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Council debates proportional funding approach for $28 million district pot; several members ask for clearer allocation method
Summary
Council members discussed dividing a $28 million council pot by district or allocating by need, asked administration to clarify proportional funding mechanics, and directed staff to return with options before the final vote.
During a lengthy budget worksession Detroit City Council members debated how to apportion a $28 million council-controlled pot for district priorities, with multiple members seeking a transparent method for proportional funding.
Council President Mary Sheffield and several members discussed whether the $28 million should be split per district (roughly $3.1 million per member) or allocated by need. Council Member Gabriela Santiago Romero said she preferred keeping specific line-item figures until the council decided whether the $28 million would be divided “per district or by nine members” and left her items as-is pending that decision. Members agreed they would tally district-level requests and reconcile departmental items that the council might treat as collective items rather than district-specific allocations.
Members raised several process questions: whether initiatives added earlier in the worksession (for example, community land trust requests or departmental projects) should count against each member’s $3.1 million share, and whether certain department requests should be funded from the $28 million pot or from departmental budgets. Administration staff (Miss Stoudemire and Mr. Johnson) told members they would provide calculations and confirm fund sources and departments’ fund-balance constraints; Stoudemire signaled some non-general funds could only support a limited portion (she suggested up to $1 million total for a set of BC construction code items because of fund-balance limits through FY29).
Council members directed staff to prepare a final tally and to show which items should be treated as council-controlled district allocations and which should come from department budgets or other sources. Leadership also requested the proportional-funding resolution be revised to reflect whichever funding numbers the council adopts and to add that resolution to the Monday special session notice so the council can act in coordination with closing-resolution votes.
