OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing on DPW Budget – March 26, 2026

City Council — Thursday, March 26, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, March 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:58:23

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good morning, everyone.

0:01

Would now like to call to order the expanded budget finance and addict and audit standing committee for today, uh March 23rd, excuse me, March 26, 2026.

0:14

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

0:16

Councilmember Scott Benson.

0:18

Yeah, Ben China.

0:19

Councilmember Letitia Johnson.

0:21

Present.

0:21

Councilmember Denzel and Thomas Campbell.

0:24

Present.

0:25

Councilmember Renata Miller.

0:27

Member Miller indicated that she's dealing with a family issue.

0:30

So her absence is excused.

0:32

She sent a memo.

0:33

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:36

Present.

0:36

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:38

Present.

0:39

Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway.

0:42

Council President Pro Tim Cole Second.

0:46

Council President James Tate.

0:47

Yep.

0:48

Mr.

0:48

President, you have a quorum present.

0:50

Thank you, ma'am.

0:50

We have a quorum, which means we're now officially in session for our budget hearings for today.

0:56

We're going to start off with the Department of Public Works.

0:58

We can have Director Brundes and team come on down.

1:28

Thank you for being here.

1:30

You uh would like to introduce you and your team, and the floor is yours to begin.

1:35

Good morning.

1:36

Thank you for having us.

1:36

I'm Ron Brundish, Director of DPW.

1:42

Sam Krasenstein, Deputy Director, DPW.

1:45

James George is here for an Prime Gidra.

2:01

Yes, sir.

2:02

Floor is yours.

2:03

I'll get right into our presentation, and uh this should only take a few minutes uh so we can uh get to the question portion of the presentation.

2:11

Uh DPW's budget.

2:14

Uh first of all, we're proud to align and support uh Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform and vision to lift neighborhoods, improve the quality of life, ensure equity for all of our residents.

2:25

Uh DPW's fiscal year 2027 budget includ includes funding to ensure that our neighborhoods remain clean and that they're appropriately maintained, uh, and that uh we're performing our construction work uh on streets in a manner uh that takes in into account all uses of the public right-of-way.

2:44

Uh DPW's budget includes funding to increase multiple services, including aggressively addressing and eliminating a backlog of 6300 sidewalk related requests uh that existed on January 1st of 2026.

3:02

Uh just wanted real quickly, uh I know we have a couple new council persons just provide uh organizational structure for DPW.

3:11

Uh DPW has has four core uh divisions that are four divisions that provide core services to our residents.

3:18

Uh our solid waste and street maintenance divisions are led uh respectively by superintendents William Collins and Patricia Henderson, uh our city engineering division, which is responsible for maintaining the public right-of-as well as the designing uh and managing all of our major road construction uh projects is led by city engineer Richard Doherty.

3:39

Uh our traffic engineering division led by Prasad Nana Panini also includes uh our traffic engineering science shop, which is responsible uh for fabricating and installing uh all of the parking and traffic control signs throughout the city.

3:54

Uh and we have a complete streets unit led by Deputy Director Christina Peltier, uh that's the responsible for ensuring that all of our construction projects are again again designed and implemented in a manner uh that ensures that all users of the public right-of-way uh, albeit whether they're uh operating vehicles, riding buses, uh pedestrians walking, uh, individuals in wheelchairs, uh, but ensuring that all of our projects are designed in a manner uh that is safe and accessible for all users of the public right-of-way.

4:27

Uh and our complete streets unit is also responsible uh for uh providing planning uh and outreach for all of our streetscape projects.

4:37

And also uh within DPW's solid waste division budget or solid waste funded budget uh is the Greater Detroit's resource recovery authority uh that's led by Director John Primack, who reports directly to the chief operating officer and Gidra is responsible for everything associated with disposal uh of uh of all silo waste, including landfilling, uh trash and bulky items, as well as the processing of recyclables uh and the composting of yard waste that's collected separately.

5:10

Just a brief high level summary of DPW's budget.

5:14

Our budget for fiscal year 2027 is 212 million dollars, roughly uh 40 million dollar increase from the current year's budget.

5:24

Our total number of FTE positions decreases from 48, 485 to 485 from 522 in the current fiscal year.

5:34

DPW's budget is broken down into four separate uh separate fund budgets.

5:39

Our general fund budget uh this year is $3.4 million with no change in the number of uh budgeted FTE positions.

