Detroit council committee advances dozens of budget closing items, pins major dollar requests for follow-up

The Detroit City Council’s committee of the whole met April 6 to work through dozens of budget line items, voting to move many items into closing resolution while pinning several requested dollar amounts for additional review and negotiation.

Council members approved closing-resolution language on a broad set of Health Department proposals — from coordination among DPW, Police and Planning to identify crime "hot spots" to a pilot program to provide child-resistant storage containers for medications and cannabis products. Member Calloway moved a one-time $75,000 appropriation for the storage containers as a pilot, and the motion was approved after members agreed the language should cover both medicinal and nonmedicinal substances.

The committee also agreed to direct the Health Department and Workforce Development to build a more sustainable behavioral-health workforce and to collect quarterly reporting on mental-health capacity for homelessness services. Several public-health items — including a proposed COVID-19 disparity study and certain dollar figures — were placed in the closing resolution or pinned for follow-up so staff and the administration can provide additional details.

On human-services planning, members discussed the Executive Organization Plan to stand up a new Human, Homeless & Family Services (HHFS) department. The council placed multiple HHFS items into closing resolution and pinned a proposed $1 million increase intended to support the "Life and Legacy" program pending further information from the administration.

Several economic-development and equity items were debated at length. Members discussed a proposal to expand language-access services and whether translation work should be brought in-house; a broader language-access funding request was amended and several items were pinned. Council members also debated a request for a $100,000 study to better identify minority-owned businesses that could contract with the city; the dollar request was removed from the spreadsheet after members said procurement already conducts outreach, and the matter will be explored further.

Contentious debates arose over cultural and regional funding requests. A one-time $500,000 ask for a Belle Isle coyote habitat prompted strong objections from some council members who called the amount excessive; a compromise — a proposed $100,000 city contribution contingent on a Wayne County match — was discussed but the item was later removed from the agenda and will be reworked. Separately, the committee pinned a $1.5 million one-time ask for a Port Authority mobility-innovation terminal so staff and county partners can provide a fuller roadmap before council considers a commitment.

Public commenters urged the council to fully fund the city’s Right to Counsel program to prevent evictions and cited deed-fraud cases that were successfully dismissed when counsel intervened. Multiple residents also criticized the Land Bank and asked council to reconsider its role and funding.

The committee moved to pin or carry forward several items for additional executive-session negotiations and staff work and set follow-up meetings. The body adjourned with plans to continue budget work in upcoming executive sessions and public hearings.

The council did not adopt a final budget on April 6; several monetary requests were expressly placed in closing resolution, pinned for later consideration, or removed from the agenda for rework. The body scheduled further executive-session budget negotiations for the next meeting day.