Detroit City Council Formal Session, 10 a.m.

Today’s agenda: https://bit.ly/3h6VRbv

Instructions for joining the meeting can be found at the top of the agenda.

You can also tune in to watch City Council meeting live! 📺

https://bit.ly/3JMHuW4

If you are following along with me today - watch for “🚨” to signify the start of public comments.

👀 Detroit City Council will be receiving an update from Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree at today’s meeting.

There will also be an update from the Detroit Police Department.

The meeting is called to order at 10:00am 🎉 https://t.co/7XOmiz2nLh

Invocation by Pastor Yolounda Whitlow this morning.

Jaman Jordan is presenting the Black history fact of the week which is about the history of African American owned hospitals, such as Dunbar Hospital. This is the last of the series as Black History Month comes to an end. https://t.co/gYeHBFp6AQ

Dunbar Hospital is the first black-owned nonprofit hospital in Detroit. The hospital came at a time when white hospital didn’t allow African Americans to be patients. Dr. James Ames, Dr. Herbert Sims and others were doctors at the hospital

Dunbar Hospital grew and later became Parkside General Hospital.

Dr. Joe Ferguson was the first African American doctor in Detroit https://t.co/D0nPnMVl6Q

Lots of good info here that I don’t want to miss. I’m going to follow up with more details about his presentation after the meeting.

Next up: a presentation from Eric Sabree, Wayne County’s Treasurer 👀 https://t.co/rqFivmNjwJ

Sabree said over 10,000 people took advantage of the “Pay As You Stay” Program. All of those individuals owed back taxes.

Last Monday, Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund was launched last Monday. The federally funded program provides up to $25,000 for owner occupied residences within 150% AMI who’ve experienced a hardship since January 2020.

In Wayne County, 150% AMI would be about $96,000.

More about the fund here:

https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/homeownership/mihaf-homeowner-assistance

As of today, there are approximately 5,000 owner-occupied homes that could be foreclosed on this year. Sabree said they expect about 2,000 foreclosures this year.

Sabree said they aren’t hearing from homeowners who owe multiple years of property taxes. Those who still owe taxes on years between 2014-2018 are in danger for foreclosure

Sabree encouraged anyone who is low income to apply for Pay As You Stay because their delinquent taxes will be forgiven. Otherwise, they will be foreclosed.

Sabree said they provided city council with a report of individuals at-risk for foreclosure by ZIP code

They had 0 owner-occupied foreclosures in 2020 and 2021.

The average property taxes owed is about $3,000. Some individuals owe as much as $45,000.

Sabree said they’re not going to be able to save those who owe multiple years of delinquent property taxes.

Sabree discussed the non-profit organizations that are canvassing neighborhoods, knocking on doors, to communicate with residents about the opportunity to apply for property tax assistance. Some of which are funded by ARPA.

Sabree said recent audits advised Wayne County Treasurer’s office that they’re violating state law by allowing property owners to continue paying on their delinquent taxes until their court case is closed, or after the March 31 deadline

Sabree said other county treasurers’ offices have told him they receive calls from upset homeowners because Wayne County allows people to continue paying their taxes after the March 31 deadline.

Sabree also briefly discussed the Afflicted Business Relief Fund

More info here: https://www.michigan.gov/abr

Wayne County also offers hardship relief assistance for businesses, landlords, property owners, etc. which he says is available on the county’s website.

Council President Mary Sheffield asked about the possibility of a moratorium that can be placed on owner-occupied homes to prevent foreclosure. Sabree responded by discussing challenges getting people who owe multiple years who aren’t applying or inquiring about assistance

Sabree said people either don’t qualify or they haven’t applied for available programs. And the Michigan Homeowners Relief Funds isn’t going to help. For the most part, they encounter people who don’t provide documentation or just won’t

Council member Waters said she’d like to personally knock on doors and requested information.

