Budget Hearings - Law Department, Library, Board of Ethics

Today’s plan:

Law Department - 1 p.m.
Library - 2 p.m.
Board of Ethics - 3 p.m.

Find the full agenda here: https://pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=ed1bcc4d-1e73-4eb5-b7ea-cc834060b965&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English

I’m joining the party late today as the official meeting kicked off at 10 a.m. and started with budget hearings for the Detroit Zoological Society and Detroit Employment Solutions

A public comment session also took place prior to me joining the Law Department hearing at 1 p.m.

The zoom room is open but the physical room is empty!

I’m guessing we are waiting for Councilmembers to return from a short recess.

Chairperson Fred Durhal called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m. but technical difficulties are not letting us see the room.

All fixed! Councilmembers Mary Waters, James Tate and President Mary Sheffield are absent.

A quorum is present.

Here’s the agenda for today’s Law Department Budget Hearing: https://pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=83105

Corporate Counsel Conrad Mallett is in person along with three law department employees to answer questions about their FY2023-24 Budget.

According to the agenda, Council has eight major questions after conducting their analysis.

Councilmember Scott Benson asked why there is a budget reduction for 2024 compared to 2023, specifically a decrease of $4.2 million

Mallett said attorneys who work for the “Clean Slate” project have been moved to a non-department budget - which explains the decrease in budget

Don’t worry though, this change will not impact any operations of the Clean Slate program - which works to expunge records from city residents

https://detroitmi.gov/departments/law-department/project-clean-slate

Benson wants to know if the City is continuing to settle cases without taking them to trial after there was a rise in residents exploiting the city’s settlements.

Mallett said he would be happy to return for a closed session to continue this discussion.

Mallett described the influx of settlements as a “plague on the city” for which his department is finding creative solutions for.
https://www.bridgedetroit.com/legal-settlements-hit-five-year-high-with-ddot-sued-the-most/

Benson is now asking what the dept plans to do to increase revenue.

Mallett said the current data management system has made it difficult for lawyers to clock their time, making it difficult for them to bill the department for the time they worked. A new system would fix this

Once the new system is in place, money will begin following in. Mallet said residents who are not responsible for the properties will be held accountable.

Councilmember Angela Whitfield-Calloway wants to know how many interns were hired to manage the 7,000 FOIA requests sent to the department in 2022.

Mallett said the interns were not hired due to changes leaving nobody in charge of managing that project.

There is the expectation to hire two interns for 2023 and a staff member has been chosen to lead that project, Mallett said.

Whitfield-Calloway wants to know the plan to hire outside council from Detroit-based small law firms, including minority and women law firms. She said a conversation took place around this nine years ago and enough time has passed with no answers.

Mallett said this is a new idea, and the department needs 60 days to consider it.

Councilmember Durhal wants to know what the rate is for billable hours and what that entails.

Mallett said it depends on the nature of the service being offered.

There is a lot of commotion and giggles going on in the background, I think a member spilled a drink.

The average rate is $150 an hour for litigation and it depends on the intensity of the time put in, Mallett said.

Durhal also commented on the high number of settlements the city has been paying. What conversations does the department have around risk management?

Mallett said the Law Dept. is not driving this conversation, but the Risk Management Team is and they are involved in those talks

Councilmember Latisha Johnson wants to know how the department is minimizing exposure in high-publicity cases.

Mallett said it all starts with the tone of dept. the leadership of the Fire and Police Departments, which has shifted given the new circumstances facing the city

Johnson asked her question again. How do you minimize exposure?

Mallett said the law dept. is taking a more firm attitude in some of these instances and “I’ll leave it there”

Mallett offered to discuss this in greater detail in a future closed session. Johnson agreed.

Johnson asked what the dept. does to train city employees to prevent themselves from facing civil suits.

Mallett said this is not something his dept. has ever done but they will take the suggestion. “We would be glad to cooperate but I don’t know that we could lead it.”

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero asked if the Clean Slate program offers wrap-around services.

Mallett said the program is tied jointly with DESC to provide job training and Clean Slate has become a direct link to improving employment.

Santiago-Romero said she was unclear about the answer to Whitfield-Calloway’s question. Are there conversations taking place about hiring more minority law firms?

Mallett said yes, but the dept. has not been in communication with any firms who assist with immigration services

Councilmember Coleman Young II wants to know how many cases are being brought against individuals for property owners not taking care of their properties.

Mallett said BSEED issues a ticket, which is then paid (or not), but after that point, there is no way to regulate… 1/2

if a tenant has moved into a home that is not up to compliance. We only find out after the fact. According to HRD, 75% of rental properties in Detroit are owned by a handful of property owners. 2/2
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/08/13/rental-housing-landlords-detroit/10287128002/

Mallett said the department has a list of 25 landlords, who own large numbers of rental properties in the city, who they plan to pursue litigation against.

Councilmember Young is asking if the city tracks the number of people who are wrongfully convicted.

Mallett said the tracking system is the lawsuits that are filed.

