Call this meeting of City Commission to order and ask you all to join us as is our uh habit with a moment of silence.

Please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Um Mr.

Clerk, if you could call the role.

Commissioner Kilgore.

Present.

Commissioner Knight.

Commissioner Balchak.

Here.

Commissioner Purdue.

Good evening.

Commissioner Sasi.

Mayor LeGrand.

Present.

And uh if our interpreter could come up and introduce himself, uh and explain his role in Spanish.

He's here to interpret from Spanish to English and English to Spanish as needed.

Good afternoon.

Um, Frank, and I'm here to assist people uh to give public comment in Spanish.

But me llamo Frank is toy aquí deponibile atrás en la sala.

But I darles a da su comentario público andepani.

Thank you.

Um, and that brings us to our first opportunity for public comment.

This is for public comment on items that are on the agenda.

Um, so if you could reference the item you're uh addressing and limit your comments to three minutes.

Um thank you.

Can I add one thing just so we're clear on what's happening tonight?

We do have a public, we do have a public hearing later on the budget and on fee a budget and fees hearing.

So um just so you know that there's a different time for a public hearing, because that wasn't voted on today, but we have a public hearing for the budget um later on in the meeting.

All right, just for uh clarification.

Uh can I speak on uh committee of the whole item number four, which is approving the neighborhood investment plan?

Is that something that I can speak on?

Alright, cool.

How are y'all doing?

I'm D Jones, and I am a passionate entrepreneur and visionary.

And uh, I like for the city government as they have adopted 3D printed construction or 3D printed houses.

I like for them to continuously and annually make funding available to 3D print houses.

The reason I say this is because I had a conversation with the 3D printed construction company that is in Ohio.

This company actually helps high schools get high school graduation credit for learning 3D printed construction.

I'm going to read some of the benefits so you understand the benefits and how this plays into the community because we can actually build a workforce.

You can continuously have funding available for our local community to actually 3D print houses, and the students can actually earn graduation credit that actually can go to their high school uh graduation.

And so who do they serve?

They serve K through 12, seeking early career paths, incumbent workers seeking skill upgrades, justice involved individuals re entering the workforce recovery for community members and displacing workers from displaced workers from declining industry.

What uh what participants earn industry recognized credentials, IRCs, apprenticeship certifications, high school graduation credits, and direct employment pipeline access.

The revenue sources, school districts, and workforce contracts, state and federal workforce funding and tuition and employer training agreements.

So I'm going to ask uh my state government and my federal government and my city government and my county government to continuously invest into the community and make 3D printed construction on the plan continuously after 2031 because I've already connected Jennifer Brock, who's the director of curricula, and uh Eric, who's the supervisor of curricula to this 3D printed construction company that's in Ohio, and they're already having conversations about how they can actually add this into the school district's curricula so we can actually have a good infrastructure that actually starts from our local community because education is so vital and our education system is broken, and people don't believe in GRPS how they should, but I believe in the things that I've been doing and the continuous passion and energy that I've been putting into this community.

Also, uh just to say I'd like to thank JL because they did recommend the West Grand Neighbor Organization to purchase the school, the stock in school.

So we did uh be uh get recognized as the uh neighborhood organization to purchase the stock in school where we can actually utilize the school to educate students on 3D printed construction, uh streaming digital assets, decentralized finance.

So as you guys are going to be having fiscal plans in the uh future fiscal budgets, I ask that you also consider investing into the stock and hub once we actually get to close down on this school and actually be able to truly show the community, the globe, the united nations, the united states of what the community can be and how what true grassroots efforts and what true uh stand true to yourself actually brings to the community.

Thank you.

Seeing no one else, um, I will ask for approval of our last meeting meetings minutes.

Can I have a motion?

So moved.

Support all in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

That brings us to petitions and communications, Mr.

Clerk.

Uh 96 communications received urging the city commission to support funding in the city budget for installations on Kalmazou Avenue to improve safety.

See and filed.

Communication received from Katie Hoffman, Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association Executive Director, including 166 signatures on petition to resume the first ward commissioner appointment process and reach a consensus.

Filed.

Communication received from Scott Acheson regarding the proposed property taxes in fiscal year 2027 city budget.

Communication received from Jolanda Howe expressing support for Kurt Rappart for the position of first ward commissioner.

And communication received from Lucas Lever expressing support to fully fund Dash in fiscal year 2027.

Received and filed, which brings us to reports of city officers, Mr.

Clerk.

Yeah, the Comptroller's warrant report for the period of April 14, 2026 through April 27, 2026, in the amount of 31 million twelve thousand seven hundred and seventy one dollars and ninety-six cents, and the monthly travel report.

Brings us to our next item, which is our consent consent agenda.

And for those of you in the audience who aren't familiar with this mechanism, these are items which have passed unanimously out of committee earlier and have not been removed for further discussion for any reason by any member member of the commission.

Can I have a motion for the consent agenda?

So moved.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

There being no items removed from our consent agenda.

This brings us to ordinances to be adopted.

The first is consideration of an ordinance amending chapter 68 of the Historic Preservation Commission.

Can I have a motion?

Support.

Commissioner Purdue.

Okay, here we go.

On April 28, 2026, the city commission established today as a date to consider an ordinance that would amend Chapter 68, Section 5.4041 to allow the city to issue a municipal civil infraction for violations of the historic preservation ordinance.

Currently, violations proceed from a notice directly to a misdemeanor.

This amendment will bring enforcement of Chapter 68 into alignment with other city ordinances and enforcement practices.

Thank you.

Colleagues.

So this is not exactly a uh burning public policy problem from an enforcement standpoint.

But on principle, I think that we should reserve the power of incarceration, which is a which is frankly a very um weighty thing for any government to do, but I think we should resist preserve the power of incarceration uh for things we deem to be serious harms uh and uh acts and and so uh I tend to think that um things that you can solve with money or with compliance um shouldn't generally fall into that category.

So um if if things can be can be fixed with something other than there are there are things which we call crimes which cannot be can't be undone.

You can't undo an assault.

Uh you can undo compliance or lack of compliance with a with a city order.

And so I'm I am not I'm not happy to have the possibility of incarceration at any level for um compliance or lack of compliance.

Um but this is substantial progress, and so I will be voting yes on it because I guess it would be your fourth offense at this point, which would be a misdemeanor.

I'm still not completely satisfied with that, but I would much rather have people have three civil infractions before they get to incarceration or an incarcerable conviction.

Uh so it's a great improvement over the status quo.

I just don't think it goes far enough.

Colleagues.

Anyone want to have any further discussion?

Commissioner Belcher.

Uh I'll just say that I think that this is a step in the right direction, and I appreciate the work that the staff has done, and I am fully in favor of making uh approving this tonight.

Okay, great.

Okay, seeing no further discussion then all in favor of the roll call vote.

Commissioner Asassi?

Yes, Commissioner Perdue.

Yes, Commissioner Knight.

Yes.

Yes.

Commissioner Kilgore?

Yes.

Mayor LeGrand.

Yes.

And that brings us to our second um uh vote, and this is uh essentially a companion piece to the item we just considered, and that's consideration of an ordinance amending chapter 170 of the municipal civil infractions.

Um can I have a motion?

So support.

And Commissioner Knight.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

This is a companion item again to the former on April 28th.

The city commission set May 12th as a date to consider the ordinance amending chapter 170 municipal civil infractions.

Um the municipal civil infractions section of the city code, which provides for the ability to issue civil infractions.

This ordinance would amend Chapter 170 by adding chapter 68 as a listed ordinance with authority to issue civil infractions and what those infractions look like um for the initial offense is $100, first repeat offense 200, second repeat 400, and then a period of repeat offenses uh misdemeanor.

Thank you.

Um any discussion, colleagues?

Otherwise, another roll call vote.

Commissioner Purdue?

Yes.

Commissioner Knight?

Yes.

Commissioner Belchak?

Yes.

Commissioner Kilgore?

Yes.

Commissioner Asassi.

Yes.

Mayor Legrand.

Yes.

Which brings us to City Commission resolutions.

And I would ask for a motion to suspend the rules to consider uh the next two items.

So moved.

Thank you.

All in favor of suspending the rules say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

Brings us to our first resolution.

Uh Commissioner Belchak.

You read the resolution.

I'm sorry.

This is a resolution authorizing certain special events subject to chapter 53 of the city code.

Commissioner Belcher.

No bullshit.

Yeah, and I need a motion.

Yes.

All right.

Um thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, colleagues.

Uh, this is a resolution authorizing certain special events subject to Chapter 53 of the City Code, which um since its founding in 2014, the armed forces Thanksgiving event has become a meaningful Grand Rapids tradition that honors the service and sacrifice of military members while providing educational opportunities for students across West Michigan.

Now in its 11th year, the event brings together veterans, active duty and military personnel, community leaders, hundreds of local students to foster appreciation, leadership, and civic engagement.

This resolution authorizes the associated special events activities, including the planned CH 47 Schnook flyover.

Great if you want to see some planes, as part of the ceremonial program.

And that's subject to all required federal approvals, insurance requirements, and public safety measures.

Thank you.

Any discussion, colleagues?

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

And that brings us to our next resolution.

This is uh city commission resolution authorizing approved settlement of the matter of Rebecca Lewis as personal representative for the state of Janice Wilson.

Can I have a motion?

So move.

Support.

Commissioner Sassy.

Um thank you, Mayor.

Um, on April 28th of this year, the uh matter that you just previously mentioned was presented to all of us in a closed session.

Settlement of the pre-suit claims of Rebecca Lewis as the personal representative for the estate of Janice Wilson was recommended the total amount of $90,000 and payable to the claimants' council in the estate.

The amount includes any and all claims by the claimant arising from the November 1st, 2023 incident described in the claimant's pre-suit correspondence and supporting documentation.

All those in favor say aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

That brings us to our series of public hearings.

And although they are listed as five items on the agenda, I want to point out for the public that we're going to essentially consolidate the hearing mechanism.

So because there are some because there are companion pieces.

So item one will stand alone, two and three are be consolidated for purposes of discussion, and also four and five.

So our first public hearing is a public hearing to hear appeals on the uptown business improvement special assessment rule eight eight zero four.

And do I pardon the solicity post?

Right.

Uh Ms.

Post is coming up to introduce the topic and then there will be an opportunity for the public to speak if they wish.

Okay, this is for the uptown business improvement district special assessment rule at the crest of the city commission, the uptown business improvement district board, and the assessor's office has prepared a special assessment rule number 8804 in accordance with the business improvement districts plan adopted by the city commission on March 25, 2025.

This is the second year of the plan.

Property owners were sent notices on April 14th, 2026 and notified of the charge and the appeal process.

The special assessment rule has been open for public inspection for at least two weeks starting on April 20th through today.

To date, the office has received one appeal.

Today the city commission convenes as the Board of Review to hear the appeals on the assessments, and it's the final opportunity for those notified to file an appeal of this assessment.

I'll be available for the next 15 minutes if anybody wants to file appeal.

And the assessor and the city attorney will then review all the appeals and report to the commission on June 2nd, requesting confirmation of the special assessment roll.

If confirmed, the special assessment will be invoiced on the July 1st with the summer property tax statement.

Thank you.

Seeing no one to speak on this, this hearing is now closed.

Brings us to our second and third items on the agenda, which we're going to consolidate.

Um the first is a public hearing to consider an amendment to the City Grand Rapids Brownfield plan for the Indiana Avenue Northwest uh redevelopment project located at 335 and 343 Indiana.

And uh the second is a public hearing to consider the establishment of a neighborhood enterprise zone for the Indiana project located at 335 and 343 Indiana.

So Ms.

Renero, if you want to introduce this.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Thank you for your time.

Uh, this is a new construction project uh at Indiana and Bridge on the west side of the city.

Uh this will be 29 residential units, including a small commercial space, and you can see the breakdown of units there.

We've got studios, one bedrooms, and two bedrooms.

Uh total project cost six million dollars with about five million in construction costs and about five percent of that those construction costs dedicated to our micro local, our minority owned, and our women uh business enterprises.

We've got 1.3 million in eligible activity costs related to housing tax increment financing, so this includes demolition, uh housing activities, including infrastructure and site prep, as well as the potential rent loss for those income qualified housing units.

