Um can we talk a little bit more just about the tax revenues uh again, uh, what we're projected to lose.

Uh obviously, we don't want to lose any revenue here in the city of Detroit, but can we talk about the provided benefits also to that neighborhood and what that could mean uh in that loss uh quote unquote uh that we may take from the revenue?

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Uh certainly one thing we I didn't mention this lawyer because the the evidence is somewhat still sketchy as only a few years, but it's clear that sales prices on an average are higher in tax abated areas than they are in the rest of the city by about 8 percent.

Certainly we've only been tracking that for the last three years, so it certainly isn't enough uh data to draw any major conclusions.

But I think it it supports what we all believe that when people see tax reductions for tax relief in specific parts of the city, they're drawn to those parts of the city.

It helps stabilize neighborhoods, it provides a foundation for growth.

The original purpose of the NEZ homestead area was to do just that, to stabilize neighborhoods.

Uh the originally fifty the original 52, which were created right around the 2006 area at the height of the recession.

The intention was to no one kidded themselves, no one thought it would reverse the tide of people leaving the city.

But the thought was that if we offer tax relief, it would slow that tide down.

And all the evidence supports that.

When City Council decided to modify the NEZs in 2020 and more evenly distribute them throughout the city, I think the evidence, even though it's it's only been a few years, but I think the evidence supports that those neighborhoods have stabilized.

Uh in some areas, those were neighborhoods which in many cases were in regression.

And there were some concern that they if they would ever turn around.

But they have.

They have turnaround.

And certainly the NEZ isn't the only reason, but I think it's an important tool that the city can offer to property owners.

And in that same vein, that is kind of my state and thinking, you know, when we see less opportunities for foreclosure.

Uh when we see neighborhoods start to become more stabilized, uh, we see less crime.

And that's less money we have to spend uh in crime in that way.

Um we see more opportunities uh for jobs, but less money we have to spend on demos, less money that we have to spend uh from our our budget uh on stabilizing those neighborhoods when folks can stay in their homes and and keep kind of uh or develop a level of continuity for those neighborhoods.

And so uh as we talk to many Detroiters, we hear tax relief.

You know, we need tax relief.

Uh we pay some of the highest property taxes uh in the country, not just the state, but in the country.

Uh and so I I think this is a good initiative, especially for those over 400 parcels who are adjacent to folks who are already having this abatement already.

I think it helps expand uh the the continuity uh of what we're trying to do in that area uh as well.

I couldn't agree.

I couldn't agree more, Mr.

Chair.

Uh certainly Detroiters want and have made it quite clear they want across the board tax relief.

This is a start.

It's not the end of it, it's not the end of the discussion, but it's a good start.

It's an opportunity to provide people who have purchased homes.

There are 20 people who in the last two years have purchased homes, and this will afford them about a 20% tax reduction on their summer tax bill.

That's a significant savings for someone who is buying a home in many cases for the first time.

Yeah.

I couldn't agree.

I couldn't agree more.

Uh Mr.

Corley.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Congratulations to the incoming um council members.

Very exciting.

Um just to remind the council, the projected put property tax revenue for the current fiscal year is 171 million dollars.

So this will result in a property tax loss of about 139,000 for both years.

So obviously, yes, that's you know, the nim the minute the men in this hardware to say.

It's a very small insignificant reduction.

So uh just to let the you know public know about that.

I do have one question.

Um I know that these NEZ homesteads are for 15 years.

Is that correct, Domester?

Uh through the Chair, that is correct, sir.

And so if once these expire, is a homeowner eligible to apply for it again?

I don't think so, but that may be good to know.

Through the chair, uh I actually have an opinion from the former corporate counsel Lawrence Garcia, which states that a property owner has the option of applying for the NEZ homestead a second time as long as they meet the uh the uh the conditions and requirements.

So someone could have an NEZ homestead for 30 years.

Okay, and that's that's unlike the regular NEZ um tax break, right?

Because that they can only get it one time.

Is that right?

Through the chair, that is correct, sir.

