OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Internal Operations Committee Meeting - February 25, 2026: EOP Hearing, Settlements, Cannabis Contract

City Council — Wednesday, February 25, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, February 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:33:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Councilmember Renata Miller, please.

0:13

Madam Chair, we have quorums.

0:14

Okay, thank you so much.

0:16

And we will turn this back over to I think it was Mr.

0:20

Bowser or was it Ms.

0:21

Staudemeyer?

0:22

We have the documents.

0:24

Whoever wants to go.

0:25

Uh Madam Chair, I can proceed.

0:28

So what you now have are my notes, basically, of uh what we're proposing.

0:34

And what I want to make sure that I'm pointing out to you all is that the adopted budget currently for HRD is the 90.6 million dollars that you see at the bottom.

0:48

So what we did was we took that budget and we split it between OCFO, HHFS, and HRD.

0:57

And you'll see that um about 45.9 million will be in HRD, 41.4 million in HHFS, and 3.3 million in OCFO.

1:11

So those amounts are highlighted in yellow in that first column to the left.

1:18

And then we've also indicated the number of positions that we think will be in each one of these departments.

1:25

So you'll see 23 positions and OCFO, approximately 109 and HHFS and HRD will have about 89.

1:34

So this is what the current split looks like, but we are still in the process of making sure that all of the positions are where they need to be.

1:43

So there might still be some changes to this, but this is what we currently have.

1:50

Okay, I'll turn it back over to um member basis.

1:54

Thank you, madam chair.

1:56

So for me, remember I'm a slow swimmer.

1:59

So looking at OCFO, HHFS, as well as HRD.

2:05

Now, how does that correspond to this chart?

2:08

And then what's the significance of these new numbers?

2:11

Are is this because this was all under HRD at one time, and now these numbers will be being broken out?

2:18

Through the chair, um member Benson, you're exactly right.

2:21

You know, this is our way of showing that there are no new dollars involved here.

2:25

We're taking existing adopted budget dollars and we're moving them between these three departments.

2:30

At some point, we will have to come back to this body in order to move the dollars between appropriations.

2:36

Okay.

2:37

This gives you an idea as to how this uh new department is going to be budget neutral, have no impact on the budget.

2:44

Okay.

2:44

So now this these are the are the uses of the funds.

2:49

Do you also have the sources?

2:51

And so then are we seeing any federal dollars in here, any state dollars that are here?

2:56

I know often HRD has federal and state dollars there.

2:59

Are we seeing any of those as part of this?

3:03

Do we have a sources and uses, or could we get that at a future day if it's not prepared now?

3:07

Yep.

3:08

Uh so through the chair, we can look at the current adopted budget for HRD and be able to identify all of those sources.

3:15

Okay.

3:16

And is this proposed for fiscal?

3:18

This is proposed for calendar year 2026, which we will then go into our fiscal year 27.

3:26

Is that how we're looking at these numbers?

3:27

Uh through the chair, this is fiscal year 26 only.

3:31

Okay.

3:32

Fiscal year 27 will be part of the mayor's budget address on March 9th.

3:36

Okay, so this 90 million is for six months then.

3:39

This ninety million is the annualized amount.

3:42

Got it.

3:42

Okay.

3:43

Okay.

3:44

And then so we're looking at, but this is for six months of the annualized amount.

3:52

Is there so we should really be looking at half these numbers just approximately?

3:57

Um approximately yes, you know, just in terms of what's currently available.

4:02

So what we started with was the adopted budget, and then we did the split there.

4:07

But in terms of if we were to run a report to see how much is available currently in HRD, that would look totally different.

4:15

But this is the mapping that we will utilize in order to make those changes.

4:19

Okay, and then show uh obviously the budget hasn't been presented yet.