Uh for 18 years, the life of the Brownfield plan, uh, there will be six residential units or 20% of the total twenty-nine residential units dedicated to households earning uh 80 percent area median income or less.

Um, that financing gap is valued at 739,152 dollars over the 18-year period.

And um, just to add a little bit more specificity to what that rent equates to, um so when we're talking about area median income for a family at 80 percent, we're talking about 50,480 dollars.

And so for a studio that equates to uh 1,321 dollars and for a one-bedroom that accounts for uh 1,411.

Um, and so again, six of the units will be uh maintained affordable for the that 18-year period.

And then this is also uh uh public hearing related to the neighborhood enterprise zone.

Uh, this is a 15 year request because uh of the housing component.

So the base year is nine years we consider neighborhood enterprise zones, and we're considering an extra six because of their housing uh affordability investment.

Anticipated a start in the summer of uh this summer, and I'd like to invite uh Ross Bankett uh Ross Bacon, the developer, and Jared Lutz with Michigan Growth Advisors to come up and talk a little bit about why the project's important Hello, my name's uh Ross Bacon.

I am um half owner uh in this project over on Indian Ave.

Just wanted to um introduce myself.

Um really excited uh about this project, uh get a shovel in the ground.

This will be our first one uh that my business partner and I have uh done.

Um I work, I have an office um right around the corner from the northwest side where I lived right when I first moved to Grand Rapids in 2012 with my wife.

Um so um I've always had uh big interest in the northwest side, and when this site popped up right around the corner, um you know I we had to jump on it.

So uh put in about a year and a half of work into getting to this point, and uh we appreciate your consideration.

Thank you.

Good evening, commissioners.

Uh good to see you all again.

Jared Lutz with Michigan Growth Advisors uh just wanted to chime in on the Brownfield plan again uh as I drafted that alongside uh review and assistance from uh your city's economic development team.

Uh just to orient this is on the northwest uh corner of the intersection of Douglas Street uh and Indiana Ave.

Um there's some you know uh buildings, dilapidated buildings that have been around for about a hundred years that'll be uh demolished as a part of this project to make way for the new four-story building uh with uh covered parking, ground floor uh commercial retail space, and uh as Sarah mentioned, those 29 residential units.

So uh uh Ross and team, their emerging developers.

This is his uh first real estate development project.

I know they've been uh quite excited to get this project rolling uh and really really appreciate your consideration on this one.

Thank you.

Yeah, it's very exciting to see um this kind of project going in in the sort of the core of the city.

Um, colleagues, any comments or questions?

Commissioner Belchik, it's your ward.

It is my ward, and it is my neighborhood.

This is only a few blocks away from where I live.

I drive by here every day going to and fro, getting kids to school.

There used to be a laundromat there.

I hope that someday we have another one back in the neighborhood.

But this is um, you know, bridge tree is growing, we've got a lot going on, and to be honest, these are dangerous buildings, they're an eyesore.

Um it's a huge investment that you're willing to tackle this because this will not only improve our neighborhood for aesthetics and housing, but it's gonna actually make our neighborhood safer.

And I hope that you find some great tenants for the uh real the retail front, be interested in seeing how that goes.

I think it would be fun to have some more.

I mean, we have a lot of coffee shops, but we could have something there.

Thank you for your presentation.

Thank you.

Uh anyone from the public wishing to come forward and uh speak on this.

My name is my name is Hema.

You soy una residente que fue expulsada del uh lugar de donde están hablando de este desarrollo.

And I was one of the people who got displaced uh from that area.

I was living on Third Street and it was very difficult for me to keep living there.

Because these developments uh raise the rent substantially.

And as an affected person, I'm against these kinds of projects.

Families move out of there and then people of another color move in with lots of money and live there.

See me parece injusto.

And the middle class and lower gets displaced because of that, and I don't think that's fair.

Gracias.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Sharon Smith.

I live in the first ward.

Um on office Caesar Chavez.

Um while these apartment complexes look promising and may beautify the neighborhoods.

I'm concerned about the area medium income that is used.

If it is used for all of Grand Rapids or Kent County, that is disproportionate to this community.

And I would like to see something where the area medium or the medium income for that neighborhood.

So I would like to see that.

Um, or maybe at 40 or 60% of area median income.

Thank you.

Seeing no one else, I will close that first hearing.

Our next hearing um is uh uh again consolidated public hearing for establishing property taxes and proposed fiscal year 2027 budget and a public hearing considering f fiscal year 2027 service provision fees to be effective July 1, 2026, and our city manager is going to uh lead this discussion.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Joel.

Uh good evening, Mayor Commissioners and members of the public.

Want to uh provide a brief overview.

There have been a lot of detailed discussions.

Those discussions are available online.

Uh as we introduced the budget and had discussed it in subsequent workshops.

The budget was introduced on April the 8th, April 28th.

Uh, we had a work session May 5th, and additional one this morning.

Again, those are found online, as well as a copy of the actual budget itself and all the briefing documents for the public.

So tonight we want to hear feedback from the public, the things that's in the proposed uh fiscal 27 uh plan.

The plan uh collectively is 785 million dollars, uh 206 million of that is from the general fund.

It is a continuation budget of all the basic services continuing to follow our strategic plan.

Our tax uh the millage rate has been decreased uh point one point one zero seven six mills from last year.

And as you'll see in uh this chart, these tables, uh the various components of the property tax millage rate from city operations, library, uh refuse and parks, uh the current rate for um 20 uh the current rate is at 8.85 meals, and it is decreased as I said earlier to 8.75, and you see the difference.

However, because of the bottom table, we see that the property values have increased across uh the county, which and city, which is good.

Uh, since property values are up, the net impact on the millage rate is on average about a $37 increase for homeowners.

You'll see the various components of the city's budget in terms of the revenue.

Our city income tax is a pretty significant share of the budget.

So we uh certainly welcome investment and jobs, both for uh increasing the quality of life for those that are working, but also it is a significant portion of our income tax for the general fund, 154 million.

You see the proportionate property tax around $63 million, and the rest of the funding to include charges for services and grants as well as other revenue services.

Also in the packet, there is a more detailed breakdown of all the fees.

There are $1,272 fees.

The majority of our fees are recommended to be continued as is, about 63%, about 25% of our fees uh have a slight cost of living adjustment, and they're about 12% or more of the fees that are not at recovery that was adjusted higher than the cost of living rate.

You'll see the distribution of property tax illustrated in the breakdown of the dollar.

What percentage of every dollar goes towards the general fund, library, refuse, capital improvement and parks fund.

I think I saw our CFO earlier.

This is one of her favorite illustrations.

I'll go through a couple of highlights that are in the budget again.

Uh time will not permit an exhaustive deep dive, but all of these uh discussions uh were had with this body in detail, briefings by staff.

The largest uh investment in our city budget is for our water system, water and wastewater, 201 million dollars.

Uh, and that is with keeping sewer rates moderately uh moderate increase for uh water and wastewater rates on average two point five percent.

Uh and we continue to include a significant amount of funding for our lead service line replacement.

We talked about that earlier today.

You'll see the next uh investment uh highest level investment for our public safety, both police and fire collectively, almost 125 million in the uh police department's budget, uh 1.3 million allocated for 10 police officers that were amended in the middle of fiscal year 26.

Uh, this is anticipated with uh revenue that we're able to recover from the state that we have not yet received.

Hopefully that will uh be uh we will be able to receive that in the fall.

That'll also allow some additional revenue for crime prevention from non-sworn uh personnel, about another 400,000.

You'll see the budget for the fire department.

Uh we continue to, this is the operational budget, does not include the capital budget for the new fire stations and the training center that we're building online, and again uh we continue to fund the oversight office at about 2.9 million dollars.

1.7 of that is for technology for the axon contract for body cameras and other surveillance uh uh equipment that the department utilizes.

Uh and again, they're the 400,000 I mentioned that we'll program for crime prevention once state revenue is uh realized.

We talked earlier today about economic prosperity and about 19.8 million dollars uh in the city's uh base budget plus an additional uh 49 million dollars, I think across the different uh 12 authorities and improvement districts that allow investment in neighborhood corridors around the city, significant amount of investment in our streets and infrastructure, 48 million for vital streets, another 40 million for parks and community service, and 21 million for refuse.

Uh pretty significant investment uh for our district court.

We've talked about that several times, 13.5 million of that.

The general fund uh subsidizes about 10 million dollars of that, but overall the court's budget is uh decreased from last year, about 17.8 million for the library.

We're really pleased, not only with the opening of the Amphasy Theater that will occur this week, but when we uh approve to dispose of the property from two on one market, part of our strategy was to uh have additional affordable housing throughout the city.

So, in addition to uh the affordable housing that will occur uh through the transformation of Brownfield, uh excuse me, that will occur the transformation brown field on the F and M project.

We also uh transfer almost ten million dollars to the affordable housing fund.

Uh, that action should take place next week at your next meeting.

Uh there's also an additional uh 8.2 million you heard from Mr.

Tucker.

Uh, that was the base amount of federal funding, but it's also supplemented with uh opioid funding and another source.

I think we're around um a little over nine million dollars.

Uh but of that about seven million or so specifically address programs uh for the unhoused and housing stability.

We also talked today about the millage and uh the uh the zoo museum, the zoo millage and the public museum uh millage uh that the county oversees and uh hopefully we'll know more of the outcome of that.

Right now it's 50-50 renewal, but uh we continue to have capital investment in a sustained capital investment in this budget to support the public museum with some of their infrastructure projects.

I think they have about four million dollars for the ale elevator that they're building in their expansion.

Lots of discussion around uh mobility and the Dash services.

Uh we've talked about the sustainability of uh the Dash to Rapid, which the mayor is both a member of the Rapid Board and Mobile GR and both of those bodies talked about uh the uh sustainability of offering a free Dash service, which we collect no revenues for.

And uh in order to pay for that, other rates would have to increase.

So to take the pressure off the parking fund and increase for other rates.

Uh the routes were changed.

That helps to avoid approximately 1.6 million in annual cost and another seven million in capital over the next five years.

Uh this also allows us to keep the uh on-street uh meter rates, uh parking rates uh the same, no cost increase.

You'll see the additional positions uh that have been added across non-general fund departments.

Uh as said earlier today, there are no recommended um additions to the general fund.

We're also continuing the storage program in partnership with Mel Trotter.

$100,000 to help uh those who are on the house store their uh belongings, and we're able to continue that with the expiration of uh ARPA funding uh through the refuse fund.

And you'll see the last investment with sixty thousand dollars for the retail retention uh traction program.

I will say before we go, these are very uh uncertain um times economically internationally as well as nationally, and so this budget uh provides uh continuity of services in the midst of a lot of the uncertainty.

We're also recommending a transfer of about seven million dollars uh to the budget stabilization fund uh our in essence rainy day fund to uh prepare for what uh economic certainty uh may lie ahead.

Uh that's the end of our my briefing.

Thank you, Mr.

Manager.

Um, colleagues, comments or questions.

We've been over this for hours and hours now.

Um and anyone wishing to see our discussion earlier in the day, that was a matter of public record, and so uh folks can go back and look at that.

But um certainly want to thank um this is something that you're very aware of when you sit in our seats, but uh staff spends a lot of time uh kind of sharpening their pencils, looking at the information soliciting input from us.

Um, and so this is I think uh a lot for a lot of our staff, maybe the central moment of their calendar year.

Um, getting this work ready for uh for the public and for discussion and ultimately for adoption.

So uh if anyone wants to come up and discuss the budget, they are free to do so.

How y'all doing?

I'm D.

Jones, Pastor Entrepreneur and visionary, and I gotta ask y'all.

First, I gotta ask the federal government can y'all send funding to our community because we don't have enough funding for our community.

Also, our state government, our state house, can y'all send some funding to our community because we need funding for our community.

I see that we have uh 19 million for economic prosperity, um, 49 million for corridor improvements, and then uh 8.2 million for in federal funding for community development, 10 million going to affordable housing.

I like uh for our federal government and our state government to increase the giving to our community and our budget because we have unhoused people, uh we have people that's starving, we have people that have IDs that's registered to shelters, and um, I don't think that's cool.

I don't think that anybody should live in poverty.

I don't think that anybody should go without health care.

I don't think anybody should be starving and thinking where their next uh thing that they're gonna eat at, whether it's from the trash, uh rather it's from some uh some food that somebody threw on the ground.

