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Residents raise misapplied tax payments, eviction and solar‑program concerns during public comment
Summary
Public commenters told the committee about a long‑running misapplied tax payment and asked for a stay on a scheduled eviction; another caller urged the city to halt its solar initiative over contract and displacement concerns. Council members and staff pledged follow‑up.
During the committee’s public comment period on Jan. 29, residents raised three distinct concerns: a long‑running tax payment dispute that a caller said has gone unresolved since 2017; a call to halt an impending eviction until a circuit‑court hearing later this spring; and complaints about the city’s solar initiative and a DTE contract.
A man introduced by the chair as Mr. Miles told the committee he has repeatedly visited city offices to resolve a misapplied tax payment dating to 2017 and said he had receipts showing the payment was misapplied. "This is constantly been going on for 10 years, going on 10 years since 2017," he said, asking "What are we gonna do?" Council members and staff asked him to provide contact names and paperwork and said they would follow up directly.
Reuben Crowley, who spoke after Mr. Miles, said he had researched the matter and sought a temporary halt to an eviction scheduled for Feb. 6 pending a March 12 circuit‑court hearing. Crowley said the forthcoming hearing would show widespread problems and accused officials of wrongdoing, saying the city was "effed up big time." The chair thanked him and did not record a formal response beyond urging follow‑up through council staff.
A later caller identified as caller 124 urged the committee to "halt this solar initiative the way it's being done," argued that some residents had been bullied out of homes and criticized DTE's contract terms (which the caller said allow termination for convenience). The caller recommended siting solar installations on nonresidential land and said residents displaced by previous projects had not returned.
Member Renata Miller and other council members acknowledged the concerns and offered next steps: Miller asked Mr. Miles to give names of the departments and people he'd contacted so staff could investigate; she also invited the caller worried about walkways and snow removal to meet her staff in person. Procurement and other staff committed to follow up where the committee could act; some items raised — such as court eviction procedures or private utility contracts — may be subject to other authorities outside the committee’s direct control.
The committee did not take policy votes on these public comments but recorded the concerns and asked staff to provide follow‑up as appropriate.