The state of Bish can control well, they control all of the NEZs, but they have delegated responsibility for the homestead program to the City of Detroit.

Uh the state of Michigan has made it quite clear as far as NEZ new and NEZ rehab.

When those abatements expire, they have expired, and they have no interest in in the expanding note.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Mr.

Corley.

Okay, seeing no other questions.

Oh, Chair recognizes Member Santiago Romero.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Less of a question, more of a of a comment on uh the support of this and the need of this.

Um, even for 15 years, most mortgages uh will hopefully be paid in in 15 years or so.

So uh once I'm done paying my mortgage, just paying taxes is a is a lot of savings there, just having to be focused on on paying the uh the taxes instead of just having to pay the mortgage and the taxes.

Um so I'm I'm happy to provide whatever kind of relief we can provide to Detroiters.

Um I am so grateful to be in easy myself.

Um I think I did receive a three to five hundred dollar savings, which is really really needed.

Um, so want to make sure we're able to do this for others as well.

And Mr.

Corley, thank you for mentioning the loss.

I think that just also highlights the need for us to be creative of our revenues um and what that means.

Don't want to let folks um the public to think that we're just gonna reduce um resources without thinking about how we how we also replace and and gain.

Um that will be a harder conversation, but one that we are having here and as a council um and hopefully as a state soon, because we need more tools um to be able to take to garner more more revenues.

Um, but happy to support this.

Um would love to make sure that we're able to expand where needed.

Um, and just to remind us, um Mr.

Hudd, how much more um percentage or ability do we have as a city to expand the NEZs?

Uh through the chair.

Uh we are currently at if this expansion is approved, we will go from 13.78 to 13.95 percent.

Under state law, we are uh we can have up to 15 percent of the city under an NEZ homestead abatement.

Okay, ma'am.

Thank you.

Um that's helpful for planning.

Um, no other questions or comments.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Happy to oh, I think we need to have yeah, okay, never mind.

We happy to hear the public and what their thoughts are for this NEZ.

Thank you.

Thank you, Member Santiago Romero.

And with that saying no other questions right now from quite uh colleagues and or our presenters, we will go into public comment.

Uh each member of the public will have two minutes for public comment.

This is regarding our 115 p.m.

public hearing.

Your comments must remain germane to our 115 p.m.

public hearing.

Uh so we'll open up public comment if you wish to end the uh participate, uh raise your hand now via the zoom feature.

I don't think we have anyone joining us committee of the whole uh that wishes to participate.

Uh and so public comment going once, public comment going twice, public comment going three times.

Public comment is now closed regarding our 115 p.m.

public hearing.

Uh Mr.

Payne, how many callers do we have?

Mr.

Chair, we have three callers.

Okay, three callers.

Uh who is our first caller?

Our first caller is Detroit City Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway.

Okay.

Uh noting that uh member Callaway will have two minutes, even though she is a council member.

She is treated as a member of the public for public comment as equal time as everyone else.

Uh member Callaway, you have two minutes for public comment, ma'am.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Good afternoon.

This is Detroit City Councilwoman Angela Whitfield Callaway, representing District 2.

May I be heard?

You may, ma'am.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Chair, and thank you to all my colleagues and everyone who's listening.

Um I'm very excited about um this NEZ and moving through the process to approval.

Um this area is in my district, and um what has happened.

Um, most of the area is under an NEZ, but it's just a very, very small section for some reason or another, was overlooked or left out.

I believe it was an era um under two former council members.

And simply put, this is just uh a mistake that's about to be corrected.

The entire Bagley area has an NEZ except for a very very small area again that was left out some years ago.

So we are just simply writing a wrong that occurred years ago, and I'm hoping that my colleagues will send this to former with a recommendation to approve.

I absolutely support um the NEZ for um the Bagley area, and thank you so much for this opportunity to express my support for the NEZ in the Bagley area.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Member Callaway, and congratulations to you as well.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Mr.

Payne, who is our next caller?

Our next caller is slow down zoning change rush job.

