Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Records Transcripts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press council over high BZA transcript fees and access to records
Summary
Several callers during public comment urged the council to address access to Board of Zoning Appeals transcripts and inconsistent or high per-page fees; one caller cited Detroit City Code 50-2-66 and said the city clerk had not filed records in a timely way.
Multiple callers during the Committee of the Whole’s public comment period raised concerns about costs and access to transcripts for Board of Zoning Appeals proceedings and other records.
A caller identified as Ronald Foster opened the public-comment queue with general praise for community engagement and then urged the council to use investigatory powers in the city charter. Later, a caller who identified themselves on the record as thanking Foster asked why BZA transcripts appeared to carry a per-page charge and whether that cost was punitive for people who appeal decisions. That speaker referenced Detroit City Code 50-2-66, saying the code “requires the BZA to already have transcripts.”
Another caller using the name Samsung s m said they were charged $6.35 per page for a BZA transcript and that the city clerk, Janice Winfrey, had not filed the record in that caller’s case. The committee chair suggested the caller contact the council office at (313) 224-1027 and noted litigation may limit what staff can say publicly.
Other speakers during public comment raised related civic concerns — including questions about opioid settlement spending, large tax abatements and tax overcharges, and neighborhood resources — but the BZA transcript cost and access issue received repeated direct public comment and an on-record request for follow-up from the council office.
