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…