I really see people picking uh food up and going through the trash, and I don't think that's cool.

I also believe that our billionaires, our local billionaires should donate and give funding with these huge projects.

I think the the funding for the amphitheater and the soccer stadium, I think we should increase the affordable housing funding because I remember that I believe they give an 8.2 million for the affordable housing.

I believe they should increase that.

I believe we should have like 50 million from that project or 100 million.

I think they can do better.

I think our local billionaires can give back and help us increase our city budget because they have projects that are built from our city's taxes from constituents that work hard, for constituents that get up every day, for constituents that take risks to be able to feed their family and their loved ones for our constituents that are, you know, immigrants for people that are undocumented.

I don't believe anybody is illegal on stolen land, but that's a different conversation for another time.

But I believe that we should be serving our community as best as we can with these funds.

I believe that we should have uh a higher budget for affordable housing.

I believe that our local billionaires, I believe our state government, I believe our federal government should not be uh taking our voting rights to, but I also believe that our federal government, our state government, especially the state house that's ran by Republicans should not be withholding funding, should be given funding to the cities across our state.

I believe y'all should be uh speaking to them, and I'm pretty sure you do, but we have a Republican state house that are holding up some funds that we can actually utilize to increase our budgets for affordable housing to be sure that we can develop our community and infrastructure better, and I hope that y'all continuously invest in the 3D printed construction.

Thank you.

Good evening, City Commission.

I'm Colette Crowley, and I am 15 years old.

I have a couple of questions for you and the audience.

How many of you have ever felt unsafe in Grand Rapids?

I know it's a bit of a broad question.

Well, raise your hand if you've ever felt unsafe when law enforcement is around.

How many of us feel unsafe around the people meant to protect us?

Because we know they aren't there to protect us.

This constant fear is a reality for many of our city's residents.

For the students you see in front of you today, the truth is this constant fear is a reality for me.

That is why I am here today.

Why we are here today to share with you our experiences, our hopes for a better future, and our demands for change from you, our city leaders.

We're taking time away from studying and preparing for our futures because we know that one small encounter with law enforcement may eliminate that future.

This is about public safety policies in our city.

Families in Grand Rapids continue to feel unsafe as violence from the institutions you protect persists.

Today, we as students are demanding city budget changes that reflect our desire, our need for public safety accountability in Grand Rapids.

We stand in solidarity with Movimento concecha.

We demand that you adopt their sanctuary policies, building a city that truly values immigrants.

As city officials, you can commit to withholding city budget resources from ICE officials, ensuring that our taxpayer dollars aren't led astray.

We stand in solidarity with Daquan Johnson and his family, fighting for police accountability.

We demand transparency and an independent investigation into his murder.

We demand full accountability for officers who use deadly or lethal force.

We demand that the transition of city budget resources is shifted from traditional policing towards community-based safety models.

The truth is we all deserve to feel safe in our city.

So prove to us that you are committed to our well-being.

You can stand in solidarity with us.

By adopting these policies, you will show us that our communities matter, that our families matter, and that we as young people, we matter.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Karina Rodriguez, and I'll be a graduate from the GRPS district this upcoming week.

I want to start this by saying that I'm fortunate to have the ability to graduate with my parents present around me.

To have such a privilege or to have this to be a privilege at all truly brought me to a state of shock.

Throughout the last couple of months and the havoc of dehumanizing detainings of my community, I finally understood what it meant to be privileged, a feeling I've never felt.

To have a piece piece of paper, the look of citizenship, and to have my parents at graduation is an unreasonable privilege.

Through my awareness of my privilege, I still live through fear and through my identity.

I like to share an experience that I had the day of February 23rd.

February 23rd felt no different from any other day.

I have my daily route to school as anybody else has their daily right to work, to school, to anything like that.

As I drove down the MLK Street, I thought about did I study enough for my tests today?

What's gonna be my score that I get on my test today?

Mid-thought and midterm onto division street, all of those thoughts froze.

I saw an unmarked vehicle with lights flashing brighter than ever.

As I arrived to school, I no longer cared for the results of my test.

I worried for the safety of my community, my family, and for all the children that also live in this fear.

I'm here today to honor the advice of my mother and my father, which was to not live in fear, but to use my privilege to speak for others who can't talk or who live in fear.

No one should live in fear from any governmental authorities, whether it's ICE, police, or anyone else.

And that's not just immigrants, but also people who have been in these police brutality situations such as Daekwan Johnson.

Please adopt cosechas sanctuary policies that protect communities, children, and families, and lastly, hold accountability for GRPD and the killing of Daekwan Johnson.

If you have the power, then use it for real change, and trust me, you have it.

Thank you.

Good evening, commissioners.

My name is Lisette Gallardo Nunes, and I'm about to graduate from Grand Rapids Public Schools as well.

I'm on the way to college, and I'm here today to speak on the importance of investing city resources into the people and communities that make Grand Rapids strong.

As conversations around budgeting continue, I urge this commission to prioritize community-based investments that create long-term sustainability and public safety for everyone.

That includes expanding access to affordable housing, strengthening mental health services, supporting youth programs, and increasing funding for local community organizations that are already doing the work.

Too many families in Grand Rapids are struggling to raise rent, house insecurity, untreated mental health needs, and limited access to basic support systems.

True public safety is not only about enforcement, it's about prevention, stability, and opportunity, but most importantly, trust.

This past year, my best friend and I constructed a CAS project standing for Creativity, Activity and Service, where we came together with family, friends, and community to cook warm and nutritious meals for people in need around our community, living in deep poverty.

I also asked this commission to consider how budget decisions affect vulnerable communities, including immigrants, working families, young people, and residents experiencing poverty.

Grand Rapids should be a city where people feel supported, welcomed, and able to build a future.

I hope this commission continues moving forward a budget that reflects these values.

Not only for me, but for people all around this community, for students, for parents, for low-income working families.

Thank you.

Good evening, and my name is Abby, and I am a student.

I am here today because I believe that public safety is critical to ensure trust within the community.

When people are afraid that a traffic stop, a call for help, or even reporting a crime could put their family at risk, trust between communities and local institutions begin to disappear.

When trust disappears, communities become less safe for everyone.

I am asking this commission to seriously consider policies that keep local that keep local law enforcement focused on local public safety priorities instead of federal civil immigration enforcement.

Our police officers should be spending their time preventing violence, respond responding to emergencies, and building relationships with residents, not families having to fear if their life could change within a second.

I also believe we need a stronger transparency and accountability in the way surveillance tools and policy systems are used.

Many people in my generation are concerned about how technology and law enforcement practices can impact entire communities, especially communities that already feel vulnerable or unheard.

As students, we are paying attention to the kind of the city and state we are inheriting.

We want communities where people feel protected enough to participate in public life, speak up when something is wrong, and trust the institutions around them.

It's about safety, dignity, and making sure Grand Rapids is a place where trust between residents and local government can come together in solidarity.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Lisa.

I'm a freshman in the JRPS district, and I would like to dedicate my time to the students who have lost their parents to deportations.

Thank you.

I am a senior at City High Middle, and before I start, I just want to talk about what's been going on in my life lately.

So today I had a two and a half hour exam, and tomorrow I have another two-hour exam that I could be studying for, but I have to be here talking about issues that unfortunately our adults are not taking accountability for, taking action for.

So, as the other commission may know, uh the GRPD is getting over 75 million dollars in funding, and in my opinion, I think that number is way too large.

I don't believe that affordable housing crisis, mental health crisis, and homelessness crisis should be happening simultaneously as the same police force that is murdering people in the streets, is getting millions and millions of dollars.

Like those two things, I just don't believe they can coexist, and they should coexist.

I think um it's a job of the adults of the commission of those in power to take accountability and do things about the issues that are actually affecting our city, not innocent people in the streets.

Um, and yeah, I just think some real accountability needs to be had, and it's I think it's sad that kids have to come up here, take time out of their day, out of their study time, to come up here and talk about the horrors that are happening in the streets.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Um where do I start?

Uh seems like we've had this conversation before.

Um, we can't hear you.

You couldn't hear me.

I'm so sorry.

Um, let me start again.

Conversation a few times before.

I'm gonna bring it up again.

Uh first of all, we uh together with Michigan and King Park neighbors support any effort by the city to ensure the safety of our immigrant uh community.

They are important to us, they are a part of us.

To our issue, um, traffic uh concerns safety of our neighbors.

I know that there is a budget uh that's going to be approved, and before I go any further, I want to thank our commissioners for clearing some things up for us this weekend.

We appreciate it.

Um issue remains um the traffic on Kalamzoo Street, that uh expressway that we talked about, uh Mayor LeGrand.

We have asked uh for a traffic signal to ensure the safety of our uh residents, and I understand that in your budget of oh wow, I guess it's a big figure.

We just want to be a part of that budget.

We want some clarity from you as to whether this is going to happen.

Couple things over the weekend uh made it sound like it wasn't going to happen, that um what we'd asked for was not even mentioned in the budget.

We just need some clarity, folks, to know what's what's gonna happen here.

I'm not seeing any smiling faces sitting up there, so uh I'm wondering if uh maybe that's not um the case.

Um the areas that I'm talking about are Kalm Zoo and Adams Street, Hancock.

I understand that there's a couple of other areas that are in consideration, and those areas are important as well, but we just want to make sure that what we've asked for, what we've told our citizens, our residents that we're going to ask you for is given to us.

I brought with us tonight a few folks from Together, West Michigan.

Would you folks stand over there, please?

This is important to us.

If it wasn't important to us, we wouldn't keep coming down here bugging you with it.

What we would like is something just give us a little concrete information, something that you're going to do what you said you're going to do.

That's important to me.

It's important to them.

You have said that you would help us with this.

And now it sounds like maybe you will, maybe you won't.

We're citizens.

We have a right to bring to you, our commissioners, what we want, and we just want you to be able to do what you say you're going to do.

Thank you for your time.

Good evening, city leaders.

My name is Daniel Van Muir's.

I live in the first ward, and I've been a 50-year resident of the southeast side of Grand Rapids.

I'm an avid bicyclist.

That's why I brought out Dr.

Seuss tonight.

Um, you know, cycled since I was 14 years of age.

For the past couple of decades, I've advocated for bicycle lanes in Grand Rapids.

However, um we are faced with what appears to be a dilemma.

I'm told that before us now is a choice between increased bicycle infrastructure, a bike lane, and human safety.

The children and adults who have been injured or killed by motor vehicle violence on Kalamazoo Avenue will probably never ride on a bike lane.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs put safety as a foundational need.

Bike lanes and beautification projects are distant needs from safety.

Thank you.

Good evening.

I'm Deb Van Dynan.

I'm a member at Oakdale Park Church and Together West Michigan.

Recently, a team from Mobile GR reached out to our third ward traffic team asking us to meet with them next week, which we are glad to do.

We have an idea that the conversation will be around a full-stop traffic light at Kalamazoo and Griggs Street.

We know that there's a plan to have a cross-town bike lane that runs through that area, and that's a great thing for the city.

We know that a full-stop traffic light is a big part of that.

It provides safety for pedestrians.

So the traffic light is a good thing.

And in fact, that intersection at Griggs and Kalamazoo was a part of our initial proposal with mobile GR.

We know that there's a need there.

But when we learned about the cost of some of these measures, we realized that we might have to change our focus.

And we chose to focus on the area between Adams and Hancock because this is a dangerous stretch of road where our neighbors tell us they do not feel safe.

We've been told there's $600,000 earmarked for traffic safety.

We know that this traffic signal at Griggs and Kalamazoo will be over 600,000.

And our request is about for a hundred and fifty thousand.

So we feel a little concerned.

We feel a little conflict.

We're unsure about where these funds are gonna end up.

And um, we've had some confirmation from some of you that we will be in the budget.

We know the budget's not done.

We've heard from most of you, probably all of you at one time or another, how important the safety of our residents is to you.

And now is the time to prove it.

We're asking you to make sure that that um four-way stop at Adams and the flashing crosswalk at Hancock is a part of this upcoming budget.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Champagne.

I am a Third Ward resident.

Um, and community engagement liaison, with Oakdale neighbors, so I am considered one of the voices of the residents, the neighbors in our area.

Um I'm always um consistently engaging with the neighbors in the community, and I know for a fact that traffic is um at the top of their concerns.

