Detroit City Council Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee Meeting - April 8, 2026

The Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee of the Detroit City Council met on April 8, 2026, to discuss and take action on several items, including the approval of minutes, public comments, a detailed presentation on the city-wide payroll performance audit, and multiple new business items. The meeting began at approximately 10:00 AM and concluded after several hours of deliberation.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved by unanimous consent without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

Public comment was taken from both in-person attendees and callers via Zoom. Speakers raised a variety of concerns:

• Tyson Gersh: Questioned the transparency of the BZA (Board of Zoning Appeals) budget, stating that revenue tripled in fiscal year 2024 while caseload did not increase proportionally. He noted that caseload data presented to council had calculation errors and was organized by calendar year rather than fiscal year, making it difficult to assess. He urged council to demand clearer financial reporting.
• Owner Papa: Expressed the need for public answers to council memos, and questioned the city's ability to meet property tax revenue projections (from $140 million in 2026 to $172 million by 2030) given rising tax abatements and unemployment. He also argued against using surplus funds to subsidize a Pistons facility instead of building a recreation center directly benefiting residents.
• Legendary Detroiter: Alleged that a police case (Kenisha Coleman, case 20-11112) was mishandled and that the city has been cheating in elections for 15 years. He also demanded removal of a "false tag" placed on the deceased.
• William M. Davis (Commissioner, District 7): Noted that District 7 has only one public library and called for expanded hours and services. He requested greater local economic retention (keeping Detroit dollars in Detroit) and raised concerns about voter suppression, stating his precinct's polling location is over three miles away, requiring seniors to travel far to vote in person. He urged council to work with the clerk on accessible voting.
• Black Bag (caller): Did not speak (identified as previous speaker) and was moved to next caller.
• Cunningham: Described his volunteer work distributing paratransit applications, bus tickets, and other aid to seniors and disabled residents. He noted that donations have declined because people mistakenly believe his ambassador role is paid. He thanked council members who have supported him.
• Phone number ending in 124: Seconded Mr. Gersh's concerns on the BZA budget, citing Detroit City Code 50-2-6 and calling for cost prohibitions. He also criticized the lack of follow-up on the "Rezone Detroit" initiative, for which $500,000 was spent, and noted that District 5 received only eight days' notice for a master plan meeting.

Council Chair McCampbell responded to several comments, noting that the rec center is already under construction (not dependent on the Pistons), and that follow-up would be made with the library, elections department, and on the BZA points raised by Mr. Gersh.

Discussion Items

City-Wide Payroll Performance Audit (Item 5.15)

The Auditor General Laura Goodspeed and Stout Director Ray Roth presented the second interim report of a citywide payroll audit, covering fiscal years 2022 and 2023 (July 2021 – June 2023). Key findings:

• Payroll comprises over half of general fund expenditures, budgeted at approximately $1 billion annually.
• The audit identified 23 observations and recommendations, but only six received action plans from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and Human Resources (HR). Twelve had no action, and five had no response.
• Observations were grouped into four areas: manual processes, analytical anomalies, unsupported transactions, and other issues.
• Manual process concerns: Timekeeping for DPD and DDOT is not integrated into the city's payroll system (AltiPro) but manually imported from spreadsheets, increasing error risk. Lump sum payments for unused sick/vacation time were found to have been paid in excess of banked hours. Overtime policies for certain pay groups (e.g., fire 336-hour schedule) are not memorialized in collective bargaining agreements.
• Analytical anomalies:
  • 71 employees received paychecks after termination. OCFO/HR claimed 34 were retroactive adjustments, but auditors found that explanation insufficient for many cases. Example: a firefighter separated on Nov 3, 2022, received regular pay a month later; OCFO said 24 hours of sick time was reclassified to regular hours, but auditors noted this should have been processed as a lump sum.
  • Thousands of transactions showed combined regular time and paid time off exceeding 80 hours per two-week period. OCFO claimed these were retroactive adjustments, but auditors found the adjustments netted to zero and could not explain the excess.
  • Shift premium hours paid exceeded hours worked (e.g., a DFD employee received 21.5 overtime premium hours for only 9.5 overtime hours worked).
  • Multiple payments in a single pay period were found; while many were data-reporting issues, some represented actual duplicate payments.
  • Supplemental payroll runs (off-cycle payments) increased between 2022 and 2023, indicating persistent time-entry failures.
• Unsupported transactions: Nearly one-third of randomly sampled payroll transactions had one or more elements of unsupported pay. Examples included overtime paid without hours recorded, incorrect double overtime rate for holiday pay, spread time paid to a DDOT employee without a qualifying schedule, and a bonus paid outside contract terms.
• Other issues:
  • It took seven months for auditors to receive basic payroll reports.
  • The city's payroll inquiry system averages 1,400 tickets per month with no systematic improvement.
  • A pay-rate discrepancy between HR and time-and-attendance tables resulted in an overpayment to an employee; the cause remains unknown.
• Auditors emphasized that the payroll system is extremely complex due to numerous labor contracts and departmental nuances. They urged a shift from reactive error-fixing to proactive process improvement.

Council members (Vice Chair Johnson, Member Waters, Member Corley) raised concerns about the low response rate to recommendations, the need for adequate staffing and training in payroll departments, and the financial risk of manual processes. The committee voted to bring the item back for further discussion on April 29, 2026.

Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Application (Item 6.3)

The committee considered a resolution to approve an NEZ certificate for three new single-family homes at 1463, 1802 Fisher, and 1707 McClellan in the East Village neighborhood. Matt Temkin of Greatwater Homes presented:

• The homes range from 850 to 1,000 square feet, with 2–4 bedrooms, and estimated sale prices of $550,000–$650,000. Build costs are $275,000–$425,000.
• The NEZ tax abatement reduces property taxes from an estimated $18,000–$19,000 annually to about $6,000 per year for 15 years.
• Greatwater has sold about 40 homes in the area. They are the largest homebuilder in Detroit by volume (pulling half of the 19 single-family permits in 2024).
• Garages are accessed from the rear alleys with motion-sensor lights.
• Council members commended the project and discussed challenges of utility infrastructure and the need for more dense housing types. The committee voted to send to formal session with a recommendation to approve.

Other Agenda Items

• Item 6.1: Revenue Estimated Conference Report (February 2026) – brought back to committee in one week.
• Item 6.2: Long-term forecast on legacy pension plans and debt obligations – brought back in one week.
• Item 6.4: Memo from Council Member Santiago Romero requesting updates on cost analysis and inspector training – brought back in two weeks.
• Items 6.5, 6.7–6.12, 6.14, 6.16–6.22: Budget-related memos – brought back in one week.
• Item 6.13: Memo from Council Member Waters requesting an audit of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation funding – brought back in three weeks.
• Item 6.15: Memo from Council Member Santiago Romero regarding participatory budget expansion – brought back in two weeks.
• Item 6.6: Memo relative to a free fare pilot – brought back in two weeks.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes were approved without objection.
• Item 5.15 (Payroll Audit): Motion carried to bring back for further discussion on April 29, 2026. No objections.
• Item 6.3 (NEZ Application): Motion approved to send to formal session with a recommendation to approve. No objections.
• Items 6.1, 6.2, 6.5, 6.7–6.12, 6.14, 6.16–6.22: All motioned to be brought back in one week (April 15, 2026) without objection.
• Item 6.4: Brought back in two weeks (April 22, 2026).
• Item 6.13: Brought back in three weeks (April 29, 2026).
• Item 6.15: Brought back in two weeks.
• Item 6.6: Brought back in two weeks.
• Member Reports: Motion to suspend carried without objection.
• Meeting adjorned without objection.