Detroit · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Detroit public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Blight fines waiver for seniors
A draft ordinance to waive blight fines and fees for residents 65 and older returns next week — relief for seniors hit with Department of Appeals and Hearings tickets.
State Fair Avenue traffic enforcement and downtown alley lighting
Member memoranda would push for increased traffic enforcement along State Fair Avenue and emergency light stations in downtown alleys — both aimed at street-level safety.
Tenants' Rights Commission stipends and ordinance amendments
A proposed ordinance amendment would change the Tenants' Rights Commission, including member stipends, but the Law Department needs two more weeks — and the committee has a charter question about whether commissioners can be paid at all.
Tenants' Rights Commission appointment process dispute
Council Member Miller pushed back hard on an email from existing commissioners she read as trying to gatekeep future appointments, delaying the Princess Brown appointment. The new executive director of both Right to Counsel and the commission offered to meet and sort out roles.
Police uniform contracts and Detroit vendors
Council rejected two $600,000 uniform contracts, with members favoring a Detroit-based vendor over out-of-state suppliers and questioning bid capacity.
Law Department FOIA backlog
Residents keep hammering the council over thousands of unfulfilled public records requests. Council Member Whitfield-Calloway said she'll file a written request on the backlog after describing her own $22,000 legal fight to get records.