Also one of my concerns with just being in the area as much as I am, um, which is pretty much every day, because if I'm not working in the area, I'm worshiping in the area, driving back and forth to pick up kids are volunteering in the area.

So there's a lot of people that use Kalamazoo Street every each and every day.

Um the traffic is like a it's a speedy raceway.

There's speeding up and down Kalamazoo all the time.

Um houses have been crashed into you, youth ran over on bicycles.

Um, even a lady killed on Kalamazoo Street.

My office building, which is Oakdale Neighbors, have been crashed into you.

We have $40,000 worth of damage to our building.

So while I'm at Oakdale Neighbors, guess what I decided to do?

I've moved my desk from the windows from the doors.

I sit sideways so I can see everything around me.

If in case I got to move.

There is the speeding is terrible.

Um, we have youth workers that come to us uh every summer from the Grow 1000 program, and we need them to be safe inside and outside of our building, as well as the um the other youth in the area across from school and the pedestrians and the bikers that's traveled in throughout the street.

Um to share a couple of uh stories from neighbors that I was told to from neighbors.

Uh I know there's a lady that lives right on Kalamazoo Street, and she's in between Adam and uh Haw Street, and she's afraid to even get out of her car sometimes.

She has to sit in her vehicle before she gets out.

She has a heart condition, and the the traffic is just speedy, they're driving in the bike lanes, and it's just awful.

Um, even afraid to do um yard work right on the Kalamazoo in your yard, you know, with your back facing the traffic.

Um, there's another resident.

She lives off of Kalamazoo on a side street, but she will not stop on Kalamazoo to even turn on her street.

She goes to the light, goes all the way around just to get to her street because she's afraid of being hit while she's driving with her while she's in a car and then she has a son.

So we are desperately in need of common devices to be considered in this upcoming budget.

Um, we just gotta slow down the traffic.

We we are indeed of these common devices.

Thank you.

Uh good evening.

My name is Peter T.

Winkle.

I live in Pastor in the third ward.

I'm here to advocate for those same specific um traffic safety uh materials that Together West Michigan is advocating for, and I'm doing so recognizing that they've been at this for two years now.

Uh, began with an extensive door-to-door campaign.

One of the things you realize when you go door to door is that people are pretty cynical about you all.

Um too many people are deeply cynical that you're serving the interests of a few wealthy people, not just over the interests of a majority of people who vote for you, but at the expense of a majority of the people who vote for you.

We're not always sure what to tell them because we were here uh when the Three Towers project came up for a vote, and we were here asking you to delay the vote because we felt like we needed more information.

Uh we wanted to know how the numbers were working and why there couldn't be a larger contribution to the Affordable Housing Fund and what the return on investment would be, not only for the developers, but for the city itself.

I remember coming across a community benefits agreement negotiated between the city of Nashville and uh the developer of a soccer stadium, and I was jealous of how long the list of benefits to the community was and how strong the accountability was.

We knew that a better deal could be had, still the vote the votes passed, save one, and uh we still haven't seen the information that we asked for.

So when a nearly billion dollar project pops up in the headlines one day and then is approved a couple of months later, it appears that it's easier for a couple of billionaires to get a building project approved than it is for ordinary citizens to get a stop sign installed.

And so then it becomes hard to tell people, yeah, you should not be cynical, you should stay engaged in the political process.

So I think about the young people who are speaking up here.

We want them to know this is not a performance, that this actually matters.

So while this may be this silence, what billionaires want, we still trust that it's not what you want.

It's definitely not what we want.

We simply want our neighbors, as you've heard many times tonight, to be safe.

Safe when they send their when they cross the street, safe when they send their kids to school, safe to own a business or run a nonprofit on Kalamazoo, safe whether they were born here or not, safe whether they have documents or not.

We don't think um traffic safety on Kalamazoo Avenue and safety for immigrants and refugees is too much to ask when a few wealthy people get hundreds of billions of dollars without any pushback.

So we know that no money is going directly from the budget into these big developments, but we're also not naive.

When this commission foregoes hundred uh over a hundred million dollars in revenue, we know that profits from these developments will not be fairly dispersed across the city.

Those who need the most will see the least.

So this is a chance to show the people who vote for you that you do serve their interests, making this a safer, better city for all.

Thank you.

Hi, everybody.

Uh my name's Mike Colby.

I am a student at Grand Valley State University.

I'm here to stand in solidarity with uh the brave high school students uh today who brought demands and uh criticisms of all of you for your continued support of the GRPD, your continued lack of action on any meaningful front to combat the threat of ICE or any federal agency, not just ICE, be it Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, whoever, who could come into the city and terrorize our citizens.

That budget is way too high.

That's ridiculous.

Seventy-five million dollars to a police force which is acting like an out of control wild animal that none of you have control of either.

Don't act like you do.

The police murder innocent people, black and brown bodies are piling up, people have warned you, activists have warned you for years that this was going to happen and still you do nothing.

You act like these police budgets are necessary.

And uh to echo the points that the last speaker was making, at a certain point, if several constituents come to you to say we think that GRPD is not the solution to problems in the city, we think there are better avenues to invest in the community to invest in making people safer, to invest in mental health care, and you ignore it, or if uh, I don't know, movement ococecha brings you six well thought-out, popularly uh popularly decided demands by an affected community, and you ignore it, then we are left with only one conclusion is that is you either one do not care, or two, you do care, and you have a special interest in funding these violent agencies and not keeping your constituency safe.

So, shame on you all.

Get it figured out.

I dedicate the rest of my time to the families who have been affected by the violence of the GRPD and the violence of ICE.

Test test.

All right.

Hello, all my name is Michael Sequonzo, and I'm a G V student and a GR born native.

Uh, I want to first thank Mark Washington for his wonderful presentation on the budget.

I like the colors in the pictures.

But on a real note, I'm here not to only ask the city to continue to invest in our communities, but to increase the feeling of safety and actual safety within our communities.

That starts with two things: an implementation of sanctuary policies per movement of Cosetas demands and the accountability and further transparency within the killing of Daquan Johnson.

Um LeGrand, you've spoken a bit today, and I cut a snippet about how you proved to the preventative public policy matter uh regarding an individual revandalizing historical sites.

And I think it's great how you said that incarceration should be used for an individual who commits a crime that cannot be undone or things like that that seriously harmed.

And I like to argue that death cannot be undone.

If Grand Rapids City prosecutor Chris Beckett concluded the charges of officers involved uh based on the charges of crime based on another fact that a black man is dead, how can we see true justice and feel safe in these streets?

And whether it be streets, crosswalks, police, or immigration, as residents of GR, we want to be safe.

And I ask Kylie now that you listen to your people and your constituents.

Good evening, my name is Satory Spicer.

I'm a resident of Grand Rapids, also the founder of Sudden Enlightenment.

First, I want to thank Together West Michigan for helping me and supporting me in my initiative, but also helping the community and the advocac advocacy work that they do.

Sudden enlightenment was created to build intentional community, especially for young adults and diverse ver voices who often look for spaces to feel seen, hurt, and connected through our branches.

We uplift local small businesses, create opportunities and meaningful conversations to help educate community members about what's happening in the city of Grand Rapids.

Tonight and many nights I've heard the conversations surrounding public safety and where our city resources are being allocated.

And why policy discussions are important?

I also want to remind you guys that true public pol true public safety starts with community.

It starts with people feeling connected, it starts with people feeling informed, it starts with people feeling supported, it starts with people feeling value before a crisis happens.

Rest in peace, Daekwan Johnson.

Many residents, especially young adults and undeserved communities want to be involved and often don't know where to start or don't feel welcome in conversations such as these.

That's why spaces like ours matter.

As commissioners, as cities, as city officials, I encourage you to continue meeting people where they are, not only in meetings like this, but in everyday spaces where community is already being built, seeing an emerging leaders, small businesses, grassroots organizations, and residents who care deeply about Grand Rapids and want to be a part of the solution.

Our brunches happen monthly.

Our next one is May 24th, 12 to 5.

I ask you all to come just to be in community with the people, see what they care about, see what issues that bother them before you guys start making policies and making changes that people honestly don't care about.

And it's only gonna be a few group of people that come here.

So I ask you guys not only let the community come to you but come to the community and hear what they gotta say as well.

Thank you.

But one of the founding fathers said the power to tax is the power to destroy.

So I'm gonna sing you the song about taxes.

This is a song about taxes, T-A-X-E-S, sales, income, property.

What are the rest?

Before we sing about taxes, what's the difference in a tax and a fee?

I guess it does not really matter when it's government and your money.

They want to tax your car, want to tax your gas, want to tax your utilities, phone, internet, cable, and electricity.

They want to tax you when you travel, hotel motel tax.

They want to tax you on a toll road or to park in a parking ramp.

They want to tax you when you come.

They want to tax you when you go, they want to tax you when the sun's shining, raining in the snow.

Oh, this is a song about taxes, city, county, state, and the federal government with the biggest rate.

They want to tax your driver's license, want to tax your license plate, want to tax your airline ticket at every airport gate.

They want to tax you when you hunt.

They want to tax you when you fish.

They want to tax you any way they can.

Ain't that a taxing situation?

What founding fathers say you're in a taxing situation, have another tea party.

They want to tax cigarettes, tax the booze, even want to tax my water and food.

This is a song about taxes, impuestos in Spaniol.

Saves me amigo, de macialo.

They've got import, export, excise, inheritance luxury.

It's all about revenue from people like you and me.

This is a song about taxes.

Just what do you get?

More overdressed, overpaid, bureaucrats.

This is a song about taxes, just what do you get?

If you do not pay them on time, you're gonna get interest.

This is a song about taxes, just what do you get?

More police officers to write you more tickets.

This is a song about taxes, just what do you get?

I'll tell you one thing that you don't is guaranteed health benefits.

This is a song about taxes, gonna be a part two song.

This is a song about taxes, and they even wanna tax my dog.

Well, that's a tough act to follow.

Um, but here I go.

So I know there's been a lot said tonight about the budget for the police, and I'm also aware that you can't do anything about it right now because of the city charter and the 36.5%.

So understood.

So what the what the next thing is, is we need to change the city charter because before we do that, we can't.

It's gonna be what it is.

But that doesn't mean that the money that can't be spent differently within the department.

And I think that's where the conversation probably is.

Um, we we can still have some accountability.

Some like the fact that most of the budget for the oh the accountability office is going to body cameras is bizarre, right?

Like another corporation is getting that money, like that's insane.

That is not oversight.

That's just more like corporate handshaking and deals and whatever.

Anyway, um, and I noticed there was some overtime and like more personnel and stuff.

I think everyone in this room knows that's not to keep anybody safe, but it's to keep property safe, right?

We have a new uh amphitheater, we have a new soccer stadium.

That is where those cops are going.

They're gonna they're gonna go and make sure that nothing gets harmed.

Nothing gets harmed.

People don't really ever count in that.

So let's also don't pretend like cops care about humans.

They don't.

Uh also I just want to I want you all to kind of look at these students who are here right now, and I'm gonna assume that most of you are thinking like, I know LeGrand, you're so tired, I'm so sorry.

It's hard to listen to all of us anyway.

Uh I I want you to like look at them right now, and and I'm gonna again I'm gonna assume most of you are like, oh my gosh, that's so great.

Look at them participating in like civic things, and like good for them, and they're graduating.

Woo woo.

But I really want you also to think about them being in a different environment, right?

What if they're not in the city building?

They're out somewhere in the streets, they're like having fun, they're living their lives, but they're black and brown.

Right?

So, so I don't think you would see them the same out there, and I know the cops absolutely won't see them that way.

So I just really want you to think about that.

Aren't they adorable and precious right now here?

But will they be in different environments?

Will they be to you?

Will they be to the GRPD?

Something to think about.

And um uh it's not from cosecha that they're coming here.

No, ellos nos invitaron a los otros, nosotros no los organizamos.

They actually invited us, we didn't organize them.

Um, 75.4 million para la policía para separar familias.

As far as the budget is concerned for next year, the proposal it's 75.4 million dollars for GRPD to separate families.

Or to help separate families.

And I'll explain to you how they're doing it.

And also 75.4 million dollars to the police who are assassinating people to people of color.

That's not okay.

In case you don't know.

I drive and they pull me over.

Uh, for something simple, maybe a light was out.

