Hamtramck council approves NEZ expansion, launches e-filing option and awards landscaping contract

Hamtramck City Council on April 22 approved a series of routine and policy items, including a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) expansion, a new electronic filing option for city income tax returns and a three-year grounds and lot maintenance contract.

Votes at a glance

- Resolution 2025-46, establishing Neighborhood Enterprise Zone site 2: Approved. The roll call recorded affirmative votes from Councilman Hassan, Councilman Osmari, Councilman Ford, Councilman Salman, Councilman Musa and Councilman Rai; the presiding officer declared the resolution approved.

- Resolution 2025-47, authorizing the city to offer electronic filing for city income tax through Innovative Software Services, Inc.: Approved; vote tally not specified in the transcript. Staff said the purchase and first-year costs for Hamtramck were "about $25,000" and Highland Park's portion was roughly $12,007.50 under a shared-services arrangement.

- Resolution 2025-49, awarding the city parks/lot cleanup and maintenance contract to Teddy's Lawn and Landscape: Approved; vote tally not specified in the transcript. Staff described the recommended contractor as a long-established firm with substantial manpower and equipment and said the three-year price totals discussed in the meeting were about $126,000.

- Consent agenda items (minutes, invoices, two road closures): Approved by voice vote/no objection. The consent agenda included Resolution 2025-45 (road closure for St. Florian Parish Strawberry Festival) and Resolution 2025-50 (Auckland International Academy Field Day) among other routine approvals.

What council heard

Neighborhood Enterprise Zone: City staff outlined that approval would establish the remaining NEZ parcels the city has been preparing over the past year and would allow applications to be submitted to the state tax commission for property tax abatement. Staff also said maps and true cash values prepared by the assessor are posted with the agenda and that informational sessions were scheduled at Cafe 19 23 on April 30 at noon and May 8 at 5 p.m.

E-filing for income tax: City staff said the vendor Innovative has deployed similar systems in other municipalities and that an online filing option should reduce in-person line volume at the city—s income tax office. The staff estimate referenced in the meeting was about $25,000 for Hamtramck and about $12,007.50 attributable to Highland Park under the agreement discussed.

Landscaping contract: The city—s procurement staff reported that Teddy—s Lawn and Landscape submitted a responsive bid and that the vendor—s equipment list and workforce were factors in the recommendation. Staff also said the city is studying whether to perform some services in-house over time and that contracts include standard termination clauses allowing the city to end the contract if performance is unsatisfactory.

Process and oversight

Council members asked staff for continued monitoring of contractors and noted that the city retains the ability to terminate contracts that do not meet standards. For the NEZ item, staff emphasized that the council action only establishes the zone; property owners must apply for abatement and the state tax commission must approve any tax abatement.

Next steps

Staff will post NEZ maps and accept applications when the application window opens, schedule follow-up outreach sessions, implement the e-filing platform with the vendor and begin work under the new landscaping contract per the terms in the accepted bid.