Public commenters urge enforcement of BZA transcript rules and criticize mayoral record; committee received comments during public comment period

During the committee’s public-comment period two callers addressed the council.

A caller identifying as “You Matter” said residents are harmed when elected officials do not perform oversight, referencing “the city council rules of order and the city charter” and stating they had filed a court motion to compel a city clerk to file documents. The caller said they had written to the council about “Detroit City Code 50-2-66, which requires the Board of Zoning Appeals to have stenographic transcripts, court reported transcripts, for all of their public proceedings.” The caller said access to transcripts was limited and raised concerns about fees for appeal filings.

Tahir Ahmed, identified as a public commenter, criticized remarks made in the mayor’s state and city address and praised former Mayor Coleman A. Young Sr. Ahmed also recounted reporting he said came from the Metro Times alleging that Wayne County destroyed criminal records during Mike Duggan’s tenure as prosecutor; Ahmed characterized the alleged destruction as a violation of state law and said it created obstacles for wrongfully convicted inmates seeking remedies. Ahmed attributed that account to the Metro Times during his remarks.

Committee staff closed the public-comment period after the two speakers. The council committee did not take formal action on the issues raised by the commenters during the meeting; the remarks were recorded as public comment.

The committee did not provide a response on the record to the specific claims about the city clerk’s filings or the Wayne County record-handling allegations; those matters, as described by the commenters, would require separate investigation or legal filings to verify.