A document was provided to city council members that lists every address who are facing foreclosure this year and all homes that are at-risk are separated by district

Sabree said he’s knocked on doors himself and one thing he’s seen during initial conversations is people think they’re not at risk for foreclosure and believe they’ve been paying their taxes.

Council member Latisha Johnson suggested a Zoom Town Hall of some kind that council members can throw together to push information out to their districts. Some council members have had approx 250 join their zoom calls. She said “we’ve got to do whatever we can”.

Council member Coleman Young discussed “tax washing” which he intends to address in Lansing in the near future. He said people buy properties and let it go into foreclosure because it’s cheaper for them to do that than pay taxes. He thinks this practice needs to be planned

Council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero requested the door knockers that are being handed out. She said she will need approx 450 door knickers for her district (I assume that means there’s 450 homes at immediate risk for foreclosure)

Santiago-Romero wants to work with block clubs to get this information out to residents

And that’s a wrap on the Wayne County Treasurer update! The Detroit Police Dept update will come later in the meeting

Moving forward on the agenda, several matters were referred to the relevant Standing Committees.

🚨PUBLIC COMMENT!

1. Founder of Black Cannabis Business Owners Organization of Detroit - they are the 1st 10 black medical provisional centers in the city. She co-owns Chronic City. She asked council members to approve a relevant ordinance on the agenda today https://t.co/KZei580GN4

1 cont’d - She said they’ve been in the fight to operate their business since 2015. They didn’t get licensed until 2021. She said approving the ordinance would allow them to create generational wealth and build up their communities

Several others also discussed the marijuana business ordinance on the agenda and encouraged its approval. One individual said only 2% of cannabis business owners are African American 🤯 https://t.co/6Un5AVcPOb

Mr. Crowley also joined in-person public comment today! Nice to put a face to the name. He said Scott Benson recently said he’s been working with Crowley but he says this is not true. He also says OCI is not accepting citizen complaints. https://t.co/8GPMHPakpI

That concludes in-person participants.

City council is pausing public comment for the Detroit Police Department update. There will be a part 2 for virtual public comments.

👀 Now starting the Detroit Police Department presentation. Detroit Police Chief James White is present. https://t.co/acqg3N6JMf

Chief White discussed details about how he started as police chief. He said the Mayor called former Police Chief James Craig and asked if White would be interested in serving as Interim Police Chief. After a short time, he decided to take the opportunity

When he started, White said the departments was experiencing challenges with drag racing and numerous quality of life issues. They also had an uptick in non fatal shootings and violence, which was seen across the country.

One thing White says he did to address the issues they have had is create a 5-Point Strategy.

There were five key areas they needed to address https://t.co/OVUrIoscCI

Specifically, they had a noise problem so they started enforcing ordinances regarding noise after 10pm. They also ramped up traffic enforcement to respond to drag racing and speeding. https://t.co/f451voQ9yK

Regarding code enforcement and crowd management - White said they engaged bar owners and event holders and encouraged them to prioritize the safety of those who are in the vicinity. And when they didn’t, they took enforcement seriously https://t.co/TTYdsnVqa3

In June 2021, they had a 27% increase in homicides and 44% increase in non fatal shootings https://t.co/CMI2Ghfj7O

White said they will be releasing a community crime and safety strategy as they look forward to 2022. It will be unique to each precinct. They looked at what issues existed and responded accordingly. https://t.co/2G9gjpo0O0

Chief White and Assistant Chief Bettison discussed various measures they’ll be taking.

They’ll use metal detectors for family-focused events to deter illegal firearms and prevent harm.

Chief White provided stats about firearms. Comparing before the pandemic to today, there has been a significant increase in the # of registered firearms in Michigan.

So far in 2022, 10 children have been shot in Detroit.

In 2021, 67 children (under 17) were shot in the city of Detroit alone.

Chief White said some of these were firearms not locked up, some were stolen, some were owned by CPL holders, etc.

Regarding Noise Enforcement strategies, Chief White briefly discussed ShotSpotter. He said there’s “misinformation” about ShotSpotter that it’s monitoring people.

