Council approves donation for police drone program, updates fees and accepts grant-funded equipment

At its Jan. 27 meeting, the Dearborn Heights City Council approved several fiscal and administrative measures: it accepted a $100,000 donation from My Legacy Foundation restricted to a police Axon drone program, moved forward an attorney fee retainer amendment for Gary T. Miyake, advanced an ordinance updating municipal infraction fines, and amended the business license fee schedule.

Donation and public-safety equipment: Councilman Saab moved to accept $100,000 from My Legacy Foundation to fund the police department’s Axon drone program; the funds were to be deposited into a restricted account and used exclusively for the program. Council members said the administration is pursuing grant funding and mentioned $100,000 potentially available from TIFA as additional support. The mayor later announced a grant package staff had submitted that includes a $1,800,000 award for a ladder truck, $500,000 for Axon/body cameras, and roughly $200,000 for vehicles — all described as requiring no local match.

Attorney fee agreement: The council approved a revised attorney arrangement for Gary T. Miyake: he will transition from city employee status to independent contractor work with a $5,000 monthly retainer and up to 32 hours per month at $160 per hour; additional hours billed at $160/hour per the agreement.

Ordinance and business-licensing changes: Councilman Saab introduced ordinance H-2601 to update municipal civil infraction fine amounts to reflect increases since 2002; the ordinance was read for the first time. Separately, Councilwoman Bridal moved to amend the business license fee schedule — citing roughly 730 licensed businesses and 94 unlicensed — proposing $500 for new licenses and $300 for renewals. The council amended the motion so that the renewal fee change would be effective May 1, 2026; the motion carried.

Other operational votes: The council approved replacing a traffic-control sign to indicate a deaf child at or near 4652 Carley Lane and renewed a temporary food-truck license for Shawarma Majic.

Next steps: The administration and staff will process the restricted donation, implement the attorney agreement terms, complete the ordinance process for H-2601 (future readings required), and apply the amended business-license fees per the adopted schedule and effective dates.