Detroit City Council Formal Session
Detroit City Council
Politics
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025
10:00 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. EST
2 Woodward Ave Detroit, MI 48226 (Directions)
ERMA L. HENDERSON AUDITORIUM, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team
Live reporting by
Benjamin Haddix
Councilmembers sent the MOU with the Detroit Land Bank Authority back to the Planning and Economic Development Committee for further discussion, following concerns from public commenters and councilmembers about the land bank’s lack of accountability and transparency.
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08:44 AM Jan 21, 2025 CST
Here is a link to today's agenda: pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?I…
pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?I…
Commenters speaking to the potential renewal of the Land Bank contract. Here is some info about the Land Bank from Outlier Media: outliermedia.org/detroit-land-b…
outliermedia.org/detroit-land-b…
And some more recent writing on the Land Bank renewal process: outliermedia.org/detroit-land-b…
outliermedia.org/detroit-land-b…
Some commenters also bringing up concerns about election fraud. Council member Waters was asked about why she stopped interrogating her own Michigan Congress bid (asking was she threatened? was she paid off?)…
… Waters responds that she learned that the absentee ballots she thought seemed late were in fact not late, and that's why she stopped expressing concern about her election.
One commenter indicates that the Land Bank took back more homes than they sold this past year. Council member Tate says that the information he has conflicts with that, to which the commenter says his information comes from a Bridge Detroit article. …
… Tate suggests that doesn't mean anything to him unless he has the information that the article is referencing.
I'm not sure right now which article they might be referencing / am not seeing that specific info (that the Land Bank has taken more parcels than they have sold). This, however, is the most recent article from Bridge on the Land Bank: bridgedetroit.com/having-trouble…
bridgedetroit.com/having-trouble…
An interesting and tense moment where a commenter using disparaging language towards Betty Lyons (sp?), a commenter who speaks first, in person, most weeks. Council member Calloway interrupted the commented and insisted that they drop the call because he was disrespectful. …
… There was then dispute amongst the council about what constitutes disrespectful language (e.g. commenter Lyons usually includes disparaging statements targeting LGBTQ and Jewish communities), the council's role, and the rights of commenters within the Open Meetings Act. …
… Eventually they let the commenter continue with his call and Council Member Calloway seemingly began to excuse herself. The callers disparaging language promptly intensified and he was dropped.
A following commenter suggested that disrespectful language also happens when the council votes in support for things like the Land Bank. So, they are sticky boundaries it seems.
Powerful, unifying words from frequent commenter and activist Marguerite Maddox speaking for mutual respect and speaking against the Land Bank.
One more time here's an article about Ms. Maddox from Outlier, seeing as this meeting has become reflective in this way: outliermedia.org/marguerite-mad…
outliermedia.org/marguerite-mad…
Some commenters are articulating an idea that they want to dissolve the Land Bank contract, but suggest that an outright break with Land Bank would overload the city in some way, and so a short 1 year contract, for example, could be neccessary. …
… It seems like a measured approach to getting rid of the Land Bank I guess, but I am not sure about what the physics of "dissolving" a contract like that are, so maybe this kind of thinking is unnecessary.
Council Member Santiago-Romero speaks to two commenters from early – one who advocated ,for Detroit becoming a sanctuary city, and also a commenter who dispargaged Detroit's immigrant communities. …
… She reminds the room that while Detroit is not a sanctuary city, she recognizes the pressing anxiety of Detroit immigrant communities. She reminds those listening that if ICE comes to your door, you do not have to open the door. …
… Unless they have a warrant signed by a judge, you do NOT have to open the door. Tate speaks to his support of the city's Immigration Task Force and indicates that his office's monthly public meeting this Saturday will be with the ITF to address these types of concerns.
Discussion regarding the Land Bank contract and what flexibility there is to amend the contract. The law department is directing the council that they cannot unilaterally amend a contract, it would have to be a process of sending the contract back for negotiation.
A lot of talk about how the council and the law department cannot make changes to the document (contract), and furthermore, from the director of the Land Bank, THEY cannot make changes to the document, at least without agreement from the administration.
So it is a little confusing, but it sounds like the new contract is going to be sent back to a place where resolutions can be included in the contract as amendments to address changes that the council would like to see.
There is a way of talking here where it feels like the council has no leverage in negotiations with the Land Bank. Council Member Waters speaks to this, articulating that she does not like how it feels like they have to do whatever the Land Bank wants. …
… The rep from law department responds by saying that (paraphrasing): 'once you create an authority like this (it is the city who created this) they turned over all these properties to this independent entity. The Land Bank owns the property, not the city. …
… The Land Bank was a tool used by the city to take properties out of public inventory and put it into private hands, because the city could not handle it. The problem is that it is not happening quickly enough.' Council Member Waters is very surprised by this information. …
…The representative from the law department clarifies that yes, the council can decide to dissolve the Land Bank, and they will regain possession of the properties.
Council Member Benson speaks in support of the Land Bank (generally, not necessarily to the current contract on the table): he suggests that cities are not able to manage "unwanted and lonely" properties at the scale that Detroit had before the Land Bank tool was employed. …
… This excess of unwanted properties is the reason why they used the Land Bank in the first place. He wants to remind people what the corrupt, exploitative, and inefficient property situation was in Detroit before the Land Bank.
[I can appreciate the historical context, but I'm not sure this reasoning is necessarily pertinent to the current situation in the city …a city that is potentially signing a 10 year contract with something that may not be working for the residents anymore.]
President Sheffield suggests that the Land Bank may indeed not be a meaningful entity in the city any more and its operations should be phased back into the city of Detroit. …
… She argues [paraphrasing] that they basically fund the Land Bank, but there is not transparency or accountability.
These line items [18.8 and 18.9] pertaining to the Land Bank contract are being moved back to committee.
A number of events are being announced by the council, here is a link to the calendar of the events that they are outlining: detroitmi.gov/Calendar-and-E…
detroitmi.gov/Calendar-and-E…
This concludes my coverage of the Detroit City Council formal session. Learn more about our coverage of local meetings here: Documenters.org
Documenters.org
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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Agency Information
Detroit City Council
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.