Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters urge scrutiny of tax abatements, BZA rules and housing vacancy; HRD funding question raised
Summary
During public comment, residents urged a study of tax abatements after subsidies expire, called for oversight of the Board of Zoning Appeals over alleged due-process problems, highlighted prescription assistance resources, and asked why sewer-repair grants are administered by HRD rather than Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
Public comment at the Feb. 12 Committee of the Whole covered a range of neighborhood concerns: tax-abatement accountability, oversight of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), a prescription assistance program and questions about administrative responsibility for sewer-repair grants.
Mr. Foster, speaking in person, urged the council to study the impact when abatements and subsidies expire and warned that expired subsidies can be an "initiator of blight." He asked the city to inventory vendors who receive repeat awards and to require demonstrable changes before re-awarding funds. "They have to be able to articulate and show something differently in comparison to what they have been doing," Foster said.
Caller Betty A. Varner, president of the DeSoto Ellsworth Black Association, described the World Medical Relief prescription program, noting that prescriptions cost $8.30, listing income thresholds and providing contact information: phone 313-866-5333 and www.worldmedicalrelief.org.
Another caller urged the committee to ask the BZA to postpone a planned vote on rule changes, arguing those changes could infringe on due process and remove the ability for non-attorney representation during BZA hearings; the caller said a Wayne State Law School professor had submitted concerns. The committee did not take immediate action on that request but the caller asked that the committee review the submitted materials.
Caller Jadonte Smith raised potential conflicts of interest involving contractors and appointments, and asked why sewer-repair grants are administered by HRD rather than Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. HRD’s chief of home repair and neighborhood services later explained that HRD manages all CDBG dollars for the city and that, following the 2021 federally declared flood, disaster recovery CDBG funds were appropriated to HRD; HRD then partnered with the water department for contractor management.
A separate caller (identified only by their phone-ending) made confrontational remarks and allegations directed at individual council members; the chair moved on after the comments and closed public comment when the allotted time ended.