He said it’s not monitoring people. If there’s noise over a certain decibel, the company notifies the department of a gunshot in the area. He said this alerts them to go out and investigate shots fired notifications and collect evidence

Regarding traffic enforcement, White said the Mayor gave him 4,000 hours of overtime and that allowed the department to increase police presence. They also used it for monitoring the real time crime center for drag racing

White said they plan to get ahead of four wheelers this summer. They’ll have officers patrolling on motorcycles. If there’s people recklessly driving four wheelers, they’ll have the capacity to enforce the law

Regarding community engagement ⬇️ https://t.co/qfA0EzM80x

Chief White also discussed their dual enrollment partnership with Wayne County Community College.

https://wdet.org/2021/10/15/detroit-police-department-launches-educational-initiatives-with-local-colleges/

Chief White said “we cannot arrest our way out of crime” and briefly discussed his efforts to prioritize mental health in the community.

White said they plan to continue Project Greenlight expansion and Ceasefire. The department is also excited about the new DPD TV program they rolled out.

Now moving onto Council members questions.

Councilmember Young II asked where illegal firearms are coming from. Chief White said they’re acquired through illegal manufacturing, the city has also seen record gun purchases which can fall into the wrong hands.

Specifically, White said people will leave their gun in their car or unlocked at home and someone breaks in and steals it - it’s another illegal firearm on the street

Responding to a question about mental health training, White said Detroit Police Dept. Is one of the most trained forces in the country. The standard is 24 hours+ of training. DPD officers receive 40+ hours.

Responding to a question about challenges with recruitment of officers, Chief White would like to see an increase in pay and a bonus to stay for officers that don’t leave to go work for another department.

Council member Durhal mentioned the fact that Detroit had 4,000 officers at one time and currently have around 1,700. He said it’s scary to see such a dramatic drop.

He also said he’s working with Councilmember Tate to introduce new ideas regarding mental health/gun violence

Regarding the unstick in sexual assaults, Chief White explained that there was a lack of opportunity to report sexual assault during the pandemic. Victims didn’t have doctors appointments or interactions in the community. As people returned to normal, the reporting started to ⬆️

Regarding facial recognition technology, White said they intend to use it in the same capacity as they are now which is for violent felonies with strong policy and training to support it. He said anyone who violates policy related to facial recognition is immediately terminated

And that’s a wrap on the police department update for today!🚔

🚨back to public comment

1. She inherited her mom’s house which was affected by last year’s floods. FEMA would not help because it’s not “her home”. She lost the furnace and other items. She said she’s also being overtaxed $10K on the property

(Cont’d) + is now paying $500 from her disability checks. She said she can’t afford to avoid foreclosure if she fixes the home, if she avoids foreclosure she can’t fix the home so she’s stuck.

1. Discussed emergency demolition contracts in Virginia Park and asked for consideration of that before city council members vote to approve contracts

1. Said she’s been trying to get an answer from the city about Renew Detroit (ARPA), the # of applicants and approved. She said this is important info that the public should know. Re: Benson’s memo requesting a city park map, she requested accessibility info also be included

1. Said they’ve had a hard time getting the city to investigate a breaking and entering, specifically they had challenges getting them to take fingerprints. Doesn’t feel the city is welcoming as Benson said it was recently

1. Green Acres resident. Said the city’s problems seem to boil down to an issue with radicalized poverty. They also discussed Michigan Poor People’s Campaign’s event in DV on June 18 which addresses systemic racism, poverty and more

1. Addressed a new towing ordinance and said this will result in an increase in the cars being towed. Said the city needs to be able to track money as it relates to the ordinance

1. Said the Brush Park-carriage homes project is “world class”. He encouraged council’s approval.

#8 discussed the same project and supported it’s approval

1. Asked council to reconsider funding facial recognition technology.

2. Discussed arson in Virginia Park. She asked if homeowners’ cameras were reviewed and said the homes that are catching fire are those community members have been interested in purchasing.