Young asked for an update on Right to Counsel, which ensures any Detroiter facing eviction and earning below 200% of the federal poverty threshold gets a lawyer.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/detroits-right-to-counsel-inches-toward-launch/

Mallett said they are currently determining how many citizens they will be able to help.

This concludes the Law Department budget hearing.

Next up… we are talking about Libraries, check out the agenda here:
https://pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=83106

Executive Director of Detroit Public Library Jo Anne G. Mondowney & Chief Financial Officer Antonio Brown is in person to go over the Library budget for FY2023-2024. According to the agenda it looks like Council has about 25 questions about the report.

Brown said DPL has reopened many of its branches except for Conley and Monteithm due to facility issues. Services hours have returned to 40 hours per week.

Total FY 2023 Budgeted Expenditure is $33,565,470 compared to $34,908,632 for FY 2024. The major bump is going to salaries and benefits.

Brown said DPL is facing some staffing issues. The FY2024 budget has 325 positions. As of Oct. 2022, the Library has a total of 210 active employees and 115 vacant positions.

Councilmember Durhal said his general concern lies with $30 million in revenue generated each year. In the years between 2019 and 2021, when DPL was closed due to COVID, and that revenue was still coming in, how were those expenses mitigated?

Brown said during the COVID shutdown, DPL partnered with the National Sanitation Foundation to determine best practices for staying open. Six branch locations were determined as safe to remain open and a mobile library was sent to the closed locations. https://detourdetroiter.com/detroit-mobile-library-bookmobile-upgrade-neighborhoods/

Brown said expenditures were reduced because of the decrease in employees on payroll. Many employees were placed on furlough and money left over was put back into the general fund.

Durhal pointed out how in FY2022 the Library’s revenue exceeded expenditures by $6.6 million. What were the fund balances during that time, for 2020 and 2021, Durhal asked?

Brown said the balance of the fund has increased by $12 million from 2020 to 2022.

Durhal wants to know the plan for the current fund balance, given the current challenges facing DPL.

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/etroit-public-library/

Brown said DPL has installed several HVAC systems, three new roofs, dealt with flooding at the Main Branch, and has a plan to replace the Main Library elevator once parts come in.

“We are using our fund balance for one-time capital expenditures,” Brown said.

Councilmember Johnson said the Montieth Branch served as a community hub for members of the Jefferson Chalmers community. From her viewpoint it looked like the major repairs needed are around ADA accommodations. Are there plans to re-open any branches in FY 2023-24?

Brown said Chase and Hubbard are getting HVAC systems installed.

Conley, my childhood library 😉, is getting a new basement floor and needs some other repairs before it can be reopened.

Brown said the biggest obstacle is having staff to work at those branches when they re-open.

From a management standpoint, Skillman cannot be reopened due to the construction going on around that site, Brown said.

Montieth has structural damage, including needing a new roof, for which no capital funds have been identified.

Johnson said when she toured Monteith she was told the roof was replaced recently.

Johnson made a motion to put the DPL budget into executive session. Motion passed.

Councilmember Santiago-Romero asked for the timeline on Conley.

Brown said DPL has collected bids to repair the structural damage to the basement. Once a bid is chosen, a timeline will be in place.

Santiago-Romero said she doesn’t see any fundraising in the revenue. Is this something that has been discussed?

Brown said internal discussions have taken place but nothing has been moved forward. Santiago-Romero offered her assistance in fundraising.

Santiago-Romero asked for the current salaries for employees. Mondowney said the salary is competitive.

Mondowney said to Councilmember Durhal, that a further discussion needs to take place about this budget so Council can better understand the situation.

Councilmember Young said he wished Mondowney would have come better prepared to discuss the details of this budget considering they are asking for approval.

Councilmember Waters asked what the current literacy programs are at DPL.

Mondowney said there are programs for all children and adults who need support. They also partner with Detroit Public Schools to provide services for youth.

Waters asked about the participation rate.Mondowney said they’ve had hybrid programs that are advertised and used commonly

Waters also offered her help with fundraising and hiring employees.

Councilmember Benson has questions about the fund budget, which is currently at $28 million and wants DPL to start thinking about building new state-of-the-art branches in communities.

Benson said he wants to see a large portion of the fund allocated for new state-of-the-art ($20 million) branches. Benson said he supports moving the budget to executive session so they can determine how to better use the fund budget. Benson said he wants to see Skillman open.

Construction is part of a healthy city, Benson said, so he hopes DPL will reconsider the decision to not re-open.

What would the cost be to make that branch whole, Benson asked?

Brown said a full report will be presented to Council in April about Skillman.

Mondowney said a library has not been built since 1981 and there were three built in the 1910s that have been retrofitted for modern use.

Since 2015 the fund balance has been used to restore six libraries.

Benson asked for a verbal commitment from Mondowney…1/2

to further talks about a new state-of-the-art library in the city. Mondowney requested to defer because she said the decision is not hers alone.

She said the Library System needs to be up to the 21st Century, not ‘one library’ being renovated to the 21st Century.

Benson committed himself to bettering the relationship with the Library and said he’s committed.