Slowdown zoning change rush job, two minutes for public comment regarding our 115 p.m.

public hearing.

Please station for the record and proceed.

Good afternoon, may I be heard?

You may, ma'am.

Okay.

Um, you know, very politely, the whole city was left out of the NEZ tax relief.

And like all this time y'all been on council and you continue with this grotesquely inequitable taxing scheme, a state tool created by the legislature so that some of the highest priced homes in the city get these tremendous tax benefits while the undervalued homes are still paying out the nose uh are excessively high fees.

So, you know, the problem with that is, and I also want to know is this area where you're extending the NEZ, would this be impacted by this let's build more housing rush job BS, you know, after the city did let's destroy more housing with public tax dollars for over a decade, and now all of a sudden there's this rust job because I'd like to know how these two things go together because it looks like I'm not saying people shouldn't get tax relief, but the issue is all the other people who don't get the tax relief.

Like you really need to go out and educate all your residents in a meaningful way.

What neighborhood enterprise zones are?

I didn't know what they were.

They sounded like some just nice little thing.

And then when I realized it's 15 years of tax breaks that other people don't get, I was just astounded.

And then who came up with this idea that you can just unilaterally extend these things while others people are still suffering?

And you say you can't pay back the over taxation because you can't pay back individual people, but you're paying people off in the solar areas, giving them 15,000 to 25,000 housing upgrades that sell their neighbors out when you're black bottoming them, didn't give them an opportunity to have a planning study and shove solar farms down their throats, even though it's a good thing.

Okay, you're a lot of latitude.

Hold on, hold on.

Solar farms have nothing to do with our 115 p.m.

public hearing.

So if you would like to have your last 15 seconds, it must remain strictly germane.

I I see you're very talented and got the zoning in there somehow.

I let you ride on that.

But uh solar farms have nothing to do with this project.

So or or with this NEZ.

So you have your 15 seconds back.

You there, Ms.

Warwick.

Thank you very much.

And please stop violating my constitutional right to give public comment.

It's absolutely germane how this all works together.

And I have a very legitimate question about whether this zoning proposal are there a bunch of R2 in this area, and have you made sure everybody understands it?

And it's an equitable taxing scheme.

Well, as a sponsor of that ordinance, I'll answer a question.

If it's R2 to R6 in this uh specific area, then that zoning ordinance would apply.

Next caller, please.

Mr.

Chair, our next caller is not that can not that caring.

You have two minutes for public comment regarding our 115 p.m.

public hearing.

Please state your name for the record and proceed.

Yes, yes, hello.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

Yeah.

Um I live in the Bagley area.

I've owned this house for 31 years.

I've never gotten an NEZ uh tax uh relief ever.

Which is too late for me now because I'm closing, I'm selling this house in two weeks, less than two weeks.

But I'm trying to figure out how come I go, you know, every every tax year.

I never uh I apparently I didn't know about it when uh purchased the house.

Whoever sold the house didn't do the transfer.

So how do people how are people protected from that?

Because 30 years later, it's too late for me now, but uh I understand more and where I'm moving to, I'll make sure I get that property tax transfer affidavit.

So I think that the um assessor needs to do a better job.

They seem to know when uh uh they said when I didn't make a mortgage payment on time and they I wasn't paying, I didn't have an escrow.

They introduced an escrow to my loan.

So they seem to know that and seem to know how to finagle and find out how to take care of that, but they couldn't seem to find out how to send me the proper documentation.

So I could be eligible, unless, of course, my property is one of those that were left out.

So, how can I find out if I was left out?

Am I able to get any type of uh three-year uh refund for the three years?

30 years, 31 years this year I've had this home.

Never once been in uh included in NEC.

Thanks.

Thank you.

And does that conclude public comment regarding our 115 p.m.

public hearing?

Yes, Mr.

Chair, that concludes our public comment.

If it may, Mr.

Chair.

We're gonna give you the opportunity to answer those questions, Mr.

Horn.

