Public commenters press Detroit leaders on reservoir spending, department oversight and contracting

Several residents used the Detroit City Council public-comment period to demand greater financial oversight and to question how city departments are organized and how work is contracted.

A Zoom caller who identified themselves only during the session asked about "the $3,000,000 plus they spent for a reservoir" and said that, given ongoing questions about lead service lines, the spending merited closer review. The caller said the city should have prioritized testing and lead-line replacement before building a reservoir, and urged oversight of a program referred to in comments as "GSW." The caller said oversight was needed because "we have no way of being accountable for what's being spent there."

Nut graf: Callers flagged several accountability and service-delivery issues — large capital spending, ambiguous department responsibilities, and heavy reliance on contractors — and urged the council and city finance staff to provide clearer records and consider the tradeoffs between contracting and hiring city employees.

Betty A. Varner, president of the South Wales Black Association, described problems with a private program sold by American Waters, saying the company raised fees and denied services in some cases. Varner asked the city to continue and fund senior and disabled accessibility home-repair programs, including walk-in showers through the Detroit Home Accessibility Program, to help seniors remain in their homes.

Caller Cindy Dara raised concerns about contracting in the water department and said contractors rent equipment instead of using city crews. Dara suggested the city should analyze the total cost of contracting vs. in-house work, noting the long-term obligations of hiring city workers but arguing for training and equipment investment so more work can be done by city employees.

Dara said traffic- and lighting-related schedules once ran on regular cycles and said she wanted the city to consider owning trucks and training employees rather than repeatedly outsourcing and renting equipment.

Another caller criticized a recently formed Public Lighting Authority, questioning its purpose when a public lighting department already exists and noting that the authority appeared to exist regardless of the city’s bankruptcy status. That caller said the authority had only one employee and asked what the position oversees.

Several callers raised concerns about accounting and transfer of federal funds, including ARPA money, saying the movement of funds between ledgers created confusion about which office was responsible for particular expenditures.

Not all comments were complaints. A caller who identified themself as Cunningham praised Councilwoman Gabriella Callaway after a ride-along inspection of the Rosa Parks and Hart Road transit centers, saying Callaway purchased $100 in bus tickets with her personal card and spoke directly with transit workers. "She was not uppity. She talked to the folks," Cunningham said.

Ending: Callers asked for clearer financial disclosures from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and for specific language from councilmembers ahead of budget votes; one councilmember thanked OCFO staff for responsive answers to inquiries during the meeting.