The Dearborn Heights City Council approved multiple budget amendments Tuesday, moving funds within departmental general-ledger lines to cover accrued expenses including legal fees and a small tuition reimbursement, and voted to require clearer prior documentation before similar actions.

Council discussion covered several recurrent themes: whether some director-level contracts and special-counsel invoices were presented to the council in a timely fashion; whether the mayor’s approval was required for certain legal bills; and whether the city followed earlier practice for tuition and fringe‑benefit approvals. Public commenters and several council members criticized perceived last‑minute submissions and urged clearer pre-authorization and better budget transparency.

Specific outcomes from the meeting included:
- Approval of multiple budget amendments (agenda item 9g and 9m), including a reallocation that increased available legal-fee funds and a separate small transfer to cover a police tuition reimbursement. Councilman Saab moved an amendment to add a $1,500 tuition transfer for the police tuition line item; the council approved the transfer by voice vote after staff agreed to provide detailed GL account balances via email.
- A motion to adjust council and corporation legal-fee accounts was approved at the dais. Council members debated public‑record obligations and whether some special‑counsel bills had been held for litigation privilege earlier in the year. Special-counsel invoice questions (including bills by Gary Miyake, who had spoken at the meeting) drew extended comment from members and members of the public.

Council and staff direction: several council members asked that future director-level tuition or fringe‑benefit payouts be budgeted and presented to council in advance; they asked the comptroller and treasurer to provide GL balances and to supply backup documentation when invoices exceed account balances. Treasurer Lisa Hicks Clayton said she will return with detailed ledgers and warned that the treasury had rejected some checks when GLs were exhausted.

Ending: The council passed the requested amendments but recorded objections from at least one member who said parts of the package should have been posted earlier for public review. Staff committed to emailing line‑item balances and to bringing detailed contract and payment backup to future meetings when legal- or contract‑related funds are involved.