OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Committee Meeting - April 2, 2026

City Council — Thursday, April 2, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, April 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 56:06

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

So back to order or good evening now.

0:02

I'd like to call back to order the expanded budget finance and audit standing committee for the purposes of the budget.

0:10

Madam Clerk, good afternoon, good evening.

0:14

You're gonna get it right.

0:16

Good evening.

0:16

Councilmember Scott Benson.

0:18

Councilmember Letitia Johnson.

0:20

President.

0:20

Councilmember Denville McCampbell.

0:22

Present.

0:23

Councilmember Renana Miller.

0:26

Here.

0:26

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:29

Present.

0:29

Council Member Mary Waters.

0:31

President.

0:31

Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway.

0:34

Council President Pro Tim Coleman Young.

0:37

Council President James Tate.

0:39

Yep.

0:40

Mr.

0:40

President, we have quorum.

0:41

Thank you.

0:41

We have a quorum, which means we're now in session.

0:43

Mr.

0:43

Corley, I know you're back there crunching numbers running short.

0:47

What do we come up with thus far?

0:49

Thank you.

0:50

Um president.

0:51

I want to first thank the uh city planning commissioners for agreeing to meet in the auditorium.

0:57

Really appreciate that.

0:58

Absolutely.

0:59

Normally meet you know in here, but um to um free up the space for council during this very important budget process, they uh they agree to meet in the auditorium.

1:08

So really appreciate that.

1:12

Um I do need to ask about one item, and if we can go page 18.

1:30

And uh these are line items 198 and 199.

1:37

So we combine those two line items and we place 4.5 million to that that got approved, but I need clarity on my understanding that's also being addressed in the administration's closing resolution.

1:57

Does that mean that the administration is going to find the money?

2:04

Or the 4.5 was that actually added as a one-time general fund.

2:11

So I just I just need clarity on that one.

2:15

So if we can start, Mr.

2:17

President, you know, when we say it's going to be added into the administration's closing resolution, does that mean that they're gonna try to identify the funding to come up with 4.5 million dollars?

2:33

Ms.

2:33

Johnson, hopefully can answer that.

2:35

Mr.

2:36

Johnson.

2:37

Uh through the chair to Mr.

2:38

Corley, yes.

2:39

So we will um provide the the where the funding is located.

2:44

When we're putting it in our closing resolution, it's because it's it's funding that was already included in the let's say the capital budget, for example, in in the example of this item, these dollars were already part, they're already there's already money set aside for parks, and so what I'm saying is we will make sure that we set aside, I'm committing to set aside those dollars specifically for this use.

3:04

Um, for that.

3:05

So, yes, we provide that.

3:07

And Mr.

3:07

President, Mr.

3:08

Johnson, so you're looking to do that um using current year resources, or are you gonna just find it in fiscal 2027?

3:19

Mr.

3:20

Johnson.

3:20

Uh thank you, Mr.

3:21

President.

3:22

Uh, for through you to Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Public Comment██████████████████████22%
Procedural██████████████14%
Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%
Fleet Management█████████9%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Procurement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Committee Meeting - April 2, 2026

The Budget Finance and Audit Standing Committee convened on April 2, 2026, to continue deliberations on the city's fiscal year 2027 budget. Council members reviewed proposed changes to the mayor's budget, totaling approximately $22.1 million in adjustments (1.4% of the general fund budget). Key discussions centered on funding for the Brennan Center renovations, fleet vehicle purchases, and various one-time allocations. Public comment was heard on budget transparency, police spending, and community engagement.

Consent Calendar

  • No separate consent calendar was presented; all actions were taken during open discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Resident (first caller): Expressed frustration with the cost and availability of BZA transcripts, suggesting other communities have more cost-effective, modernized record-keeping systems.
  • Owner Papa: Criticized $20 million for police cars, suggesting revenue from queue lines, auditing blight tickets, and better contract management. Noted a state food program with $1 million that cannot be implemented due to lack of capacity.
  • Caller ending in 039: Made unclear comments about legal action and allegations regarding budget and council members.
  • Tyson Gersh: Argued that the city council never authorized the BZA to charge for transcripts, stating the ordinance is clear and the LPD report was incorrect.
  • iPhone (caller): Complained that questions to the Department of Elections go unanswered, and that public comment is too brief with no chat option, suggesting neighborhood budgeting.
  • William M. Davis: Urged greater investment in mental health crisis diversion programs to reduce police burden, citing Dearborn as an example.