I would point out that under state law, the eligibility for an NEZ starts if you purchased your property after December 31st, 1996.

If you had purchased your property prior to that, you would not qualify for an NEC in the state of Michigan.

Uh we have done a couple of mass mailings over the last two years to notify property owners that they are qualified for an EZ, and we promised uh member Callaway's office that we will do another mass mailing for that entire area, that entire district to notify them of the NEZ program.

We intend to do that for the entire city in 2026.

So you can contact the assessor's office and we will tell you if you are in an NEZ area.

Also, this on the city's open data portal.

If you pop up, if you pull up your property, it will there's there's a flag there that will tell you if you're in one of the 152 NEZ areas in the city of Detroit.

So there's several ways to find out on the city's open data portal, or you can contact the assessor's office directly and we'll tell you.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

I think that answered those questions that we have.

All right.

Uh are there any further questions, comments, commentary?

Okay, seeing none.

Uh, is there a motion to send line item five, our 10 or 115 p.m.

public hearing to formal with the recommendation to approve.

So moved.

Hearing no objections, line item five, our 115 p.m.

public hearing will be sent to formal with a recommendation to approve.

Thank you very much for your time this afternoon, Mr.

Horner.

We appreciate you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

And if I may, yes, sir.

Uh, it has been an honor working with you over the years, sir.

And I hope that this is not the end of your service to the city of Detroit.

Thank you.

And I look forward to working with you in the future.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

And offer my congratulations to Member Santiago Romero for your re-election.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It's been an honor working with you as well and uh helping to approve the assessment process and put some really good legislation forward and give folks some tax savings.

Um you take your job very seriously, Mr.

Horn.

Um, I I know there have been times that bullets would be flying in your direction.

Uh, but uh you uh have done it with grace and professionalism.

Uh I don't anticipate I'll be that far.

Uh uh I got a heart for public service, so uh never gonna leave the city uh in that sense.

So um, but we'll see what the future holds, sir.

But thank you so much for your service and thank you for all you've done.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir.

All right, we will now move into our unfinished business line item 6.1 other status of the city clerkslash city planning commission, neighborhood enterprise zone certificate applications for 96 newly built condominium units within the new Hudson's Tower within the Roscoe Development Company LLC Neighborhood Enterprise Zone.

Uh NEZ, this has been recommended for approval by the CPC.

We pass this out of committee, uh, but sent it back to committee.

Uh, because as promised, the developer would like to uh go through a presentation and a report uh on the affordable housing component to this.

Is there a motion to discuss line item 6.1?

Motion.

Thank you very much, Member Santiago Romero.

Uh joining us, I believe we have Mr.

Brian Watkins.

If you can state your name for the record, sir, uh, and then proceed.

Absolutely.

Brian Watkins, Governor Chairs Bedrock Detroit.

Good afternoon, Mr.

Chair and Member Santiago Romero.

Good afternoon to you.

If you'd like to proceed with your presentation, uh Mr.

Pain can grant you sharing capabilities.

Absolutely.

I've uh submitted my request.

Okay.

All right.

Mr.

Chairman, can you see my screen?

We can, sir.

Uh, if you could expand it, that'd be great.

Is that better, Mr.

Chair?

Absolutely.

Great.

So, first of all, I want to say thank you so much to members of the committee and you as well, Mr.

Chair.

Uh, let me leave by saying congratulations to Member Santiago Romero on your victory.

And as well, uh, Chairman, it is great to have been before you with this committee.

We look forward to you remaining with the city in some capacity, and we look forward to your great leadership uh in some way going forward.

Just wanted to say that.

We also appreciate this body giving us another opportunity to just share additional information about our commitment to affordable housing.

Much has been said about affordable housing over these past few weeks and months.

And we wanted to show uh good information and numbers as it relates to what we've done on our side to be able to stick to that commitment.

Again, just to remind this particular body back in 2018, our affordable housing agreement with the city committed us to have 20% of our rural units, you know, in our portfolio across the entire portfolio at 80% AMI below.