Mondowney said former Mayor Coleman Young looked out for the Library, implying the current Council is not helping the Library in the same way.

Councilmember Young II said he didn’t know that about his father.

Councilmember Whitfield-Calloway asked about the Sherwood Forest Branch.

Mondowney said the windows need to be replaced and there are plans to reopen soon.

Young II asked how many libraries are slated to re-open this year?

Brown said Chase and Hubbard will be open in the next few months, depending on the HVAC upgrades. Conley is also slated to open once repairs are done and staff is found.

Young II asked if DPL has applied for grants from the Institue of Museum Sciences and the Library of COngress.

Mondowney said they have in the past but not recently.

Young II has asked if DPL has applied for grants to offset tax captures.

Mondowney said no, she just asks that the city not tax capture.

Santiago-Romero made a motion to add to the resolution that the City to help DPL with fundraising efforts. Benson asked if it can expand beyond just fundraising.

Santiago-Romero revised her motion to work with the DPL to work with the City on fundraising efforts and efficiencies

Waters said she wants to see dedicated computer rooms in community libraries for students with no internet access at home.

Mondowney said there is a dedicated technology lab at one branch and other branches do have designated computer areas.

Whitfield-Calloway wants to know how the National Automotive History Collection, largest in the world, is being protected after being damaged by construction at the Hudson site.

Mondowney said the tremor of moving machines at the Hudson site activated DPL’s water suppression system, damaging some of the collection. Insurance paid for all damages.

Young II asked if DPL has hired a lobbyist in D.C. about the tax captures.

Mondowney said they hired a lobbyist in 2017 but it is unclear whether the current legislation applies to DPL.

There is a conversation going on about a memo… I have to admit I am a little lost on this topic so I’ll refer you to today’s note-taker: https://outliermedia.org/

Benson is asking about the expiring mileage.

Mondowney said DPL will be approaching Council soon about being added to the ballot.

Whitfield-Calloway said copies of the mystery memo are being made. Mondowney said to look at page 4 and how “contradictory” it is.

Waters made a motion to ask DPL to send a letter to D.C. asking them to remove Detroit from the tax capture legislation.

Young II reminded her this happened already, last year.

Waters made a motion to put the exception in the closing resolution.

Malik Washington joined the call via Zoom. Young II asked for Corporation Council to join the call as well but they were not immediately available.

Young II said public comment has been moved up to accommodate those in-person from the Library Committee.

We are starting with in-person commentors:

1: In support of ending library tax captures. Said they disagree with the way DPL is being managed

2: A member of the library commission said they would like Council to freeze or end the tax captures.

3: said the city raised the tax capture from last year by 25% and asks Council to approve a budget that has a fixed number for tax captures.

4: A long-time member of the library commission said they would like to freeze the tax capture.

4: said they’ve encountered a sense of disregard from City Council directed at DPL.

Councilmember Durhal said (for maybe the third time today) that the City Council does NOT raise tax captures. It is not possible. Durhal said Council “has done what they can from this table.”

Councilmember Johnson wants to invite DPL’s lobbyist to its executive session to hear more about tax captures and what they entail. Johnson said she’s seen records of DPL opting out of tax captures on specific projects and she believes it can be done again.

There are eight virtual commentors.

1: asked Councilmember Durhal to find a way to make his ADA meetings online because residents are having difficulty attending in-person.

Durhal said they’ve found a solution and it’s coming soon.

2: said City code requires the public to be made aware of any contracts before moving forward.

3: does not support the city being affiliated, or assisting, DPL. Said they should be independent institutions.

4: Thanked Council for its support of the Right to Counsel program but said there is no staff hired yet.

Young II closed public comment at 3:56 p.m.

5: had technical difficulties and was skipped

6: said the Law Dept. is corrupt

I need a quick water break - this meeting is keeping me on my toes!

Be back in 5!

Ok we’re back in business folks and it’s time for the Board of Ethics budget hearing.

Here’s the agenda: https://pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=83107

Christal Phillips, Executive Director of the Board of Ethics, said the Ethics Board is made up of seven volunteers.

In 2022, the board held 10 total meetings and provides advisory opinions to the Mayor and City Council’s Offices.

Phillips said 4,836 employees were trained in 2022 compared to 757 in 2021 and 448 in 2020, an increase of 539%.

The board also rolled out a new logo and Learning Management System in 2022.

Phillips said the Board of Ethics is the lowest-funded oversight agency in the city and the only one required to administer its own training.

The Board of Ethics is requesting an additional $125,000 in FY2023-24 to be used to procure the new Learning Management System.

Councilmember Johnson said she looks forward to working with Phillips in the future. Johnson asked how many investigations were conducted in the previous year, and how many complaints?

Phillips said in 2022-23 there were 3 investigations, 9 requests for advisory opinions.

Councilmember Durhal made a motion to move the budget into executive session for further discuss.

Motion approved.

The meeting was ended at 4:23 p.m.

This concludes my coverage of the Detroit City Council Budget Hearings on Friday, March 17, 2023

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

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