Detroit City Council Formal Session

Detroit City Council

Politics

Tuesday, June 4, 2024
10:00 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. EDT

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Join City Council Zoom Meeting: https://cityofdetroit.zoom.us/j/85846903626

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team

Note-taking by Janelle James

Council denied the appeal of former city contractor Bobby Ferguson, who was banned from contracting with the city for 20 years.

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Live reporting by Benjamin Haddix

Council denyed the appeal of former city contractor Bobby Ferguson, who was banned from contracting with the city for 20 years.

Bhx @BhxDetroit

Hello! I’ll be live tweeting the Detroit City Council Formal Session at 10am for #DETDocumenters. Media Partners: @DetDocumenters media partners: @BridgeDet313 @chalkbeatDET @freep @metrotimes @Michigan_Public @media_outlier @PlanetDetroit @wdet @wxyzdetroit

08:57 AM Jun 4, 2024 CDT

Bhx @BhxDetroit 2/36

Here is a link to today's agenda:

pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?I…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 3/36

Annnd meeting seems slow to start…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 4/36

Ok meeting has been called to order (seems like there were some technical issues)

Bhx @BhxDetroit 5/36

Dr Meagan Elliott, soon to be the president of the Belle Isle Conservancy, is being honored with the spirit of Detroit Award

Bhx @BhxDetroit 6/36

The council is "cutting off" public comments, though I don't think the council ever opened up for public comments, and now someone is presenting on Lean, and the Lean Team

Bhx @BhxDetroit 7/36

Here is the city information for Lean:

detroitmi.gov/government/may…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 8/36

It has to do with trying to improve the civic systems to be more efficient. And per Santiago-Romero, this has to do with creating continuous, accessible tools for the council to better serve the city.

Bhx @BhxDetroit 9/36

The council seems intrigued!

Bhx @BhxDetroit 10/36

Public comments has begun

Bhx @BhxDetroit 11/36

Interesting comment regarding the DPL’s library administrative fees that at one point exceeded a million in the library’s budget, but once made public was reduced to 700k, still without any justification for why the fee is necessary – questions of transparency with the DPL

Bhx @BhxDetroit 12/36

There are technical problems with the audio for the virtual callers, so the council is standing at ease momentarily…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 13/36

annd the council will move on with the agenda while technical problems are being sorted out

Bhx @BhxDetroit 14/36

A number of contracts with CVI (Community Violence Intervention) Tactics are in the process of being renewed – Line items 20.1-20.7

Bhx @BhxDetroit 15/36

*20.1-20.8, and they were approved

Bhx @BhxDetroit 16/36

A lot of discussion going on about line item 20.17 and how to vote on a closed session…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 17/36

Kind of in the weeds here

Bhx @BhxDetroit 18/36

Public comments are back!

Bhx @BhxDetroit 19/36

Some discussion regarding Vincent Chin and the renaming of a street in Detroit to honor him (a man of Chinese decent who was killed in 1982 in Highland Park, a racially-motivated act)

Bhx @BhxDetroit 20/36

A commenter suggests that no waivers should have been passed on resolutions without public comments happening first (which, because of the technical difficulties, did not happen)

Bhx @BhxDetroit 21/36

Commenter questions the solar project, suggesting it was rushed and, as example, neglected to utilize the creativity of the surrounding universities

Bhx @BhxDetroit 22/36

Commenter points out that commemorating Vincent Chin and the legacy of his death is also about honoring the once robust chinatown of downtown Detroit.

Bhx @BhxDetroit 23/36

Here is some brief information on the history of Detroit Chinatown

s.wayne.edu/eld/digital-st…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 24/36

I love that a commenter is calling in, commenting at the City Council meeting, advocating for improvements to the Detroit bus system, all while getting his hair cut. Something beautiful about that and at least technology at it's best😆

Bhx @BhxDetroit 25/36

Speaking of technology at it's best… unfortunately there are more tech issues going on with the Zoom stream. It's been a bit of a slog today so I apologize for the staggered tweeting.

Bhx @BhxDetroit 26/36

Ok audio is back

Bhx @BhxDetroit 27/36

Not sure if public comments had to be cut short, but now it seems that the meeting is nearing the end

Bhx @BhxDetroit 28/36

Meeting adjourned at 12:50

Bhx @BhxDetroit 29/36

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

Bhx @BhxDetroit 30/36

This concludes my coverage of the Detroit City Council Meeting. Learn more about our coverage of local meetings here:

Documenters.org

Bhx @BhxDetroit 31/36

For some more clarity on the earlier commenter regarding the Detroit Public Libraries being charged an administrative fee by the city, here is an article from March by Detroit's For Tax Justice:

detroitersfortaxjustice.com/f/foias-and-re…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 32/36

For clarity, in my earlier tweet on the subject, I had misunderstood the commenters statement, thinking it was the library who was receiving the mysterious fee when in fact it is the DPL that has had to pay the fee to the city.

Bhx @BhxDetroit 33/36

ALSO, in terms of the renaming of a street for Vincent Chin, I am not seeing which street was under consideration for this idea…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 34/36

As some of the commenters in today's meeting voiced their feeling that because Vincent Chin living in and was killed in Highland park, that renaming a street after him is not something the city should be concerned with (paraphrasing a few of the comments), it seems worth noting…

Bhx @BhxDetroit 35/36

…that Vincent Chin and his family all worked in Detroit, he is buried in Detroit, and the situation of his death and the racism that surrounded it was distinct to Detroit identity (perceived racial tensions in the 1980's around the failing auto industry).

Bhx @BhxDetroit 36/36

Also the renaming project, per the commenters who spoke in support of it, also aims to identify the systematic fracturing of Asian-American communities in Detroit (highly related to the many other erasure / gentrification projects of Detroit's past and present)

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By Noah Kincade 6/4/2024

Agency Information

Detroit City Council

www.detroitmi.gov

See Documenters reporting

The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Council is responsible for the creation of local laws—called ordinances. Additionally they pass resolutions, motions, and the proposed city budget. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location besides city hall. The council may convene for special meetings at the call of the mayor or at least four members of council. Areas of responsibility for the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee include, Budget, Finance and the Auditor General.

City Council members are elected on the same cycle as the Mayor and will be elected in 2021. Seven members represent the seven council districts, while two members are elected at-large.