Detroit council advances $4M recurring for forestry, adds staffing and security funding in GSD hearing

Director Crystal Perkins told the Detroit City Council that the General Services Department (GSD) is positioning parks, recreation and ground maintenance as a neighborhood-stabilization strategy and that the proposed budget focuses on outcomes such as participation, facility condition and response times. "We view ourselves as the operational backbone of the city," Perkins said, listing parks maintenance, blight remediation, animal care and fleet operations as core functions.

Councilmember Scott Benson pressed for more detail on the city’s tree-removal program backlog and proposed a recurring $4,000,000 allocation for forestry. Benson also moved to increase forestry staff from 33 full‑time employees to 57, an addition of 24 FTEs. Both motions were called and, with no objections recorded on the hearing floor, the council took action to add the recurring funding and the staff increase…