Council questions $5.5 million cut to Detroit Land Bank subsidy; seeks executive session

Detroit — Detroit City Council members pressed Detroit Land Bank Authority leaders on a proposed $5.5 million reduction to the city subsidy and voted to send several budget-related items to executive session, saying they needed more detail about service impacts and fund balances.

Tammy Daniels, chief executive officer of the Detroit Land Bank Authority, told the council that the proposed cut — which she described as roughly 25% of the Land Bank’s funding — would force the authority “to shift away from our current mission based programming and focus more on market based approach” to replace lost revenue. Daniels outlined immediate program areas she said would be hit, including maintenance, tree removal and compliance oversight.

The council’s concern centered on how the cut would affect neighborhood maintenance and other on-the-ground services. Donnie Johnson, deputy budget director for the City of Detroit, told the council the administration proposed the reduction because “the land bank is sitting on a very, very large surplus. Their undesignated fund balance, on their balance sheet is, over $30,000,000.” That figure was later clarified by City CFO Jay Rising, who said the Land Bank’s unrestricted fund balance at the end of 2024 was $52,000,000.

Why it matters: Council members repeatedly cited maintenance and nuisance-abatement service levels as their top constituent complaint. Daniels and other Land Bank staff warned the cut would reduce contracted maintenance and live customer-service capacity, and could require shifting to more market-rate sales instead of heavily subsidized side-lot and neighborhood-lot programs that prioritize Detroit residents.

Key details raised at the hearing

- Size and scope of the cut: Daniels said city subsidy reductions of about $5.5 million represent roughly 25% of the Land Bank’s funding and “will cause an elimination of $4,000,000 in…