Director Keith Hutchings presented the Municipal Parking Department's (MPD) Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget request to the Detroit City Council. The hearing included discussion of the department's operations, technology initiatives, and resident concerns, followed by public comments on a range of city issues.
Afternoon, Mr. Director. Good to see you, sir. Please introduce yourself for the record and your team, and the floor is yours. Um my name is Keith Hutchings. I'm the director of the municipal parking department, and I have to my right James George, agency CFO for MPD. PowerPoint. They should it should be out. Okay. We're gonna give it time to generate. It's not up just yet. I have through the chair, I have some remarks as they're working to get that up there. I would just like to say uh I am really happy to be here again before this body. Uh just want to give you uh compliment. I don't know if you appreciate the unique relationship that we have, but over the several years I've been here in the city of Detroit as director. Unlike my colleagues across the country, they um they they almost detest going before their their council bodies because those relationships are very antagonistic and they don't work well. I have yet to experience that from this body. You've all been very respectful every time I've come. You've also um asked questions sometimes, they may be tough questions, but you allow me to answer and say yes, we can do that, but maybe not the way you're suggesting we could do it this way, or no, we can't do it. And you give me the ability to tell you why we can't do it. Um, and out of all my interactions, this is one of the few interactions that I really have no trepidation coming before you. You've been fair and and I brag upon you guys all the time about the relationship we have, and I thank you for that. Um that being said, um, I also wanted to express my sincere and deep appreciation for our new mayor, Mayor Sheffield, and part of her hot rise higher platform. Monday she announced an initiative to provide raise the uh uh left the minimum level of pay, a standard of to a standard of living that allows people not to have to go and get multiple jobs. And I can't tell you how uh encouraging that was for me on behalf of uh the majority of my department, it touched the majority of my department, different divisions in my department. These are people who um park your cars in the garage, help you through do that. They are collecting the meet money out of the meters, they are um uh fixing the meters that make sure they're having their uh checking to make sure your residentials um permit is is appropriate. Um they are writing the parking violations that while you may not be happy, they're they're protecting the economic activity and the quality of life and the safety on the street, and for them I am super happy. Um it's interesting as I was walking here. Um one of the employees in the garage um told me that she was just overwhelmed because of this effort to move uh this base salary to 21 dollars and 45 cents as a minimum. And I I can't tell you how happy I am. And I just want to say this for the record so uh Mayor Sheffield can appreciate what she's done, the humanization of this, is that she said she was really concerned because and I won't get into her personal life, but she was like, I'm probably gonna get a second job. I can't make it anymore. And because of this, she's like, I'm probably not gonna have to get a second job. And that really encouraged me. And then uh, if Mayor Sheffield's listening, she said when you're campaigning, she was at your uh you came to her church and no one else said anything, but you said I got you. So I think you can just be uh be uh um confident that at least one of the people that voted for you are really happy that you came through for them today. So I just appreciate that. And in recognition of Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform, the municipal parking department will expand the Park Detroit parking app to include mobility services that make lower cost parking options available. We are also going to add merchant reward and discount programs to assist small businesses and cross-mark merchandising and attracting business through discounting. And we're going to work with this body to expand the residential parking um program to add new zones, which I'll be bringing to you in the next few months that will help residents who are suffering with uh parking relief to have some type of uh some type of uh of relief. So we appreciate um everything that's being done by this body by the mayor, and I hope uh you appreciate what we're trying to do here with uh with uh municipal parking. I also want to just express to our new council members, council member Miller and Councilmember McCampbell. I have not ignored you. I wanted to give you time to get your feet under you. I would love to come talk with you at your convenience to talk to you about what the municipal parking part department does. It is much more complex than people realize parking. And if you're if your schedules are available, I make myself available to answer any questions. That being said, I will I will begin with my opening statement, followed by your questions. The municipal parking department provides affordable on and off-street parking, enforces the city of Detroit parking ordinances, and coordinates parking support, promoting economic development within the city of Detroit.