4:23

Should we expect any major changes here when it comes to these numbers for fiscal year 27?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Cannabis Regulation████████████████████████24%
Procedural███████████████15%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Public Comment██████6%
Pending Litigation██████6%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Public Health█████5%
Contract Management█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Internal Operations Standing Committee Meeting – February 25, 2026

The committee convened to discuss the 2026 Executive Organization Plan (EOP), hear public testimony, and act on multiple settlements, contracts, and appointments. The meeting included a public hearing on the EOP, detailed budget discussions, and decisions on over a dozen items, most passed unanimously to the full council.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joanne Warwick called for a second public hearing, stating residents lacked materials to give informed comment. She criticized the administration for not fully implementing Charter Section 7-201 on health services and urged compliance with Section 9-405 on eliminating redundancy.
  • William M. Davis expressed disappointment that detailed documentation was not available on the agenda. He questioned whether the reorganization would improve efficiency and reduce redundancy, and noted the large expansion of the CFO’s office.
  • C. Gina Brown Anderson asked whether residents were properly notified of the hearing and whether vacant positions in the health department would be filled with higher‑cost roles requiring council approval.
  • Carolyn Hughes (Ona Popper) agreed with prior callers about poor notification and lack of documents. She characterized the administration as top‑heavy and questioned the movement of programs out of the health department.
  • Ms. Ahmad raised concerns about environmental pollution (paint factory, cancer clusters) and asked that past harms be prioritized by the health department.

Discussion Items

  • Executive Organization Plan (EOP): The administration (Ms. Staudemeyer, Mr. Bowser) presented a budget‑neutral restructuring of HRD into three departments: HRD ($45.9M, 89 positions), HHFS ($41.4M, 109 positions), and OCFO ($3.3M, 23 positions). The plan shifts compliance, homelessness services, and outreach under new umbrellas to allow HRD to focus on housing development. Councilmembers questioned vacancy counts (579 general fund non‑public safety full‑time headcount vacancies), the fate of programs like Tangled Titles and Right to Counsel, and the lack of names on the org chart. The administration stated the org chart will be finalized after council approval and posted to Municode.
  • Public Hearing on EOP: The hearing was called to order at approximately 11:16 AM. Six callers raised concerns about insufficient public notice (legal ad published Feb. 18 in Detroit Legal News), missing documents, and the need for a health department focus on environmental health. The law department confirmed the EOP filing was available via e‑scribe.
  • Settlement – Nicole Benjamin (Line Item 8.1): A $134,833 settlement for a sidewalk injury caused by a city tree. DPW acknowledged the defect was first reported in 2022 and admitted the backlog of sidewalk repairs. Director Brundich announced a return to temporary cold‑patch repairs to prevent future injuries. The motion to approve passed without objection.
  • Settlement – Pignataro (Line Item 8.2): A $35,000 settlement for a pedestrian cut by a metal post cut flush but left sharp. DPW will inspect the location (Clifford between Henry and Fisher Service Drive) and ensure it is properly covered. Approved.
  • Cannabis Social Equity Research Contract (Line Items 8.6 & 9.4): A $500,000 contract (later amended to use 100% Homegrown funds) with the University of Michigan for a research report on social equity in Detroit’s cannabis industry. Councilmembers pressed for inclusion of public health and youth impacts. U‑M researchers Dr. Melissa Creary and Dr. Catherine Hindi agreed that health equity is central and would be incorporated, though the scope primarily focuses on licensees and policy makers. After debate, the motion to move to formal with recommendation to approve as amended passed without objection.
  • Right to Counsel Contract Amendment (Line Item 9.3): $500,000 increase (state grant funding) to Neighborhood Defender Service for legal representation. Executive Director Diamond Conley reported that in 2025 the program provided full representation to 94% of 10,000 tenants, keeping 53% in their homes. Funding from ARPA is expected to last through mid‑2027. Approved to formal.
  • Disability Task Force (Line Item 8.3), EOP Questions (Line Item 8.4), Miller Law Firm Contract (Line Item 8.5), and Legal Opinion on Bond Issuance (Line Item 8.7) were all brought back one week.
  • Board of Ethics – Privilege Memo (Line Item 9.10), Human Resources Compensation Schedule (Line Item 9.11), and Data Sharing Report (Line Item 9.14) held for two weeks; CAC Rules (Line Item 9.14) also held two weeks.