And then because they're racist, they take me to jail.

And the jail shares that information with ICE.

And then ICE put something on me, it's called an ice hold.

That's how they're cooperating because of my skin color and maybe a burnt tail light.

It happens to everyone, but for me that light that's not working puts me in a lot of trouble.

And that would just give me a ticket like everybody else for some traffic violation.

But so no stable.

That's why I'm against spending 75.4 million dollars on the police department.

Even though you're saying they're not cooperating, but I I've seen it, they are cooperating.

And to change your mind on how to resolve simple traffic violations.

So part of the budget could go to some more civil tests and not for violent ones.

Far too many people, especially black people, have been killed, assaulted, arrested and harassed by GRPD.

And too many activists trying to create a better world have been needlessly arrested under GRPD tactics that reinforce Trump's fascist agenda.

The proposed GRPD budget includes 1.7 million for an axiom contract, including body cameras.

Yet, as policing expert Andrea Ritchie points out, the failure of body cameras to prevent police violence while increasing the surveillance that fuels incarceration, detention, and deportation has been well documented.

Other experts observe that body cameras footage is frequently controlled, delayed, selectively released, or weaponized to shield officers from accountability rather than than to provide transparency, as frequently happens in Grand Rapids.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on cops who harm us or who overwhelmingly show up after crimes are committed, property crimes often, the city should start investing in common sense programs that actually make people safer, like secure housing, clean water, mental health services, public transportation, affordable child and elder care, nutritious food, and water pipe means that do not break and damage people's homes and cause illness from black mold.

The proposed budget includes $75.4 million for GRPD.

As Jeff Smith explains, if the GRPD budget was reduced by only five million, that could provide enough money to cover the cost of rent for 277 people for a year.

If we are serious about having a democratic form of city government, we need, one, as Jeff argues, a full-blown participatory budgeting process that would allow for a full year of discussion, debate, and development of a budget that would truly meet the public's needs.

Two, full community control over the police, including an independent, citizen controlled police oversight body, fully empowered to review police harassment and violence and hold wrongdoers accountable and set policy.

Three, to revise our city charter to replace our unelected, unaccountable city manager with better resourced and many more city commissioners who listen and serve their constituents, not just the local oligarchs like the Devossas.

Hi, my name is Alex, I'm a resident of Grand Rapids.

I volunteer with rapid response to ICE.

First, I want to point out that nothing about this budgeting process truly values public input.

Like this the process of getting public engagement has to be way more drawn out before this is in any way representative, you know, of what you know of what the public wants and needs.

You know, to oppress our neighbors and our communities is morally reprehensible.

If we reduce the funding down to the even just the minimum in the charter, which the minimum in the charter should morally be zero, by the way, but the amount of better services, affordability, and other priorities that can be funded is immense.

But now that we've we fund GRPD to quite you know to cooperate with ICE, and despite everything we've been told, like folks like HEMA said, um, we see it weekly.

If they're not directly assisting like they did in the case of when Byron was when Byron was attained, they're survey, they're surveilling those of us opposing ICE, providing scene security for ICE.

And I've seen in I've seen the pattern of them providing scene security and surveilling those of us doing this work for the almost 10 years I've been involved in the fight.

And you know, the constant, and even outside of ICE, the constant violence that black and brown communities see in the see that we're funding that my tax dollars are funding.

It's horrific and should be spent on actual community safety.

The other thing I want to mention related to police violence is so I will so when I'm not volunteering, I work in early intervention services for students with for very young students with very severe behavioral challenges.

We're doing everything we can, but some of them are going to have these challenges lifelong.

And instead of funding goods better services and better support for them, we're funding the very people who are the greatest threat to them living safe and filling lives.

Hello, friends.

Mark from Grand Rapids.

Where should this money be allocated to the most?

I'm listening to the people here earlier talking about the what's going on on Kalamazoo.

Some request traffic lights, but traffic lights are very expensive.

They're expensive to set up, they're expensive to maintain.

And if need be some pedestrian warning signals.

And it will decrease the modern dragway tactics that goes on in that area.

So you better think about this.

You might be asking for more money.

That will be a problem.

So think about it.

Thank you.

On the budget, I want to uh um there have been a series of pro recommendations that have been put forth around um uh oversight and accountability for uh having to do with uh recommendations around the civilian appeals board for the city.

Some of those recommendations may in fact take budget allotments.

And from what I've been reading inside of proposals brought forth to this point, I haven't seen any sort of allotment that might account for that if depending on what those um findings are when the when the mayor comes or mayor, pardon me, the manager comes forward with the uh uh with what the recommendations are around those things that have been put forth.

So I'd like to see that put in, at least some sort of discussion around what can be set aside for possible allotments around that.

It wouldn't be a lot of money, but accountability takes money, and we have to fund our values.

If we value accountability, we have to fund it, and we have to do so properly.

And that means taking the time to discuss it to set up an allotment for it, be deliberate, be intentional around it.

Uh and on that note, intentionality, um, funding our values.

Uh Quisecha, as well as numerous other people have been coming forward for such a long time around these recommendations, these six demands.

I know that there's been debate, especially from the mayor on whether or not it's necessary, uh, whether or not it's not.

We also talk so much in the city about we can try this.

If it doesn't work, we can change policy.

This was brought up when we changed the dash routes, right?

We can try this.

If it doesn't work, we can come back and address it.

But when it comes to situations like this, where there's a movement of community coming forward for years to discuss these things, to try these things, to help support people, to help stop and mitigate and minimize the harm that's happening inside a community, help restore trust, to help go after the trauma and address the trauma that is happening in these communities.

We don't try, we don't try it and see if it works.

We don't listen and see if it works.

And I'd ask you to rethink that.

I know it's hard.

I know that there are a lot of problems from thoughts of what can happen, why you can open the city up from a liability concern from federal bureaucrats, especially with the current administration, but you're elected to lead, you're elected to represent and support us in these moments, to support the community in need in these moments.

So please try it.

Thank you.

I live in Grand Rapids.

LeGrand, I just have a pop quiz question for you.

Can you recite three commentaries that the community members have said in the past few minutes?

Because I haven't seen you pay attention to not one person up here, which is pretty common for you.

But anyways, let me get started.

City commissioners, you are not by standards, you are not neutral.

You are the architects of what policing looks like in this city.

You decide the budgets, you define the priorities, you choose what safety means, and more importantly, who it's for.

So let's be honest.

If policing in this city feels violent, excessive, or disconnected from the needs of the people, that is not an accident, that is a policy choice.

And that means it can be changed.

Now I understand when we say abolition, some of you freeze.

You say it's unrealistic.

You say you can't imagine a world without policing as we know it.

But here's the question: what kind of leadership refuses to imagine something better?

If you can't imagine abolition, then at the very least, you should be able to imagine this ending over-policing.

Because right now, what we have is not safety.

What we have is surveillance.

What we have is punishment for poverty.

What we have is an overinvestment in force and an underinvestment in care.

So let's start there.

Let's start by defunding the conditions that lead to over policing and funding the solutions that actually keep people safe.

Imagine a program right now today that removes police from the mental health crisis, a program that sends trained community responders instead of armed officers.

A program that interrupts cycles of harm before they escalate.

A program rooted in care, not in control.

That's not radical, that's responsible.

That's being human.

Imagine investing in housing so people aren't criminalized for being unhoused.

Imagine funding youth programs so kids aren't targeted before they even have a chance.

Imagine restorative justice practices that actually heal harm instead of reproducing it.

That is how you eliminate over policing.

And let's be clear.

Let's be clear.

This is within your power, Mr.

Legrand.

You don't need permission, you need courage.

You need to grow some balls, probably.

Because every dollar you choose to move, every program you choose to fund, every policy you choose to pass, it shapes what safety looks like in the city.

So the question is not, can we change policing?

The question is, will you?

Will you continue to fund a system that escalates harm or will you invest in one that prevents it?

Will you cling to what is familiar or will you lead us toward what is possible?

Because the community is already imagining it, the community is already building it.

The only thing missing is whether you will stand with us or stand in the way.

This is your moment to decide what the side of history you'll be on.

Not in words, but in actions.

Mayor LeGrand, you also stated in the elevator, um, what you can't do, but I I'm assuming based on your history, you need it spelled out to you, since the community already knows you're not the brightest crayon in the box.

You said you want freedom for all immigrants, so put your actions where your mouth is and find a way to get the army and get that shit started.

Mayors, under the Tenth Amendment, local governments cannot be forced to enforce federal immigration law, allowing mayors to pass policies restricting local police from assisting with ice detainer.

Okay, well, I'm gonna say free Kai, Justice for Dequan Johnson, Justice for Patrick Leoya, Justice for Riley Doggett, Justice for Samuel Sterling, for all stolen lies, and free Kai and boycott long roads, hello, I'm Jasmine from the East Town, and I invite everybody to drive by the intersection of Lake and Robinson in East Town, where we've now have the biggest traffic light I have ever seen in my life.

Um I've never I've lived there for 25 years and I've never heard anyone asking for a traffic light there.

There's another one about 10 feet down the road.

So I wonder if we could maybe shave this one in half and put the other one where people have been working for two years to get a traffic light.

But seriously, why are traffic lights getting so expensive?

I mean, this really looks like it could go could survive a nuclear attack, and I just think it's somebody should be taking a look more closely at the costs of these things and at how we prioritize the traffic lights, because people have been waiting for a long time for that one, so let's let's pay attention.

Thanks.

I wanted to commend him.

It's a great song.

Great song.

I've got a poem, okay.

Um Patrick Leoia, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, DeQaine Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequine Johnson, Patrick Leoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequain Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, DeQaine Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequain Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequane Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequane Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Daggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequain Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Daggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequain Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Doggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequaine Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Daggett, Samuel Sterling, Hank Weimer, Dequaine Johnson, Patrick Laoya, Riley Daggett.

Samuel Sterling.

Hank Weimer.

Dequane Johnson.

Patrick Laoya.

Riley Daggett.

Samuel Sterling.

Hank Weimer.

Dequane Johnson.

Do not forget these names when you give GRPD 75 million dollars.

Do not forget these names.

These were people.

They're dead.

GRPD is the cause.

Seeing no one else, uh we'll close that hearing on the budget.

Um, and that brings us to public comments and anything that anyone wants to address that's not budget-related.

Although I did obviously give some latitude there to folks who were not directly addressing budget issues.

Um if you can announce who you are and what you're uh where you live, that'd be great.

Uh D.

Jones, we know where you live.

For sure.

Um, D Jones, I stay in the orchards at uh 910 apartment one D.

So a couple days ago, I spoke to a uh CEO that is uh in Ukraine.

He uh runs a company called Adline Technologies, and I was speaking to him, and he didn't have fluent English, so he had to have a translator, it was a beautiful lady from Ukraine, and she was translating uh everything that I was saying to him.

And so I was telling him how I uh don't believe that our president and our federal government representation of the things that they're doing and the genocide and the bombings and the killings that they're doing across the United States, doesn't reflect every American's values and what we think that you know that is wrong.

And so I spoke to him about that.

He was like, Thank you, you know what I'm saying, because I actually had to uh our company was actually hit by some of the stuff that the United States have been doing, so they had to relocate their 3D printing construction company to another city, but they actually have the cheapest 3D printers on earth.

They're actually piloting they have 3D printers for a hundred and uh fifty to a hundred and sixty thousand, and it's crazy because they are also trying to come here.

He said we'd like to supply it and uh help with adaption of our 3D printers for Michigan projects, a joint workforce for programs in Bulgaria and Michigan and federal grants and pilot projects and affordable and sustainable housing.

That's a conversation that I had on Friday, and then after that conversation, the same day while I was in Holland, Michigan, I actually uh had that conversation with the guy from Ohio from the 3D printing construction, and then I spoke to community action out there in Holland and I canvass and collect some signatures to get cash out of politics because I'm tired of all of these bad politicians and people being bought by or elected, I mean by these big companies, instead of serving the constituents, they lie to us, they deceive us, and I'm tired of people lying and deceiving me, and I'm tired of people lying to and deceiving the constituents and not standing on business and not standing to that oath because if I ever run for office, I don't care what it takes, I'm going to take the hard nosed challenges, I'm going to face the community, I'm going to do what's best for the community, as I do as a person, regardless if I have to take a hit for speaking out about police brutality or affordable housing or holding a billionaires accountable.

