Detroit oversight agencies press council to restore charter-mandated proportional funding; council sends requests to executive session

Council committee members heard one-hour opening statements from four oversight agencies on March 30, as leaders urged the Detroit City Council to restore or complete a charter‑mandated proportional funding formula and to approve specific budget increases.

The ombudsman told the Expanded Budget Finance committee that the office is shifting to a "citizen-centered" approach and presented complaint data she said showed heavy demand across the city. "We received this year and were processed from the fiscal year 25, 26, 3,462, complaints," the ombudsman said, and asked the body to restore a $314,752 ramp‑up plus one full‑time equivalent position at $65,000 to sustain expanded services.

Inspector General Kamal Bridal framed the request as compliance with the city charter and the ordinance the council approved last year. "The charter explicitly requires city council to pass a proportional funding ordinance within 90 days. This was not optional," Bridal said, summarizing the charter history, the 2025 ordinance and a three‑year ramp‑up funding formula. Bridal put the OIG's FY26–27 total request at $2,577,947 to support additional investigators and intake capacity as complaints and casework increase.

Director Phillips, speaking for the Board of Ethics, said proportional funding had enabled two new positions and a new learning management system for ethics training but that the mayor's proposed FY26–27 budget would cut the board's base funding. "The mayor's fiscal year 26, 27 proposed budget for the Board of Ethics is $817,544, which is an $82,244 decrease from this year's budget of $899,788," Director Phillips said. The board requested a supplemental $282,244 to cover the shortfall and the $200,000 ramp‑up outlined in the proportional funding ordinance, for a requested total of $1,099,788.

Training specialist Michael O'Connell, who spoke during the Board of Ethics presentation, described the new online training rollout and early uptake. "In the first 10 days, we had 6.5% of public servants open and complete their introductory module," O'Connell said, adding that the vendor Clearco was used for the staggered implementation.

After presentations, the council moved to place the specific funding amounts into executive session for staff review and detailed deliberation. Council member Scott Benton moved the motion; the committee discussed verifying department‑level figures and agreed there were no objections, so the chair directed that the action be taken. No roll‑call tally was recorded on the public record during the session.

The committee also noted procedural next steps: staff will distribute a spreadsheet of requested amounts and council members may submit written questions; a public hearing on the full city budget was scheduled for 5 p.m. the same day at an auditorium. The committee then prepared to go into executive session to review the oversight agencies' requested amounts.