Mayor Mary Sheffield proposed Detroit’s $3 billion budget, reflecting boosts to employee wages, housing, transit and recreational centers, among other areas, for the 2027 fiscal year.
Sheffield highlighted her administration’s priorities and continued investments in her first proposed budget as mayor in what she described as a vision to help Detroiters rise higher. The 2027 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1, would mark the 13th straight year of balanced budgets since the city filed for municipal bankruptcy.
The City Council, which must approve the budget, will begin a series of hearings over the next month, discussing each department’s budgetary needs, in which residents also can provide feedback. Those hearings began Wednesday, March 11.
Here is what to know:
Where can I find the budget schedule?
On the City of Detroit’s website, navigate to the “government” tab and click on the City Council’s page. Tap the button to view council meeting agendas and a PDF link to the schedule will be available right above the calendar. Or, click here.
Where do hearings take place?
In the Committee of the Whole room on the 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center at 2 Woodward Ave., Detroit.
Can I tune in online?
On the City Council’s page, you can watch live sessions for all hearings and other public meetings. The city also uploads past sessions in case you miss a meeting.
How can I make public comment?
By attending the meetings in person, on Zoom, calling in, or emailing the city. To participate virtually, head over to detroitmi.gov/Online-CC-Meeting and click the “raise hand” symbol when prompted.
To call in, dial one of six numbers listed here and enter the meeting ID: 85846903626##
Email comments to CCPublicComment@detroitmi.gov.
What has the mayor proposed?
Sheffield focused heavily on boosting neighborhood and public safety, educational support, addressing homelessness and housing, and social services.
Some of her proposed investments include:
Her proposed four-year financial plan is available on the city’s budget website.
Who adopts the budget and when?
The nine-member City Council, in a two-thirds majority vote, will adopt the budget. Members have until Tuesday, April 7 to make amendments and vote on the budget. The mayor can veto their decision by Monday, April 13 if she does not agree with council’s allocations. The City Council can override the veto within three days, per the city charter.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit’s budget season begins: What to know, how to participate
Reporting by Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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