5:47

Uh our street fund budget this year is $136 million, uh just under $30, just under $42 million increase from our current uh our current fiscal year budget.

5:59

Uh our metro fund, and I'll talk about that a little bit later.

6:03

Uh the budget for 2027 is $8 million, uh increase of just under $5 million from the current year.

6:10

And then our solid waste budget this year is decreased from $71 million to $64.6 million uh with a net reduction of $100 or 40 positions in our solid waste uh in our solid waste fund.

6:23

I do want to point out that even though we're reducing the number of solid waste funded budgeted positions by 40, uh 22 of those positions are being transferred to the street funded budget uh to cover our street, our our street sweeping operations.

6:38

So uh this reduction is in in terms of solid waste FTE positions is not going to correspond with any reduction in solid waste related services.

6:49

And and also just want to point out that by reducing uh when when DBW uh went to weekly collection of yard waste uh bulk and recycling two or two years ago, it required a uh a supplement from the general fund budget to cover all of our costs.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%
Transportation Safety███████████████15%
Budget█████████████13%
Technology and Innovation██████████10%
Public Comment█████████9%
Infrastructure█████5%
Solid Waste Management█████5%
Community Engagement███3%
Workforce Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing on DPW Budget – March 26, 2026

The expanded Budget, Finance, and Audit Standing Committee convened on March 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. to review the Department of Public Works (DPW) Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Director Ron Brundish and his team presented a $212 million budget, a $40 million increase from the current year. Council members discussed sidewalk backlogs, traffic calming, solid waste services, street repaving, contractor oversight, and future technology. Numerous items were moved to executive session for further discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ronald Foster reported a police incident (report #260326-010) involving an unidentified person in a private vehicle, urging city personnel to display proper identification.
  • Talia Van Horn (Power Detroit Community Outreach) requested a budget to support their self-funded program that houses veterans and provides services to families.
  • Angel Carter invited council to her organization at 19237 West Chicago and refuted complaints from St. Suzanne, stating they have converted a facility into a center for veterans.
  • Eileen Hammond thanked the shelter operator for providing help out of his own pocket and pleaded for more city assistance.
  • Betty A. Varner (Sodales World Black Association) asked for funds to help organizations pay land use hearing fees and create a program to beautify neighborhood corridors.
  • William M. Davis requested public service announcements to remind residents to secure their trash and not stop yard waste collection before leaves have fully fallen.
  • Rob Volks (Village of CDC) urged permanent traffic calming infrastructure in the area from Mac to the River, St. Jean to Mount Elliot, citing unsafe vehicular traffic.
  • Chris Sammel (Indian Village resident) echoed the need for traffic calming measures due to increased speeding and danger.
  • Todd Scott (Detroit Greenways Coalition) supported complete streets efforts and noted that bike racks and poor street maintenance (e.g., East Jefferson) are top concerns.
  • Josh (caller) requested permanent traffic safety abatement along the Kirchhoff corridor.
  • Ashley Raleigh (West Village resident) described dangerous speeding on East Lafayette, including drag racing, and asked for traffic calming solutions.
  • iPhone (caller) opposed asphalt speed humps, suggesting rubber speed cushions with separations, and recommended water fountains and compostable toilets for parks.
  • Jacob Graham (Island View resident) called for traffic calming on Verner and Charleboy after two houses were hit by speeding cars, criticizing DPW's approach of only acting after pedestrian demand is high.
  • Caller (name not provided) requested increased funding for Recycle Here! and other programs to educate the 52% of residents without curbside recycling.
  • Anna Owens (West Village resident) noted that 97% of drivers speed past Moses Field Elementary School and urged traffic calming on Lafayette to protect pedestrians, including elderly church members.
  • Marguerite Maddox (caller) criticized the city for not following rules and regulations regarding street infrastructure.

