Detroit council reviews Detroit Health Department FY26 budget; approves program funding and procedural changes

The Detroit City Council on March 14 heard the Detroit Health Department's presentation of its FY26 operating budget and approved a series of motions that adjust funding and programs tied to the health department's work across the city.

"Thank you very much. My name is Denise Ferrazzo and I'm the chief public health officer for the city of Detroit Health Department," Denise Ferrazzo said during the department's presentation. The department detailed programs, staff counts and funding sources and said it expects a total FY26 budget of $51,800,000.

The budget presentation and council questioning focused on several ongoing programs: Rides to Care (free transportation for pregnant people and caregivers through the baby's first year), harm-reduction wellness stations that supply naloxone and fentanyl test strips, the Dining with Confidence placard program for food establishments, neighborhood wellness centers and the Too Cool for Drugs youth substance-prevention initiative. Health department staff also described staffing numbers (about 284.5 full-time equivalents) and funding breakdowns: roughly $17.6 million in general-fund support, $14.4 million in federal grants and about $19.6 million in state block grants. The department said about 66% of its budget is grant-funded.

Why it matters: the council acted on multiple budget and program questions in real time, approving adjustments that will change how marijuana tax revenue, opioid-settlement funds and ARPA dollars are used in the city's public-health portfolio. Several program changes passed by council allocate more resources to youth substance-prevention, community violence intervention and environmental and food-safety enforcement.

Key program details presented

- Rides to Care: Ferrazzo described the free transportation service launched Nov. 18, 2024, for prenatal, postpartum and pediatric visits. She said more than 5,300 rides have been scheduled and the program has served about 664 Detroiters so far. The department requested $1.2 million for the second year of the program, which includes $180,000 for staff, $250,000 for a call center, $400,000 for Uber Health bookings and $150,000 for marketing. The request also included three new FTEs to operate the program.

- Harm-reduction wellness stations: The department said it will install 50 stations and vending machines at gas stations, motels, community-based organizations and two DDOT stations (Jason Hargrove and Rosa Parks). Each kit includes naloxone (Narcan), fentanyl test strips, medication-deactivation bags, HIV test kits, condoms and pregnancy tests. Ferrazzo said kits are being restocked about every couple of weeks and cited a recent on-the-job overdose reversal as an example of the program's impact.

- Dining with Confidence: The program uses green, white and red placards aligned with the Michigan Food Safety Code to show inspection results. The department reported more than 1,200 routine inspections and over 1,100 green placards issued since the program launched in October 2024.

- Too Cool for Drugs (youth substance-prevention): Funded by marijuana tax revenue, the program engaged more than 1,400 youth since its November 2024 launch. The department reported the program's first-year budget request increased from $40,000 to $63,000 in the FY26 request; council later adopted motions changing the marijuana-tax share supporting the program (see votes below).

- Children's Special Health Care Services and other programs: The department described continuing services such as WIC, vision and hearing screenings, emergency preparedness and Ryan White/HIV programming funded through federal and state grants.

Council action and votes at a glance

- Motion to place $2,300,000 additional CVI funding into executive session for discussion (mover: Council Member Durhall). Outcome: approved; council indicated no objections and action was taken by voice vote. Note: vote recorded by voice; no roll-call tally provided.

- Motion to add $700,000 to the executive-session CVI funding allocation to reach a $3,000,000 target for Community Violence Intervention (mover: Council Member Gabrielle Santiago Romero). Outcome: approved by council action; no roll-call tally provided.

- Motion to establish an Office of Violence Prevention under the Detroit Health Department and include it in the closing resolution (mover: Council Member Gabrielle Santiago Romero). Outcome: approved; motion carried without objection.

- Motion to increase the marijuana tax allocation for Too Cool for Drugs from 2% to 5% and to expand the program scope from youth-only to family-focused prevention (mover: Council Member Scott Benson). Outcome: approved; council adopted the change and a separate closing-resolution motion broadened the program scope.

- Motion to add four Environmental Health Specialist II positions (food-code enforcement inspectors) and $167,000 recurring to the general fund for environmental health enforcement (mover: Council Member Scott Benson). Outcome: approved; council instructed the budget office to include the FTEs and funding.

- Procedural motion: suspend City Council Rule provision cited ("9.2 0.1 0.3 0.1") to allow a modified public-comment schedule during budget hearings, and then establish AM and PM public-comment opportunities for budget hearing days. Outcome: the suspension passed (two-thirds threshold met) and council then adopted AM/PM public-comment windows for budget hearings.

Notes on votes: Most motions were made from the dais and shown as passing after "Any objections? Seeing none, that action shall be taken." The record did not include roll-call tallies by name for these items; the article reports outcomes as the council announced them in the session.

Discussion highlights and staff responses

- Behavioral health and violence prevention: Ferrazzo and Dr. Iris Taylor (administrator for clinical services) framed gun violence as a public-health issue, described existing CVI and Ceasefire activities (prevention, intervention, basic needs referrals and regular "call-ins" with residents), and said the department is prepared to work with council to explore a dedicated Office of Violence Prevention modeled on similar offices in other large cities.

- Environmental monitoring and asthma: Council members asked whether the Samaritan Center satellite site and neighborhood wellness centers could support environmental monitoring (for example, air monitoring in neighborhoods near industrial facilities). Ferrazzo said the department will expand air-quality monitoring across council districts and is coordinating asthma outreach and medication supports through children's programs that cover many chronic conditions.

- Program funding sources and risk: The department noted that 66% of the budget is grant-funded and that staff are developing contingency plans in case of state or federal funding changes. Staff said they had no specific notice of grant takebacks but are preparing for potential cuts.

- Detroit ID: The department said the Detroit ID relaunch (Sept. 2024) had produced about 4,300 cards and that staff are working on outreach to banks and city departments to expand acceptance and provide training.

Clarifying details

- Total FY26 budget presented: $51,800,000. - General-fund portion: $17,600,000 (administration, operations, environmental, clinical services, marketing/communications). - Federal grants: $14,400,000 (includes Ryan White and Ending the HIV Epidemic funds). - State block grants: $19,600,000 (WIC, vision and hearing, emergency preparedness, children's special health). - Total FTEs presented: about 284.5 (the department referred to 284.5 and 285 at different points). - Rides to Care: launched Nov. 18, 2024; >5,300 rides scheduled; ~664 individual Detroiters served; FY26 request $1,200,000 including staff and operations. - Harm-reduction stations: 50 planned; restocked roughly every couple of weeks; kits include naloxone, fentanyl test strips, medication-deactivation bags, HIV test kits, condoms and pregnancy tests. - Dining with Confidence: >1,200 inspections since Oct. 2024; >1,100 green placards issued. - Too Cool for Drugs: engaged >1,400 youth since launch; first-year FY26 request moved from $40,000 to $63,000; council voted to increase marijuana-tax allocation from 2% to 5% (raising estimated program funding accordingly).

Community relevance and next steps

The budget adjustments adopted Thursday direct more city resources to youth substance-prevention, community violence intervention and environmental and food-safety enforcement. Several funding decisions depend on grant streams and prior-year settlement or ARPA money; council members and department staff said they will continue to monitor grant stability and implementation. The council also ordered an executive-session review of CVI funding and included a directive to develop a city Office of Violence Prevention under the health department.

"We are again very passionate about the work that we do, and we continue to advocate for our residents," Ferrazzo said as the department opened for questions.

Votes listed above reflect motions and voice outcomes recorded on the March 14 hearing. Several items (for example, executive-session allocations and closing resolutions) will be finalized in subsequent budget-adoption steps and by the mayor's office during final appropriation.