Discussion Items

  • Brennan Center Renovations (Line Items 198 & 199): Mr. Corley (CFO) explained that the administration's closing resolution will provide $4.5 million for the project. $3 million will come from the current capital budget (previously set aside for the new Brennan Center) and $1.5 million from the fiscal year 2027 capital allocation (parks and recreation improvement plan). Council Member Benson noted that the $1.5 million would be drawn from the $8.1 million GSD park development budget, requiring a reduction in other park projects.
  • General Fund and Non-General Fund Adjustments: Mr. Corley reported that council's changes reduced general fund one-time spending from $22.9 million to $16.5 million, general fund recurring from $4.8 million to $1.974 million, and non-general fund recurring from $4.4 million to $1.3 million. Total council changes were $22.1 million, representing 1.4% of the total budget. He argued the mayor should not veto such a modest change.
  • Fleet Vehicle Funding: Mr. Corley proposed cutting $8.5 million from the $20 million fleet budget, leaving $11.5 million for public safety vehicles. Mr. Johnson (budget director) countered that the procurement process is already complete, and the $20 million is exclusively for emergency vehicles, with no financing mechanism available (IPA exhausted). Council Member Corley suggested the administration could come back with a budget amendment in the fall if revenue permits.
  • Rainy Day Fund: Council Member Benson proposed adding a 1% increase ($15 million) to the rainy day fund, urging the administration to support it in the closing resolution. No formal motion was made.
  • Line Item 191 (Food Restoration Pilot Program): Pro Tem Young moved to remove the item, freeing up $1 million. The motion passed without objection.
  • Line Items 71 & 73 (Language Access): Council Member Santiago Romero moved to combine the items and include closing resolution language on the approved monetary amounts. The motion passed without objection.
  • Line Item 217 (Holiday Installations): Council Member Benson moved to approve $135,000 one-time funding for holiday installations, allocating $15,000 per council member for citywide installations. The motion passed without objection.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Motions:
    • Removal of line item 191 (food restoration pilot program) – unanimous.
    • Combining line items 71 and 73 (language access) – unanimous.
    • Approval of line item 217 ($135,000 for holiday installations) – unanimous.
  • Pending Actions:
    • The administration will provide alternative funding sources for council-approved changes by Monday, April 6, 2026.
    • Council members will submit remaining dollar amounts for their priorities to finalize the budget.
  • Next Steps: Council will reconvene to review the administration's proposed funding sources and finalize the budget before adoption.

Meeting Transcript

So back to order or good evening now. I'd like to call back to order the expanded budget finance and audit standing committee for the purposes of the budget. Madam Clerk, good afternoon, good evening. You're gonna get it right. Good evening. Councilmember Scott Benson. Councilmember Letitia Johnson. President. Councilmember Denville McCampbell. Present. Councilmember Renana Miller. Here. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Present. Council Member Mary Waters. President. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway. Council President Pro Tim Coleman Young. Council President James Tate. Yep. Mr. President, we have quorum. Thank you. We have a quorum, which means we're now in session. Mr. Corley, I know you're back there crunching numbers running short. What do we come up with thus far? Thank you. Um president. I want to first thank the uh city planning commissioners for agreeing to meet in the auditorium. Really appreciate that. Absolutely. Normally meet you know in here, but um to um free up the space for council during this very important budget process, they uh they agree to meet in the auditorium. So really appreciate that. Um I do need to ask about one item, and if we can go page 18. And uh these are line items 198 and 199. So we combine those two line items and we place 4.5 million to that that got approved, but I need clarity on my understanding that's also being addressed in the administration's closing resolution. Does that mean that the administration is going to find the money? Or the 4.5 was that actually added as a one-time general fund. So I just I just need clarity on that one. So if we can start, Mr. President, you know, when we say it's going to be added into the administration's closing resolution, does that mean that they're gonna try to identify the funding to come up with 4.5 million dollars? Ms. Johnson, hopefully can answer that. Mr. Johnson. Uh through the chair to Mr. Corley, yes. So we will um provide the the where the funding is located. When we're putting it in our closing resolution, it's because it's it's funding that was already included in the let's say the capital budget, for example, in in the example of this item, these dollars were already part, they're already there's already money set aside for parks, and so what I'm saying is we will make sure that we set aside, I'm committing to set aside those dollars specifically for this use.

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