Discussion Items

  • DPW Budget Overview (Director Ron Brundish): Presented a $212 million FY2027 budget, up $40 million from the current year. FTE positions decrease from 522 to 485. The budget includes $3.4 million for general fund, $136 million for street fund (up $42 million), $8 million for metro fund (up $5 million), and $64.6 million for solid waste (down $7 million). The solid waste fee for residents will increase from $260 to $270 per year, generating an extra $2 million in revenue. DPW plans to pave 27 miles of residential streets and 17 miles of major roads, install 300 new speed humps and 88 ADA-compliant ramps, and address a backlog of 6,300 sidewalk requests. 48% of residential households (103,000) have opted into curbside recycling. 450 new containers (300 recycling, 150 trash) will be placed along commercial corridors and bus stops.
  • Contractor Services vs. In-House (Councilmember McCampbell): Questioned why DPW spends $45 million on professional/contractual services versus $36 million on salaries/benefits. Director Brundish said they would evaluate opportunities to bring work in-house on a case-by-case basis to maintain service quality.
  • Paving of Curtis Street (Councilmember Callaway): Requested permanent paving of Curtis from Livernois to Myers. Director Brundish confirmed Curtis is part of the 2026 resurfacing program. Callaway also praised DPW's responsiveness and partnership with universities for engineering recruitment.
  • ADA Compliance & Inspection (Councilmember Johnson): Raised concerns about poorly sloped ADA ramps causing water pooling, and deteriorating center joints on newly paved roads. Director Brundish explained inspection processes and cited examples in District 1 where water drainage issues were being fixed. Johnson also requested traffic calming prioritization data. Deputy Director Sam Krasenstein described the speed hump program (10,000+ installed) and Safe Streets for All grants ($70 million federal) for crash-prone intersections, with first installations in 2027.
  • Quality Control & Street Construction (Council President Tate): Described problems on Long Acre Street (poor grading causing flooding after repaving) and Dawson (catch basin paved over). Director Brundish acknowledged the issues and said inspectors are overseen by project engineers. Tate requested a review of inspection processes and noted the need for better training and technology.
  • Trash Container Damage (Council President Tate): Reported that an automated trash truck “ate” a resident's container without notification. Director Brundish said the incident was rare and confirmed that cameras on trucks captured the event, but the operator failed to report it. Brundish stated they rely on resident complaints to track lost containers.
  • Non-Motorized Pathway Maintenance (Councilmember Benson): Asked about maintenance of bike lanes and replacement of damaged bollards. Brundish said three sweepers purchased last year are used for winter snow removal and summer debris removal in protected bike lanes; 500 replacement bollards will be installed soon. Benson also asked about solid waste contractor compliance, noting reports of recyclables being thrown into trash trucks. Brundish said four district constituent relations positions monitor contractor performance, and only one confirmed case of such mixing occurred.
  • Bike Racks, Chinatown Streetscape, Public Restrooms, Leaf Vacuum (Councilmember Santiago Romero): Requested $50,000 for bike racks, $1 million for Chinatown streetscape, discussed public restroom pilots (e.g., mobile restroom by Detroit Downtown Partnership), and a street vacuum for leaf collection. All moved to executive session.
  • Vacancies & Employment (Councilmember Waters): Asked for list of vacant positions and types. Brundish noted vacancies in vehicle operators, laborers, and engineers; he will provide specifics.
  • Smart Roads & Advanced Materials (Councilmember Pro Tempore Young): Proposed implementing self-healing asphalt, green concrete, and hempcrete (non-psychoactive material). Director Brundish acknowledged prior pilot projects (e.g., recycled tire rubber on I-375) but stated they currently follow MDOT-approved asphalt mix. Young cited projected savings and efficiency gains over 20 years. Councilmember Callaway also moved for a $50,000 study on recycled tire use in streets and sidewalks.
  • AI & Technology (Council Pro Tempore Young): Asked about AI for illegal dumping (cameras, license plate readers) and predictive modeling. Deputy Director Krasenstein said DPW uses AI for traffic safety (Detroit Modes project) and road condition assessment via vehicle-mounted imaging and LIDAR. Council Pro Tempore Young noted they have not yet implemented IoT-based alerts for damaged containers.
  • Traffic Calming Requests (Multiple Callers): Numerous residents requested traffic calming on Verner, Charleboy, East Lafayette, and Kirchhoff corridors. Council Pro Tempore Young added a motion for a traffic calming study in the area from Mt. Elliott to Connor (LaFayette, Jefferson, Vernor).

