Detroit council reviews FY2027 'markup' spreadsheet, eyes $130.8M surplus and $42M reserve

Herb Corley of the Legislative Policy Division told the Detroit City Council in an executive-session budget markup on March 30 that the city is working with roughly $3,000,000,000 in total proposed spending, and that the council can influence about $1,560,000,000 of discretionary General Fund dollars.

Corley said the administration’s markup and the executive-session spreadsheet show approximately $130,800,000 in surplus across several funds, with roughly $105,000,000 coming from general-fund surplus, about $22,000,000 listed as FEMA reimbursements for COVID-19 expenditures, and smaller one-time items and projected surpluses. He walked the council through LPD’s suggested funding sources to cover any monetary changes the council may adopt.

Councilmembers focused attention on a $42,000,000 capital income tax reserve that appears in the city’s annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR). Member Scott Benson asked whether the reserve could be used to fund a proposed $1,500,000 change; Corley said the reserve was set aside in prior council action and is visible in the ACFR, but cautioned that the balance could change until books close. Corley recommended waiting until the close of the fiscal-2026 books (around November–December) for a definitive readout, or treating limited draws from the reserve only after confirming stability.

LPD identified three primary ‘‘pots’’ of surpluses and suggested the council begin with LPD’s proposed funding sources to expedite-line-item deliberations. Corley emphasized the council’s choices: monetary changes require matching reductions elsewhere because estimated revenues were set during the February revenue-estimate process; non-monetary requests are generally placed in the council’s closing resolution.

The council agreed to continue line-by-line review through the executive-session spreadsheet and to vote on any monetary changes by April 7, after which the clerk will transmit the council’s amended budget to the mayor. Corley also noted the mayor would have until April 13 to veto any council changes and the council would have until April 16 to override a veto by two-thirds.

Next steps: councilmembers asked LPD and OCFO for additional breakdowns and verification of several surplus lines before formal monetary changes are finalized.