And that concludes public comment! 🎉

Items under section have been approved.

There is a question about 16.1 which is a $40,000 contract with Scripps Media (WXYZ) for a one-year time period.

It was explained that this contract is a payment for services already rendered. It was explained that the services were commercials provided two years ago and they are now requesting payment.

Latisha Johnson said that during standing committee last week, council members were under the impression this was a new contract. She said they were “misinformed” and found out they asked for payment for these services

An explanation was provided for why this was an emergency contract, which was because they wanted to ensure services provided were “effective” and provided “immediately”. The marketing is said to have been helpful for current homeowner property tax exemptions applications

This contract will be brought back next week. Concerns noted included a “questionable” document provided, the time period of the contract would be an extension of what’s existing, it was presented as a new contract and the appropriate language wouldn’t indicate it’s an emergency

16.9 failed the vote for approval which is for legal representation in a lawsuit. The Law Dept also recommended a no.

All items except for 16.1 and 16.19 have been approved

Councilmember Santiago-Romero asked questions about 17.2 which is for 78 vehicles leases paid for with ARPA funds. She asked why they’re leasing and whether hybrid vehicles were available.

Similar questions were brought up in Committee

The explanation provided: they’re being used to train Skills for Life program participants on how to use the vehicles + to execute work under the skills for life program. Vans will be used to transport workers to/from job sites.

Additionally, Derrick Gray confirmed that 12* midsize crossover SUVs that will be leased will be hybrid vehicles

18.1 through 18.9

Mary Sheffield said she voted no on all of the Inner City Contracting LLC contracts last week and she’ll do the same this week. She provided an alarming explanation, councilmembers seemed caught off guard

Sheffield said it’s been brought to her attention that Inner City Contracting may be subverting the rules for certifications. Following a CRIO investigation, they had their Detroit headquarters business certifications taken away because info wasn’t verified

Sheffield mentioned that the info has been or will be provided to the Office of Inspector General.

Her issue is that they’ve subverted documentation that allowed them to obtain unique certification that is intended for monitory small business contractors.

Santiago-Romero said she’s confident that if they had this info beforehand, the committee would not have recommended approval.

Benson said he was told by the demolition department that the business was cleared but he’s not sure if this is new info or not.

Councilmember Young said there need to be discussion about whether they should deny these contracts or if they should be barring the business for fraud.

All pending contracts for Inner City Contracting will be brought back next week pending an update from CRIO about the investigation discussed today.

19.7 will also be brought back next week. The remaining items under section 19 were approved.

23.18 and 23.19 are supposed to be referred to Internal Operations Committee so they were moved in the agenda.

The remaining items on the agenda are referred to the appropriate standing committees.

Members Reports 📝

Whitfield-Calloway: her district had their 1st community meeting last night and had over 100 participants with Senator Gary Peters and others in attendance.

Durhal: discussed the basement backup protection program.

Santiago-Romero: thanked everyone for the birthday wishes and those who attended their first evening community meeting. The next meeting will be March 6th at 6:00pm via zoom.

Sheffield: Conversations with the President tonight at 6:00pm via zoom - they’ll discuss home repair programs.

(Cont’d) Sheffield: There’s also a reparations community meeting this Thursday at 6:00pm via zoom. This is the first community meeting where they’ll be seeking residents input. Some of the input they’ll seek: # of people on the task force, what criteria should be, and more

(Cont’d) Sheffield: also reminded councilmembers that they’ll continue CDBG deliberations on Wednesday at 2:00pm.

And last but not least, Marcell Todd introduced two new members of the Planning and Development Department, Roland A. Amarteifio and Timarie Szwed. https://t.co/ld2fellcX3

With nothing further on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at 1:22pm.

This concludes the Detroit City Council formal session meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022.

For more meeting coverage, check out http://Documenters.org 🎉

If you believe anything in this thread is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.