Key Outcomes

  • Motions Moved to Executive Session:
    • Truck route study for the east side (Stellantis/FCA area) – Councilmember Johnson.
    • Public education campaign on reducing litter – Councilmember Johnson.
    • Closing resolution urging routine maintenance schedule for non-motorized pathways – Councilmember Benson.
    • $50,000 for bike racks – Councilmember Santiago Romero.
    • $1 million for Chinatown streetscape – Councilmember Santiago Romero.
    • Public restrooms in parks/public spaces – Councilmember Santiago Romero (joined by Councilmembers Pro Tempore Young and Callaway).
    • Street vacuum for leaf collection – Councilmember Santiago Romero.
    • Framework study for Boynton neighborhood – Councilmember Santiago Romero.
    • Streetscape studies ($75,000 each) for Schaefer and James Couzens – Councilmember Callaway.
    • Study on recycled tire use in roads/sidewalks ($50,000) – Councilmember Callaway (joined by Pro Tempore Young).
    • Closing resolution on environmental impacts of recycled tire use – Councilmember Callaway.
    • Streetscape for McClellan between Jefferson and Kirchhoff – Councilmember Johnson.
    • Closing resolutions on smart roads, self-healing concrete, green concrete, and hempcrete – Councilmember Pro Tempore Young.
    • Traffic calming study for Lafayette/Jefferson/Vernor area from Mt. Elliott to Connor – Councilmember Pro Tempore Young.
  • Public Comments Closed: 1 in-person and 13 online speakers were heard.
  • Meeting Adjourned until 2:00 p.m. for afternoon budget hearings.

Note: The agenda and minutes were not available for this meeting; all summary content is derived from the raw transcript.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Would now like to call to order the expanded budget finance and addict and audit standing committee for today, uh March 23rd, excuse me, March 26, 2026. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Scott Benson. Yeah, Ben China. Councilmember Letitia Johnson. Present. Councilmember Denzel and Thomas Campbell. Present. Councilmember Renata Miller. Member Miller indicated that she's dealing with a family issue. So her absence is excused. She sent a memo. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Present. Councilmember Mary Waters. Present. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway. Council President Pro Tim Cole Second. Council President James Tate. Yep. Mr. President, you have a quorum present. Thank you, ma'am. We have a quorum, which means we're now officially in session for our budget hearings for today. We're going to start off with the Department of Public Works. We can have Director Brundes and team come on down. Thank you for being here. You uh would like to introduce you and your team, and the floor is yours to begin. Good morning. Thank you for having us. I'm Ron Brundish, Director of DPW. Sam Krasenstein, Deputy Director, DPW. James George is here for an Prime Gidra. Yes, sir. Floor is yours. I'll get right into our presentation, and uh this should only take a few minutes uh so we can uh get to the question portion of the presentation. Uh DPW's budget. Uh first of all, we're proud to align and support uh Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher Platform and vision to lift neighborhoods, improve the quality of life, ensure equity for all of our residents. Uh DPW's fiscal year 2027 budget includ includes funding to ensure that our neighborhoods remain clean and that they're appropriately maintained, uh, and that uh we're performing our construction work uh on streets in a manner uh that takes in into account all uses of the public right-of-way. Uh DPW's budget includes funding to increase multiple services, including aggressively addressing and eliminating a backlog of 6300 sidewalk related requests uh that existed on January 1st of 2026. Uh just wanted real quickly, uh I know we have a couple new council persons just provide uh organizational structure for DPW. Uh DPW has has four core uh divisions that are four divisions that provide core services to our residents. Uh our solid waste and street maintenance divisions are led uh respectively by superintendents William Collins and Patricia Henderson, uh our city engineering division, which is responsible for maintaining the public right-of-as well as the designing uh and managing all of our major road construction uh projects is led by city engineer Richard Doherty. Uh our traffic engineering division led by Prasad Nana Panini also includes uh our traffic engineering science shop, which is responsible uh for fabricating and installing uh all of the parking and traffic control signs throughout the city. Uh and we have a complete streets unit led by Deputy Director Christina Peltier, uh that's the responsible for ensuring that all of our construction projects are again again designed and implemented in a manner uh that ensures that all users of the public right-of-way uh, albeit whether they're uh operating vehicles, riding buses, uh pedestrians walking, uh, individuals in wheelchairs, uh, but ensuring that all of our projects are designed in a manner uh that is safe and accessible for all users of the public right-of-way. Uh and our complete streets unit is also responsible uh for uh providing planning uh and outreach for all of our streetscape projects. And also uh within DPW's solid waste division budget or solid waste funded budget uh is the Greater Detroit's resource recovery authority uh that's led by Director John Primack, who reports directly to the chief operating officer and Gidra is responsible for everything associated with disposal uh of uh of all silo waste, including landfilling, uh trash and bulky items, as well as the processing of recyclables uh and the composting of yard waste that's collected separately. Just a brief high level summary of DPW's budget. Our budget for fiscal year 2027 is 212 million dollars, roughly uh 40 million dollar increase from the current year's budget.

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