Key Outcomes

  • EOP – Public Hearing: Held and closed. No vote taken; the matter remains in committee for further consideration.
  • Settlements Approved (moved to formal):
    • Nicole Benjamin (sidewalk injury): $134,833 – unanimous.
    • Thomas Pignataro (metal post injury): $35,000 – unanimous.
    • Tavares Hernandez (Line Item 9.5): $9,500 – unanimous.
    • Claude Barnes (Line Item 9.6): $70,000 (DPD) – unanimous.
    • Regina Hans (Line Item 9.7): $40,000 (D‑dot) – unanimous.
    • Tunstall Marshall (Line Item 9.8): $10,000 (D‑dot) – unanimous.
  • Cannabis Research Contract (8.6/9.4): Moved to formal with recommendation to approve, funding source changed to Homegrown dollars – unanimous.
  • Right to Counsel Amendment (9.3): Moved to formal with recommendation to approve – unanimous.
  • Items Brought Back:
    • Line Items 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.7 (one week).
    • Line Items 9.10, 9.11 (one week); 9.14, 9.15 (two weeks).
  • Appointments Scheduled:
    • Nifa Cancel and Sabrina Louvine to the Human Rights Commission – interviews set for March 4, 2026 at 10:20 AM.
    • Richie Harrison reappointment to the City Planning Commission – brought back one week pending interview.
    • Pamela Powell appointment to District 4 CAC – received and filed (discretion of district councilmember).
  • Line Item 9.7 (Latino Properties settlement): Removed from agenda as previously discussed.
  • Meeting Recess: The Budget, Finance and Audit Committee (chaired by Councilmember McCampbell) was called to order and immediately recessed at 1:00 PM, after which the Internal Operations meeting continued and later adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Councilmember Renata Miller, please. Madam Chair, we have quorums. Okay, thank you so much. And we will turn this back over to I think it was Mr. Bowser or was it Ms. Staudemeyer? We have the documents. Whoever wants to go. Uh Madam Chair, I can proceed. So what you now have are my notes, basically, of uh what we're proposing. And what I want to make sure that I'm pointing out to you all is that the adopted budget currently for HRD is the 90.6 million dollars that you see at the bottom. So what we did was we took that budget and we split it between OCFO, HHFS, and HRD. And you'll see that um about 45.9 million will be in HRD, 41.4 million in HHFS, and 3.3 million in OCFO. So those amounts are highlighted in yellow in that first column to the left. And then we've also indicated the number of positions that we think will be in each one of these departments. So you'll see 23 positions and OCFO, approximately 109 and HHFS and HRD will have about 89. So this is what the current split looks like, but we are still in the process of making sure that all of the positions are where they need to be. So there might still be some changes to this, but this is what we currently have. Okay, I'll turn it back over to um member basis. Thank you, madam chair. So for me, remember I'm a slow swimmer. So looking at OCFO, HHFS, as well as HRD. Now, how does that correspond to this chart? And then what's the significance of these new numbers? Are is this because this was all under HRD at one time, and now these numbers will be being broken out? Through the chair, um member Benson, you're exactly right. You know, this is our way of showing that there are no new dollars involved here. We're taking existing adopted budget dollars and we're moving them between these three departments. At some point, we will have to come back to this body in order to move the dollars between appropriations. Okay. This gives you an idea as to how this uh new department is going to be budget neutral, have no impact on the budget. Okay. So now this these are the are the uses of the funds. Do you also have the sources? And so then are we seeing any federal dollars in here, any state dollars that are here? I know often HRD has federal and state dollars there. Are we seeing any of those as part of this? Do we have a sources and uses, or could we get that at a future day if it's not prepared now? Yep. Uh so through the chair, we can look at the current adopted budget for HRD and be able to identify all of those sources. Okay. And is this proposed for fiscal? This is proposed for calendar year 2026, which we will then go into our fiscal year 27. Is that how we're looking at these numbers? Uh through the chair, this is fiscal year 26 only. Okay. Fiscal year 27 will be part of the mayor's budget address on March 9th. Okay, so this 90 million is for six months then. This ninety million is the annualized amount. Got it.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com