I'm going to keep doing that.

And I'm very, very happy and excited to say, honestly, again, thank you, JL, for recons considering us for a recommendation to purchase Stockton School so we can get to the core root of the social issues, things that politicians can't do, or we can work beside politicians to fix because I believe I'm a great leader, and I'm going to change things, and I've already proved that I'm a great leader.

I brought the largest e-sports regional finals after we ended our partnership, brought 39 high schools and colleges to the divorce place.

And this year on Thursday, when they passed the Clarity Act for the markup, I'm going to have a conversation to bring 80 schools to the divorce place this year.

Y'all have a good night.

John Second Ward.

I call a couple commissioners and a couple people by name, and it's not going to be negative.

Mr.

Hondorp.

Your city clerk staff treated me very well today.

They were rock star staff.

I recommend.

I need a precinct map of the city of Grand Rapids, not three pieces.

It would be wonderful if you could put it into a PDF file that I could download and then take to FedEx or something like that to print myself because you used to have the old roll-up maps.

And what you have now is insignificant for what I need to use it for.

Commissioner Knight and Commissioner Yossasi, I feel we're being underserved by transportation in the Creston neighborhood.

I have to walk a mile to the bus stop to walk a mile to the amphitheater.

That's two miles.

I used to park in the parking lot for free after hours and take the dash downtown to city events on the weekend and that.

Just like I suggest 75 million dollars for the police department due.

I'm a 61-year-old six foot two, 250 pound-year-old white male.

I let the police department know their number one every time they drive by me.

Uh, for seeing the demilitarization that they've done.

I shouldn't be doing that.

I remember when policing was cool, not the BS we have today.

But that's what we gotta do.

We need to bring back the Leonard and Monroe Street Stop.

We need a uh better map, and we need uh bring back better policing.

Thank you.

Um thank you.

Good evening.

Uh my name is Bukelwa and Speed.

I apologize about the way I speak is due to my stroke.

Um I feel touched by all that's been presented, and would like to initially make a request with the fact that I'm disabled now.

Most of you know me before as not, and this has caused my predic predicament.

I'm yet because one accessing this floor is rather difficult for for someone like me.

First of all, I don't have all the nice uh uh push chairs or facilities that that others have.

I've just recently had my stroke in August 2024.

Therefore, I have to walk to come up to the various facilities.

None of the staff have been able to help with me to access this floor, though I also have to walk and having to ask the young lady to come to the podium.

Secondly, um my disability is asking me to request from you.

Me as an individual who is a business owner.

I I have a company called Taste of Africa, Michigan, and I am operating from uh Kalamazoo Keizo Station.

Um I've been on that street for years, and um I'm back there or already working as a disabled person.

I therefore I'm appealing for you to consider that effect.

Someone like me has to use that road on Kalamazoo Avenue please uh ensure we have some form of access i don't like when i i jaywalk the streets because it's is it's a long way to walk down to go to the list for example hub oh seven uh i have to jaywalk as soon as i can see there is no traffic i walk past um the the last pie yeah reason i'm here is because i am a member of the business the boston square business association i i realize my time is has finished um i'm also your stroke ma'am you're speaking slowly so take your time i'm also here as a representative of the treasurer of the business uh boston square business association we have had um difficulties uh getting ourselves uh ready but i have been with the business association from his inception and i've decided to stay on it um because we needed to to thrive for businesses in our area and the uh i represent a lot of businesses in the keys station itself and and and therefore really would appreciate uh more concern for such businesses to operate in that area we we use that uh cross cross spots uh we have to cross across to the new facility builds and and do our business catering from there and it it it is therefore very um um uh uh this disheartening uh to find that the crosswalk may not be approved it may be approved but i'm I'm here to represent uh for those three concerns me as an individual person I'm now disabled and will continue to be disabled but I have interest I continued I want to run my business which is taste of Africa from the area I am also I'm continuing my role as a business business Boston Square business association member to keep to keep businesses up and thriving in the area thank you.

My number is Hema Tervez I am Hemma again um the como la policia stack operando con ICE I've already talked about how the police is cooperating with ice or explicitles come ustedes come officials locales wouldn't detener so and now I want to tell you how you as local officials can prevent that the size politics no imaginarias no son uh algo que no se puede the six sanctuary policies are not imaginary it's not something that can be done echo and others in other condados in other counties and other cities it has been done we concentrate on those I'm gonna focus on two of them.

La primera is uh prohibitos con ice.

The first one is to prevent any contract to two eighty seven G with ice.

The mayor said that it's not something that he could change, and that is incorrect.

We have talked to several lawyers.

That's another thing that the city can do as an ordinance.

Why aren't you listening to the community?

I normally don't talk about my family, but I will do it here as an example.

He's a baby, but I'm afraid that when he grows the police is gonna assassinate him.

Are here in a position in a chair where you have the power to change things.

Make the changes.

Mark back.

As I said before, United States of America is becoming the donut hole of the world.

We have Republican states snatching up districts, slicing them up, gerrymandering.

Well, the will of the people.

And if we're not careful here in Michigan, they could do it here.

We don't want Megamaggett Perry Johnson or that racist Anthony Hudson to become governor.

They're gonna make this state like Louisiana.

You know, 46 and it forty-six in health care.

47, 48th and 40s, 44th in health in health care, 46 in education, 48th in infrastructure, 49th in the environment, 50th in the economy, 50th in crime, 50th overall.

That's the bottom of the barrel.

This is why we have to mobilize, get registered, and go vote.

That's too bad the high schoolers didn't stay because.

Seeing no more public comments, I will um we will move to comments, closing comments by commissioners.

Uh Commissioner Purdue, are you comfortable with good evening, everyone?

Thank you all so much for coming.

Thank you so much for sharing.

Um, as city manager opened up uh one of our hearings uh tonight.

Uh we have been in budget talks for several several weeks.

Um, and I think what I heard from you all tonight and what we hear throughout the year as we engage on what's important to you is certainly um not just what policies we have in place and what budget we have in place, but also um ensuring that we have accountability and um a mechanism to make sure that the policies that we put in place are working as intended.

Um I hear concerns around affordability, continual push to to to act uh in alignment with our values and to be biased towards action.

Uh so thank you all for continuing that's what I heard from you all today.

So thank you for sharing that.

Um also want to recognize a lot of the young people who spoke today.

Many of them I recognized from the annual kids Speak event.

Uh that is an event where young people in our in our area in grades K, Kindergarten through 12th grade, give testimony on an issue that's important to them.

And this year they were invited to give testimony on a range of policy issues at the local, state, and federal level.

And so you heard I recognize some snippets of those um testimonies, and um I think you all can agree and have agreed that they're really um valuable.

We have a lot of amazing talent in our in our city.

It is very, very competitive.

Only one percent of applicants are chosen.

I mean, two of our own students from GRPS were were chosen.

So I want to recognize that.

Thank you all to together West Michigan, Movienta Cosecha for for coming and continue to talk about how we can move our city forward.

I think we've been in conversation around the progress related to traffic safety.

So thank you for your true leadership and advocacy to elevate that concern and work closely with department staff, work closely to make sure that we we understand and hear you loud and clear from walking Kalamazoo with you last summer to see uh for ourselves exactly what you mean.

Um, and we appreciated that um and um you know always open to continue to have discussions um how we can continue to live our values and protect our neighbors in ways that um truly do align and live out in our policies and our budgets.

Uh so thank you all for coming and uh I'll be around after if folks want to continue the conversation.

Thank you.

Um Commissioner Kerville.

All right, third ward first.

Um well thanks everybody for coming out this evening.

Uh we've had good conversations uh since 8 a.m.

this morning.

I love a productive day uh to the hundreds of folks who have organized throughout the third ward.

Uh, we've been talking about this for many years.

The money is allocated, it is happening.

Uh we have we of course have not approved it yet, but we got uh clear direction and support from our our colleagues today uh that they are going to support uh what Commissioner Purdue and I put forward, which includes 600,000 in fiscal year 26 for street calming along Kalamazoo.

What you all have illuminated for us and staff is a need for increased transparency on our processes, right?

Uh so we will continue to be lockstep with you all as we assess what works best.

Um it's sort of like baking a cake from the feedback that I've gotten back from staff of we want to make sure these steps are right so we get the best baked cake and that it's not disjointed.

So, what that means is we're gonna make sure that um what comes first is also in line with the mobile GR strategy and prioritization, which we've already done, so it's gonna be a coming back of that.

We will come back to that June 2nd, is when we have the next economic development project team meeting.

In addition, I am so thankful that Miss Smith followed up with you all as I talked about uh today.

Um, I'm so thankful for uh that uh timely communication with you all, and I will see if I can attend that meeting as well.

So we have not lost this.

We have heard you, um, and I appreciate it as this is very uh necessary for not only the third ward, but travelers, folks from every ward going down to Kentwood to 28th Street, it is important, it has not been lost, and it's gonna happen.

In addition to that fiscal year 26 allocation of 600,000, we are actively working with Ms.

Smith and Mobile GR to see what an annual um uh allotment for uh traffic safety and calming could look like possibly for the third ward equity fund.

So, how can the 600,000?

As you said, things are expensive, inflation is real, so how are we gonna continue to make sure that this is a linear motion in the direction of safety for our ward?

So it is a part of our concerns, it is for the good of not only the third ward, but our whole community.

So thank you again and look forward to continuing that conversation.

But it's happening and um excited for other budget things, but uh even before I came into elected office.

I was really excited about treat uh safety.

So um to keep my remarks as uh short as I can, that's what I'll drill into and thank you all again for coming out.

Good evening.

Thank you.

Commissioner Knight.

Um, not a lot to say.

Um, grateful that that conversation, especially around the uh the safety and thinking about the um third ward equity fund and how uh we can reimagine how some of that funding can help continual process of doing work over in the the third ward.

Um also to the the comment from the gentleman about um uh parking.

Unfortunately, we we don't control the rapid, um, they are their own entity um and they make decisions on where they place parking or um uh bus stops based on ridership and all of those other things, and knowing that the dash uh we did have to scale back on that for this year, and uh hopefully we'll be looking at that and seeing what the impact is and some creative ways to do some different things.

I think mobile GR is talking about uh possibly some shuttles that will be able to go uh deeper in communities and areas where the Dash can't meet, um, and so that people will have those opportunities.

Um, but that continues to be looked at, and so um, hoping that we'll come to some uh solutions with that as we continue to move forward, and that's it.

Thank you.

Uh Commissioner Saucy.

Thank you.

Um thank you all for coming out tonight.

I'm gonna talk twice as long because we didn't have time to talk at the last meeting.

Um, but I'm glad uh, you know, I'm I told Commissioner Purdue, I'm like, if they don't get this traffic stop, um, not that I don't want to keep talking about it, but I also think like in a lot of these conversations, I get maybe the uncertainty, and it's a big big packet, right?

And it's overwhelming.

And quite honestly, in a lot of these conversations, we don't get down to the project level, I would say that typically happens.

So, you know, that's something that was different.

But um, I think Kalamazoo is a very interestingly designed street.

I think it's hard to navigate, and I've lived here my whole life.

Um, so yes, that was affirmed I think pretty pretty clearly in the meeting.

So even though I am not a third ward commissioner, I just felt the need to kind of say that.

Um I wanna bring a couple of things to celebrate um before I respond to a few other things.

One um this week is I think the 48th annual Heritage Hill Tour of Homes, and after a lot of consternation this fall about if the Void House was gonna be sold and turned into high-rise condos.

Uh, I'm really happy that the neighborhood association was able to work with the museum.

Um, thank you.

Thank you, Dale, for that work and the volunteers of that board to make the Voight home um the Voight House to be one of the stops.

And so that's actually a pretty big deal.

So, congratulations to them and check it out if you're around this weekend.

Um, there's a lot of things to do this weekend, and some people will be going downtown and some people want to do something else.

I also want to congratulate a really important first ward business, Maggie's Kitchen, celebrated 43 years in business.

Today we talked a little bit about um the importance of supporting small businesses.

We also share just the difficulty of supporting small businesses during this time.

So um I miss their their 43rd anniversary, but I look forward to going in a few weeks with some folks because they are a staple in the first ward and in our Latino community.

Um, I want to also respond about a few things about like what are we able to do and try and what are we doing or not doing.