But as we look forward in the construction of the Hudson's building, uh in conjunction with unprecedented community benefits commitments, we said that we would commit 30%, 30% of our rental units in the portfolio to be available at even deeper affordability.

That is at 60% AMI below.

Now, because the NAZ certificates are a shall be approved once the zone is in place.

This enhanced commitment, of course, ensure that the future NZ approval will be based on an unparalleled commitment.

There is not one developer that is doing what we're doing.

It's an uncritical commitment to affordable housing in Detroit.

Now, the key is that we've not only honored that commitment, but we've exceeded it.

And I'll show that in just a moment with affordable units because they make up more than 40% of our total residential portfolio.

And this isn't good just for us.

We think that this is something that can be talked about going forward with other developers that come to this honorable bike.

So very quickly, here are the numbers of the 1,681 residential units subject to the affordable housing agreement.

709 of them, and you can see the breakdowns per building are affordable at 60% AMI or less.

And that represents 42.2% of our entire portfolio.

It's something that we're very, very proud of in saying that there is a commitment to create housing for all Detroiters across all uh income levels.

Uh, not only those who would be in Hudson's, but those who live throughout our entire city.

So we wanted to make sure that we showed this body as we move forward our commitment to affordable housing.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Chair and Member Santiago Romero, and we're happy to take your questions.

Any questions?

Chair recognizes Member Santiago Romero.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

No questions, just really do appreciate the transparency around the portfolio and what that looks like.

Um, so thank you for going over that with us.

Uh yes, we talk about housing the lots, and until we see the numbers, actually know what we're looking at, what we're talking about and what we're building.

Um, we don't know what to be pushing for and what we really do have.

Um, so I appreciate this.

Thank you.

Um, and looking forward to ensuring that we continue to build housing for everyone, um, including folks that need it at a very uh deep affordable rate.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Member Santiago Romero, and to you, Mr.

Watson.

Uh, I'd like to thank you as well uh for the public to know this was actually at uh at the council table.

Uh, but you wanted to keep your word and come back and present that report to us before we took action.

So that was very honorable.

We really appreciate that as well.

Uh, and to um kind of echo some of the sentiments of uh councilmember Santiago Romero transparency is important uh and hopefully serves as an example of what other developers can do uh regarding affordable housing here in the city of Detroit.

Uh it is not an easy thing to do uh and take some risk and some investments, uh, but it yields a better city uh when we are able to provide places that people can afford to live in uh and still have that diversity in our housing market uh for some larger projects as well.

So thank you so much, uh Mr.

Watkins.

Uh with that, is there a motion uh to send line item 6.1 to formal with a recommendation to approve?

Motion here, no objections.

Line item 6.1 will be sent to formal with a recommendation to approve.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Watkins.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and thank you, Member Santiago Romero.

That brings us to the end of our agenda.

Seeing we have no new business, we'll go directly to member reports.

Chair recognizes Member Santiago Romero.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Just want to say thank you so much for District Six residents for bringing us back.

I'm so excited to continue to serve the city that we love and looking forward to the next four years.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

You almost had me, Terry, too, there, Member Santiago Romero.

Uh my member report, I just again like to express uh congratulations to all my colleagues.

Been an honor to serve with them to see them re-elected.

I think is a testament to their hard work uh that they have put in the last four years.

Uh in which the city's going very excited uh and looking forward to see uh what uh for looking forward to see these days uh to come uh as well.

So uh that is very good.

Uh I'd be remiss if I did not congratulate the new council member who will be coming in in District 7, Mr.

Denzel McCampbell, uh, who will uh be joining us.

Uh well not joining me, but joining you guys.

Um had the opportunity to speak with him today.

Uh and he is ready to go and have conversations on and have conversations on how to move uh the city forward, but also district seven.

So congratulations to him as well.

Other than that, that concludes my member reports.

Uh Ms.

Corley, anything?

Ms.

Barcliff, no?

All right.

Seeing no other business to come before us, the budget finance and audit standing committee will stand adjourned at the call of the chair without objection.