Detroit Budget, Finance and Audit Standing Committee Meeting – October 21, 2026

The Detroit Budget, Finance and Audit Standing Committee met on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, with Councilmembers McCampbell, Johnson, and Waters present and a quorum confirmed. The committee approved the October 7 minutes, heard five public commenters, conducted its fifth FY 2027 budget implementation discussion on participatory budgeting, acted on unfinished business, and considered a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone resolution and the monthly financial report.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the October 7, 2026 meeting minutes by unanimous consent.
• Set return dates for unfinished business items: 6.1 in two weeks; 6.2 in four weeks; 6.3 in two weeks; 6.4 in one week; 6.5 in four weeks; 6.6 in four weeks; 6.8 in two weeks; 6.10 in two weeks; 6.11 in four weeks; 6.13 in two weeks.
• Received and filed: 6.7 (grant application report), 6.9 (September 23 budget implementation follow-up), and 6.12 (September 30 budget implementation follow-up).
• Scheduled 7.3 (follow-up on the October 8 BFA FY27 discussion) to return in one week.
• For the three data-center items, Vice Chair Johnson noted 6.2, 6.6, and 6.11 all concerned the same analysis; Mr. Corley explained 6.2 was the response, 6.6 the memo request, and 6.11 questions on the response.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Mr. Cunningham thanked council members for supporting his outreach, promoted the Office of Disability Affairs community listening session, and raised concerns that the 13th-floor bathrooms are not accessible and that his own disability is invisible.
• A public commenter addressed as Mr. Crowley made a series of allegations about election administration, including that Mary Elaine Beckman's ballot was counted improperly in the 2024 election, referenced a BPD case number and a federal felony identifier, and said Donald Trump is telling the truth.
• Betty A. Varner, president of the Soda Elsewhere Black Association, urged seniors with Medicare Advantage or Medicaid to verify their coverage before January 27 due to the 'big beautiful bill,' advocated for redevelopment of the 'thinker corridor' (as transcribed), and asked for assistance with a land-use hearing fee and playground equipment for a community park.
• Commissioner William M. Davis urged the city to explore enhanced revenue sharing, said the state 'intentionally robbed' Detroit and contributed to a 'fake bankruptcy,' hoped for a 'major blue wave' to address emergency management law, and said the city should fulfill its commitments to retirees.
• A Zoom commenter appreciated Councilmember McCampbell's follow-up after an incident with a staff member and said it did not warrant a complaint, stressed the importance of disagreeing respectfully and respecting elected officials, and raised concerns about liquor stores near recreation centers and schools, noting children are buying vapes.
• The chair noted the request for public comment had closed after the second speaker, but remaining registered speakers were still heard. He also announced a Medicaid/work requirements webinar on Thursday, October 22, 12–1 p.m., and the Office of Disability Affairs listening session that evening, October 21, 5–6:30 p.m., at Helmuth Recreation Center.

Discussion Items

Participatory Budgeting (FY 2027 Budget Implementation Discussion #5)

• Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) Special Project Manager Whitney Smith presented with Rachel Woods. Participatory budgeting (PB) is a resident-driven process to decide how part of the city budget is spent. The City Council closing resolution directs the administration to implement PB no later than FY 2029 with $250,000 per council district; the program is not in the administration's closing resolution. The chair noted that Mayor Sheffield, formerly council president, was and continues to be supportive of PB.
• Proposed timeline: OCFO has been planning since June; a resident design committee would be established in December; rules would be defined by March; delegates established in April; idea submission and proposal development would follow; voting in October; implementation beginning December 2027.
• OCFO said the pilot would use capital dollars, and projects must have a citywide or place-based benefit to avoid lending-credit concerns. An application for the design committee will open in late November for residents 16 and older; OCFO requested a staff person from each council office to help review district applications.
• Councilmember Johnson asked about allowable capital uses and flexibility outside administration budget priorities; OCFO said limitations exist for the pilot and residents' ideas would drive proposals. Councilmember Waters asked about civic education and voting rules; OCFO said the design committee will decide the voting system, and civic education and feedback loops are part of the process.
• The chair asked about philanthropy and grants; OCFO said no discussions have been held yet but it is possible. Councilmember Waters pressed for inclusion of the two at-large council seats; OCFO's current proposal covers the seven districts, but the committee could discuss it. Councilmember Corley noted a 2016 report recommended 1–3% of the budget for PB, that 1% of the $1.6 billion general fund is about $16 million, and that $250,000 x 7 = $1.75 million is a start. At Waters's request, he recalculated $250,000 x 9 as about $2.3 million.

Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Resolution – 1500 Van Dyke Street (Item 7.1)

• City Planning Commission staff member Chris Gulak presented a resolution authorizing a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) certificate for a new mixed-use apartment building at 1500 Van Dyke Street in the West Village NEZ. Developer Clifford Brown, president and CEO of Woodborne Partners, said this would be his fourth Detroit development.
• The proposal is a four-story, 47-unit rental building: 17 studios (13 market-rate, 4 affordable) and 30 one-bedrooms (24 market-rate, 6 affordable), with 10 affordable units at or below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). Staff's overview contained an apparent count discrepancy, saying 31 one-bedroom units in one line and 30 in the breakdown. The project is zoned R5, includes 43 surface parking spaces at $100 per month, an elevator, and one designated accessible unit. Brown said all units can be adapted for accessibility.
• Brown explained that market-rate and affordable one-bedroom rents were similar because he tried to keep rents at workforce levels; 20% of units will remain at 80% AMI, and keeping upside flexibility helps finance the deal. He said the project is a $15 million project appraised at $10 million, and the value would drop to $5 million when abatements fall off. He also said he purchased Van Dyke Village Apartments to preserve affordability in the neighborhood, and his nearby Co Van Dyke project is 100% leased.
• Staff recommended approval. The committee approved 7.1 without objection and sent it to formal council with a recommendation to approve.

Financial Report (Item 7.2)

• Deputy CFO and Treasurer Valeria Gully and Deputy Budget Director Matthew Smith presented the monthly financial report. The agenda listed it as the report for the two months ending October 31, 2026, but officials presented data through the August 2026 period.
• Revenue highlights: wagering tax year-to-date variance narrowed to about $2 million, with the September forecast increased by $8.6 million; a $7.3 million positive variance in other revenue was due to municipal service fee payments being reclassed to FY26; withholding tax was up $4.7 million from August 2025; individual income tax was down about $670,000; corporate income tax was negative $3.97 million and partnerships unusually high at $7.85 million due to state reclassifications.
• Budget versus projection showed a positive $64 million variance, of which about $58.2 million was recurring revenue and the remainder one-time increases.
• Spending highlights: salaries and wages negative variance of $1.6 million largely due to Teamsters retroactive payments and overtime; overtime in public safety is down year over year; professional and contractual services underspending is still too early to interpret; capital spending showed a negative $1.8 million due to reclassing to FY26.
• Police headcount was 242 below the adjusted budget, but the department's field count has been relatively flat over 12 months; a 48-position monthly increase was mostly school crossing guards. Invoices on hold were $18.2 million in August 2026 versus $46.7 million in August 2025, largely because of large DDOT bus and fire truck capital invoices.
• Councilmember Johnson raised vendor payment delays and check processing; Treasurer Gully said checks are processed on Thursdays, sent on Fridays, and tracked in Oracle. The committee received and filed the report without objection.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the October 7 minutes and all unfinished-business scheduling and receive-and-file actions listed above.
• Approved 7.1 (NEZ certificate for 1500 Van Dyke) and forwarded it to formal council with a recommendation to approve.
• Received and filed 7.2 (financial report).
• PB next steps: OCFO will open design-committee applications in late November, stand up the design committee in December, and continue the PB cycle toward voting in October 2027 and implementation in December 2027.
• Member reports: Member Waters announced the Skilled Trades Task Force meeting from 4–6 p.m. at IBEW Local 58; Vice Chair Johnson announced a coffee hour on Friday, October 23 at 8 a.m. at Mac Alive, 3746 Fisher, with a secondary-streets public hearing later that morning.
• The committee adjourned.