Um, I think it's hard to sit up here sometimes and you're running through all the things like what have we done?

What have been the investments?

I have this packet that has kind of like all the investments that we had in the budget process.

But one of the things that I think is a really good reflection of not only this body but bodies before staff, certainly staff since you've been here city manager, is um our co-response model that we use with our police department.

Um, this was something before I got in commission that I think was an idea that a lot of individuals had, but maybe was not seen in practice.

And so, you know, for me, I talked a bit today about how are we like how do we not chase like the next thing or we want to do this thing because they do it in Columbus or they do it in Cincinnati, um, but really saying what have we invested here in the city and how do we make it stronger?

And so to me, our co-response model is one of those things working alongside our police department.

I had the ability to see that in action when a constituent friend um was going through the eviction process with somebody, um, somebody who continually called on them and made complaints, um, and then after they were evicted, tried to break into the home.

And I went there because I wanted to support my friend and my constituent, and I just had to stay a little bit away because I don't know how everybody stayed calm in that situation.

And I think that's something we're constantly evaluating.

And so that is a significant investment that we've made in something new or different with our public safety.

And just last week, a number of people didn't feel safe when they were on a school soccer field, and have a lot of feelings about it because that's where my niece goes to school, and I pick her up and I drop her off.

And you know, I think there's a lot of comments about, you know, this this community isn't safe or this.

I don't want my kids to go there, and you know, I think the the reality was is so senseless where somebody shot somebody else, and obviously it's got to go through the courts, but it was over something so small, and just so frustrating how that was.

Um, and I don't have the answer for it.

I read like many of you, I think put out statements or comments, and I saw some of other colleagues did, and I think everybody was just sort of in shock.

And so, Commissioner, you brought up today, and you have continued to bring up like how do we hold space for these things?

How do we make sure we're there in that moment?

And I think many people are working to do that, and it's also like I think the the staff members are trying to do that.

Some of us wanted to go there the next day, and then they continue to have school closed.

And so I wanted to bring that up again only because I did talk um or I did um uh know some of the folks who are related to the individual, um, young Jeremiah who was shot, one of the individuals who who lost their life, and you know, they're like, why can't we have police here and making sure people don't have guns?

And you know, my response is I don't I do believe in a comprehensive, robust public safety system.

And I don't think if somebody, if a police officer was down the block, that would have necessarily prevented that shooting from happening, and I think that's hard to hear because in that moment people want security and certainty and knowing that how do we make sure this doesn't happen, including myself.

Um, but I know that also through all the other efforts, the collective sort of very complex public safety investments we made that the answer is not that simple.

Um, I do um I do really think that we're gonna have to continue, and I know this body um has also said what are the things that we can work on on a state level and just having too easy access.

How does an 18-year-old have access to a gun?

And I know some of you up here are responsible gun owners, and maybe I'll be there one day with you, Commissioner.

Um, but I think we need to talk more about you know what guns do, and I think in our in a lot of our communities, we've just been like guns are bad, stay away from them, and we're not communicating how serious, how serious a weapon they are, and so I just wanted to bring that up.

I I do know the family was very uh grateful to GRPD for the life-saving measures that happen on the playground, um, even though uh Jeremiah did pass away.

There was also talk about traffic stops, and and back in 2017, we did engage in a traffic stop study, sort of looking at what are where does our longitude and latitude of how do we respond in these instances?

And this is again something I would say city manager that we worked in terms of policy on of like having the discretion and the judgment and those traffic stops.

Um just last week I had somebody reach out to me and I shared with city manager and with um my colleague in the second ward of an individual who um called me after their their spouse was involved in a in a an accident, and the individual that hit them was somebody who didn't who spoke Spanish, didn't speak English, and they were very concerned about what would happen to them after this traffic stop.

Um they worked with the officer to be able to have somebody to come on site and to do some translation and were uh assured that there would not be any actually any ticket at that point um and were able to confirm that the person was able to confirm that the person got home.

I'm getting really into the weeds tonight and I realize that, but there was a lot of things talked about tonight, and um that person said, you know what, commissioner, I'm I don't know what to believe, I don't know what to trust.

I see these things happening in other cities, I see them happening in our city, and in that moment we were able to use that discretion, that judgment that we do apply in those traffic stops.

That has been again something that we can try, we have the ability to, um, because that was really something that came out of that 2017 traffic stop.

Um I I think I have been on record and will continue to say, you know, uh I think the conversations around a sanctuary city and policy, um, the 287 agreements typically, you know, as a city different than the county commission or the sheriff's department, where we would say that that sheriff has the ability to move forward with any policies that they want.

They don't need the oversight of this body to do that, um, of their body to do that, that is different here.

Um, we typically make uh policy of things that we will do in the affirmative versus things that we won't do.

If we don't do them, then we don't act upon them.

And um, you know, many of you have seen Commissioner, I'm sorry, Mayor LeGrand and I spar sometimes up here, you know, and and uh but what I would also say is I know very deeply, Mayor, that um you are looking at ways of to make sure how we are not criminalizing individuals for their immigration status, and I appreciate that, even if sometimes I I don't always agree with you, I'll be honest.

Um, and you probably don't always agree with me, but I do know that this is something that you've looked at critically.

Uh you have asked both our city attorney, our city manager have spoken with their police chief, and I think I can't speak for all of you up here, but I know many of you we have talked about this extensively of how this plays out in practice.

Um, because in 2000s, 2020, I think there was a lot of things that we did.

In particular, I remember um my colleague Commissioner Reppart really wanted us to put forth, and we did uh, you know, a resolution um, I don't remember now, but legalizing the mushrooms.

They're not legalizing, but you know, psychedelics.

And when it came down to it, or you know, decriminalizing it, there were about six counts of individuals being charged with this, like six people over like seven years.

And so the one thing that I feel like I've learned over this time is that there is a lot more power in the individual police practices in the individual uh policies that we are having in terms of how say our police department moves forward with these actions and activities.

Um so I would say that.

The last couple things I want to say, and I'll try not to belabor these too much, is on the dash, just for everyone.

We did hear from some people, I would say this has been in my inbox and today.

Um we we while we're having this budget discussion, we are constantly every single month and every six months ago and the six months before that, affirming what are the things that we are interested in investing in.

And I think we had to make the difficult decision that is often a budget of how many people are impacted by one decision.

And last year we made the unanimous decision that we did not want to see rate increases to parking rates overall.

So what does that mean?

There's no revenue from the Dash coming through.

We have to make a decision of how this gets invested.

Um, and I think that I've also heard from many people who utilize the dash, but more people would be impacted by that parking increase.

And that's how I made that decision to move forward with that.

Um, I've also heard from businesses that they felt like the current model or the previous model uh was not working in its current format, and then we need more people to be able to support that investment overall to have that share, and that it just didn't it didn't feel right to continue for that model to be coming fully out of their general fund, again, hearing all the number of things that we want to invest in.

And then lastly, because we didn't talk about it um here today.

We had a meeting that was adjourned the last time we met to talk about the first word appointment.

Um, I know there were a number of individuals who really wanted us to come to our resolution, myself included.

Um, and the last meeting we didn't.

We continue to be deadlocked.

And um while that is frustrating, what I was more frustrated about is that we didn't give a closeout to people, and so here's the close out uh essentially is that we are deadlocked.

So that means that the seat is not going to be filled, I would say, at this time.

Um, I do remind everyone that our charter requires us to fill this seat, and so I expect that this body will unanimously appoint whoever wins and certified, and we can figure out what that language is who wins that election in November.

Um, and so I want people to know that that is closed out, at least that's how I'm considering it.

We had some conversations to have ongoing conversations.

I didn't agree with that.

I wish I would have been a little bit more forceful that day to say what I'm hearing is that we're deadlocked and this is not going to be filled.

So that was a lot of stuff today, uh, but there was a lot of comments made.

There were a lot of topics reviewed.

We're in the mid-middle of our budget cycle, and um just didn't have that opportunity at our last meeting.

So thank you.

Have a good night.

Commissioner Balchuk.

Thank you, Mayor, and uh thank you, Commissioner Isasi.

Um I appreciate the update because I was hoping you you covered quite a lot of ground that also was on my mind, so thank you for doing that.

Um I've been uh deeply listening and hearing, and I want to say thank you to everyone who not only was here and particularly the young folks, I just want to respond that um I absolutely see each and every one of you who come here or who I run into or who I see online uh as individuals.

I do not see you as a group, I do not see you as something other than your unique self.

So it's always great when I can hear people talk and speak their minds here, no matter their age.

And so I'm proud of those young folks, and I'm uh really grateful for the people who have reached out to me, both in concern, in uh consternation, in care, in all sorts of other feelings in the last few weeks.

Um, it's been uh a lot to be um handling, managing, sharing, and digesting.

But something I haven't had a chance yet to share, and I hear it a lot today, is something I've been sitting in very deeply and working on uh since February is this big big question of what would it take to scale therapeutic healing to a community-wide citywide level because so many of our issues that I'm hearing come down to us feeling like we're a community not at odds with itself, whether it's small groups or big groups, circles within circles or circles that don't touch other circles, and it's really important to me that we learn to both trust ourselves so that we can have a voice, so that we can speak our truth to someone else and also be willing to openly listen to another person, even if they don't agree with us or challenge us to think differently, and to be able to trust um the community decisions that we're making in these different groups like Together West Michigan here tonight or Costa or um all the other people, and I include in that the work that our public service folks are doing here that includes the city manager and all the staff.

We have a public service uh a week last week, no um celebrated, and today we're we announced that we're celebrating um public works personnel.

So these are the people that are day in, day out, literally in the dirt, in the water, in the streets, doing the work that keeps our city infrastructure functioning.

And so I think it's important to remember that what does it take to create a safe community is not just one person or one entity, it's all of us.

And I did have the opportunity to celebrate the fire department who had their last graduation cla class at the old building.

And that was actually my first time in that building.

So it was interesting to see all the steps that they have to go through.

So congratulations to our graduates and we have lots of fire safety folks for that reason.

And I think that we have to remember that what does it take to create trust and community healing is going to be also need to come from within our various departments including our police department.

But there's a lot of people who care and a lot of people who are want stability stress the trust the safety the dignity and and the solidarity that we heard about tonight.

So I'm sitting in my own big questions as I'm listening and I'm thinking about and connecting with people who can help make those changes I'm considering I want to I want to spend a little bit of time focusing just on my own ward here in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood in particular because I was horrified by what happened and very very saddened.

And this is where my concern would would go and I've had an opportunity to meet with the Roosevelt Park neighborhood president we talked quite a long time of what would housing look like in the neighborhood what would um investments in the neighborhood look like and what would um other ways that we can make the neighborhood even more vibrant and and really for the residents that live there.

And then yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with the RPNA Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association executive director and I I introduced that idea of what would it take to scale therapeutic healing and um we're talking about what are the considerations of the neighbors and the conversations that are having because people may not even want to come out to the brand new uh reopened uh farmers market that is being held there at Roosevelt Park.

So we may be able to do something in collaboration as in myself and others in the community to help sit with people and listen to those conversations because I think that it is important and our budget process is part of the reinvestment back into the community.

We do um Commissioner Usasi talked about the co-response model we have quite a bit of money allocated to that we have quite a bit of money allocated to victim advocacy we have um a lot of money I'm very proud happy to say uh 1.47 million dollars allocated to redoing or making investments into the Roosevelt park lodge in the park there 3500 to Lincoln Park and 5000 I think is in there for um improvements to continuing the renovations in Sullivan Field.

So we need when we're out in these community neighborhoods in our green spaces I would like to offer my own challenge that it takes a village and that these spaces can be places where we can find healing together.

I see clerk a song about elections.

No I'm just I'm kidding.

Not a song about elections.

So to to put on what commissioner Belchuk just said I was also I had the honor of being at that um the um give the oath of office for those new firefighters and it it was a surreal I post this on my Facebook page too it was a surreal week because it was public um services week and and it was also municipal clerks weekend so I think someone who's thinking my staff today I do have a great staff and so we all serve that together.

So and then on so that was Thursday night we did the oath of office the new firefighters then on Friday I had the opportunity to go to up to GRCC and one of our friends in her um mid to late 40s got her RN degree from GRCC and was pinned as an RN and seeing those nurses giving um getting pinned to be um to do service.

So it was just a it was a great week of watching new people getting into new service fields um and and that's what that's why if you want to call us bureaucrats, that's why we do that's what we do.

We are we're called the public service.

Um and it you know, we can joke about taxes and various other things, but the um sure the as we look at the America's two fifty and we look at throwing you know the Boston Tea Party and throwing things, sure, they were opposing what was happening to them from somewhere across the ocean.

They didn't get rid of taxes.

They just wanted the taxes to stay in their community, and I think that that's part of it as we as we look at it.

And um I know Scott was doing that kind of a tongue-in-cheek way, but um, I'm sure he's gonna get some trends on that too.

I already noticed he already is getting some views, so from other people, but um so but but with that, I mean, I take it as um, someone who's been a clerk for 26 years and put in government for for quite quite a while.

My dad was a 30-year employee for the city of Grand Rapids in the water department.

I we take we take public service very seriously and and take it as a as an honor to be able to serve to serve the public at whatever um role we have within within this body, and the public can be involved too.

We're always looking for more people to be on our boards and commissions.

I'm always looking for more election inspectors, so um, if you don't want to be just on the outside, you can be on the inside too.

Um there's there's room at the table for all.

So that's it for me.

City attorney, nothing, city manager.

Thank you, Mayor and Commissioners, uh, for your work today and tonight, and to the staff who, as you acknowledge earlier, uh done so much to uh make this uh budget proposal possible, and I've uh want to let them know I appreciate the work that they're doing.

Also want to uh just acknowledge uh Commissioner Kilgore mentioned uh six hundred thousand dollars for the uh traffic safety and mobility improvements from uh the third ward fund.

I also want to highlight that in fiscal year twenty-seven budget uh as proposed, there was a seven hundred thousand dollar allocation uh for the same effort.

Um I also would like to acknowledge our uh newly appointed city engineer with City Urban.

Congratulations to her and know that she's gonna do good work.

We also announce uh the restructuring of the uh resource or the contract for our retail retention attraction program now will be overseen by her department.

Um also this past week we announced the uh beginning of the recruitment process for the police chief, and there's a search that's uh going on deadline for applications this June 5th.

I'm so grateful for uh the service of uh all of our officers, including our interim police chief, and looking forward to um the conclusion of that process, which will likely uh be the I think the week of June the 15th, I think is uh what we're tentatively targeting now.

So more information will come out on specific dates, and that'll be an opportunity for the public to also meet the finalists and provide feedback before a decision is made.

Next week at our public safety uh committee meeting, it's just next week.

We've been meeting four weeks in a row.

Um, looking forward to the update uh after the uh Daquan Johnson shooting, there were several uh commitments that were asked for from uh this daisy one was the review of all the uh daily use of force incidents since 2000 and over the past five years, and we did that uh seriad and went uh police uh deputy, excuse me, police chief trig did a great job of going through those incidents.

Uh the second commitment was to uh do some benchmarking analysis around the uh pursuit policy, and we'll have that uh discussion hopefully next week in our oversight office and Mr.

Davis uh is leading that effort, and um looking forward to the uh opening of the amphitheater this week.

I know much uh discussion has occurred around how to safely get there and all the mobility options.

I appreciate uh all of our partners as well as the staff and making sure that uh everyone can have an enjoyable safe experience.

Uh the 15th is a ticket event, uh, but the 16th, uh the very next day is a community uh event open to uh the public at no cost, and so hopefully uh you'll be able to make one or both and look forward to seeing everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you, City Manager.

Um, to the few of you who are left, and I guess largely I'll be speaking uh maybe to my colleagues as much as anything else.

Um I want to discuss two things and and um discuss them a little bit in in detail.

The first is um there was uh uh one of our comments uh one of the people who came up and made public comment today talked about their um length of time working on an issue.

Um I have been working in the law enforcement space in one form or another for 36 years.

I began my career uh as a prosecutor in Kent County as an assistant Kent County prosecutor, and I spent a number of years in that space.

I um was one of two people assigned essentially full-time to be working on uh domestic violence prosecutions for a number of years.

Um I have um spent a long time working with law enforcement and particularly with GRPD, other agencies too.

But um I it's not I maybe it's not my place to apologize, but I want to apologize to uh to the men and women in GRPD for some of the tenor and some of the characterizations that we so often hear and hear.

Um, I am a firm advocate for, and I've spent many decades of my life working on restorative justice, working on the problem of mass incarceration in America, working on how to provide a better justice system that is not slanted based on uh wealth and is not slanted based on uh race, but I have yet to meet a law enforcement officer who went about their job operating out of malice.

I go on ride-alongs roughly once a month, and the officers who I see doing their job are trying to enforce and administer justice within the parameters that they are set by policy, and they do that work courageously, and they do that work with good faith and with the best of efforts.

Now, of course, with 300 officers, not all of them are perfect.

I am not perfect.

I've made mistakes in my life, I will make mistakes again.

Uh it is not reasonable to assume uh a standard of perfection for any one or any group, but it is also deeply unhelpful, I think, to make blanket accusations uh that police are operating out of malice.

I don't think it's helpful in any respect.

And so I want to apologize on behalf of this commission uh to our law enforcement for the tenor of some of the comments that were made tonight, and then it's not the first time, and I'm afraid I'm afraid it won't be the last.

I am glad to hear conversations about how we can do justice better in our community.

And there are so many things we can do better, and there are things I've spent years of my life working on.

I spent years of my life trying to fix cash bond in Michigan.

Um I'm still and I haven't given up on that fight.

I spent years of my life uh broadening the doors for expungement possibilities that have helped 1.2 million of our Michigan residents to get their records cleaned up.

We became the first state in the country to do that automatically, and nine states have copied us since.

I spent years of my life trying to get uh uh largely uh vulnerable communities off of child protective services lists that the registries that they shouldn't be on, and and got 400,000 people off that list in Michigan.

I'm deeply concerned that we have a justice system that's fair to everyone and treats everyone the same, and I am not asserting a monopoly on that.

That's one of the reasons I am so proud to be on this commission, because I know that everybody up here shares those concerns and those priorities, and I know because we've had conversations about it, so I am not trying to assert a monopoly or a or a position of unique passion on this issue.

This commission is passionate on the issue of justice.

I want to point that out because it is true.

I mean, again, just to ground in my work in domestic violence.

Domestic violence cases are very hard to prosecute.

They are repetitive.

They involve people who often have exhibit the same behavior again and again and again.

And if we don't have law enforcement who are able to hold those folks accountable, identify the bad actors and bring them in for accountability, we're leaving a lot of vulnerable people unserved.

Um so to to suggest that we can have a world without people doing that sort of work is is a real stretch for me.

Now one of the things I'm really excited about is work that we can do outside of traditional law enforcement.

I'm excited about the idea of having a new mediator.

I know I know many of us are excited about that, and many of us are excited about the about the work that we're doing in co-response.

Many of us are excited about the real work that we are doing to house people with mental health issues and and uh substance abuse issues and have them not be caught up in the criminal justice system.

Uh there are people up in this diet who are very closely connected to work on trying to come up with alternative strategies uh to incarceration.

Um one of my fellow commissioners has a spouse who's working in that area.

One of my fellow commissioners uh worked on a project like that for a number of years in her in her former job.

Um so alternatives tradition uh additions to traditional policing are things that I think many of us are very passionate about, and also doing policing better.

Uh, but I also think that that's true of every single good person I know in law enforcement, that they're always interested in figuring out how to do things better, how to be better at peacekeeping and problem solving.

And um I guess that for me that means that when we have conversations about improvement, I really um I'm saddened by straw man dynamics uh or dynamics that uh put someone uh impute malice or impute lack of understanding to somebody um on the other side.

So I'll transition then if I can to the other conversation we had again and again tonight.

And I don't know whether this is a flat out misunderstanding or whether it's a straw man position.

Um but there are uh there are pe a number of people who have come up and said again and again and again that we should adopt the the uh uh six series uh uh six policies um that are largely associated, I think, with being policies suggested by Cosaicha.

And uh Russ, uh you specifically said why not try it.

Um the answer to that is we're doing them all.

And that's why I don't understand the conversation.

I really don't.

And so uh just for sake of clarity and and particularly for my colleagues, and because I'm a lawyer and I've spent some time looking at this, I want to enumerate those policies briefly and talk about our position on them.

So um the first of those policies uh is uh a demand that we uh prohibit detaining individuals on civil immigration warrants.

That language is exactly in our current GRPD policy.

We are current we have a policy that specifically aligns with what we are being with the demand that's being made on us.

In other words, they're demanding that we do something that we're already doing.

So that's a tough barrier to get across, other than a barrier of communication.

Second policy is a policy that prevents GRPD collaborating with ICE.

Again, we have a policy in place which tracks what other cities uh like Chicago and Boston do very carefully and very closely, which say that we do not participate in ICE investigations, we do not ask people out their immigration status.

Um, there is a uh I'll leave it at that, but though I I I I invite you to all go and examine those uh those policies, and I'm happy to have an open dialogue about them, but the fact of the matter is we have a policies that specifically addresses that demand.

The third is a policy that we that we uh we prohibit sharing of flock data.

Again, our police chief has said directly that we do not share flock data.

First of all, we certainly don't share it with ICE, uh, but we don't even share it with uh outside entities by and large.

Um so you know there's the possibility we get hacked, there's the possibility that my credit card could get hacked, but our policy is that we do not share that data.

I mean, pardon me, our practice is that we do not share that data.

The second is that we have policies that ban 280, pardon me.

The fourth is that we have policies that ban 287G agreements with ICE.

Our city attorneys identified at least three policies which specifically would prohibit us from entering into 287G agreements.

Now, those of you who are curious can go look on the ICE website and see what a two eighty seven G agreement is.

It's enumerated on the what on the ICE website.

You can also, with a little bit of research, find entities in the state that have entered into 287G agreements.

We are not one of them, and that's and there's a and and there are a number of reasons for those.

One is the moral commitment of this body.

But the other is we already have a policy in place.

So again, that's a demand that we do something that we're already doing.

Pardon me, policy opposing uh detention centers in the city.

The city hasn't had a detention center since we closed the city jail, I think, in the early 1900s.

So if uh we're talking about, you know, ICE detention centers, there are none of those on the horizon I know of.

Uh, we can get into federal preemption uh conversations, but we don't have any detention facilities.

And the final, so I don't I don't see how we how we respond to that other than that's where we are.

And the final one is, and this is one that frankly, when I had a conversation with uh individuals uh who are advocating for this at a town hall meeting, they agreed that this was not used that this policy wasn't really internally coherent or enforceable.

And the last that so that last one is how they how they straight stated it was policies that prevent us entering into agreements, us the city entering into agreements with entities that have current contracts with ICE.

And I said, Well, as I read that, if ICE has got a contract with the Gordon Food Service to get Pepsi in their uh vending machines, then we can't have a contract with Gordon's.

Or if they had a contract with uh Microsoft to uh support their computers, uh they'd want a policy that the city stop having a contract with Microsoft.

Um so it's not even a disinvestment policy, it's uh I guess sort of a poison ivy policy uh and it doesn't make much sense to me.

I don't really see how the city could realistically expect itself to go around and ask ICE who is entered into contracts with so that we can make sure that we don't have any overlap on who services our computers or provides soda pop in the in the vending machines or uh any of a variety of other issues.

And frankly, the group agreed that that policy didn't didn't really make sense, and they said, Well, we're not lawyers.

So I am a lawyer, I don't understand how that policy would be realistically implemented.

Um, but the other policies, um, I'm afraid that the vast majority of those people who made this points have left.

Um, but for my colleagues' sake, um, I spent a lot of time and energy on this, and I will say, and I I think I speak for the whole commission, that every single person on this commission is committed to valuing the dignity, the safety, and the and and the human value of every resident of our city.

Now, we like people on Wyoming too, but our job is to represent, honor, respect, and take care of the residents of our community, and I don't care what their citizenship is.

And I don't think any member member of this city commission uh cares when we're asking that basic question.

And anything that we can do to increase the flourishing of the human beings who reside in our city, we are committed to continuing those conversations to not resting, to not uh shying away from conversations, but I hope that we can do that in an atmosphere of respect and grace and curiosity rather than in conversations which start with imputing malice or with attributing positions to people which they simply don't hold.

So thank you all for being here tonight.