Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Thursday proposed that officials focus on six areas as he proposed his $2.7 billion budget for fiscal 2025 in his 11th budget address.
The proposed budget includes $1.46 billion for the general fund and $2.76 billion across all funds, which includes one-time spending for the upcoming fiscal year, which will run from July 1 through June 30, 2025. Areas of focus include retirees, police, fire, Detroit Department of Transportation, homelessness services and the election department. Duggan praised the city’s income tax revenue growth, which reached about $200 million in the last decade.
“We’re not in a situation because of some bailout. This is something we’ve earned ourselves,” Duggan said.
Homelessness
Duggan is proposing increases to the housing and revitalization department, specifically an additional $5 million to provide shelters for those experiencing homelessness.
“Historically in the city, our homeless money comes from the federal government in the form of (Housing and Urban Development) grants. We cover as much as we can,” Duggan said.
The mayor added that the city has a network of staffers who meet with Detroiters experiencing homelessness to understand why they are not able to access shelters. Homeless shelters have added 300 beds in the last three to four months, Duggan said, and he aims to continue that.
“We want, this year, to have a roof for every unsheltered person in the city,” Duggan said. “With this extra $5 million, we’ll have the ability to reach everyone.”
City Council will begin holding budget hearings for each department starting Monday.
Retirees
The plan of adjustment amid Detroit’s bankruptcy allowed the city to pause payments into the pension fund for 10 years. The city, beginning this year, is paying $150 million into the plan each year.
“The general belief was when 2024 rolled around, the city would break their promises. But when the income tax started to grow … we didn’t say we’re going to wait,” Duggan said.
The city set aside $455 million over that 10-year period in the Retiree Protection Fund, which serves as a trust fund exclusively for pension payments and is intended to eliminate pressure on the budget. Duggan proposed contributing $170 million instead of $150 million for the 2025 fiscal year.
“The fact that we are committing $170 million to retirees and pensions means you have to have difficult conversations in other departments,” Duggan said.
Police and fire enhancement
Duggan touted a double-digit reduction in homicides and non-fatal shootings earlier this budget year and used the statistic to propose an expansion to the Detroit Police Department. Duggan proposes adding 11 police officers and staff to address mental health cases and about $15 million to prevent crime during what Duggan called a “summer surge.”
The mayor proposed a 12% increase for the Fire Department.
“I’m not sure there’s an area in the city we could improve more on than our ambulance and medical responses. We had this idea that firefighters only make fire runs and ambulances make medical runs,” Duggan said, adding that the city is in the process of cross-training emergency response employees to ensure all are equipped to stabilize patients.
The department would receive $8 million for expanded services for fire suppression and emergency medical services, along with $3 million for overtime to support new recruits.
Detroit has enhanced ambulance services and response times. The city has about 45 ambulances on the streets, as opposed to roughly 20 last year. Detroit dropped its emergency response to less than eight minutes, which is the national standard.
DDOT expansion
A 13% increase in DDOT’s budget would add 117 bus drivers, reaching a total of 627 drivers for the city. The increase would add $21.6 million, totaling DDOT’s budget to $189 million. DDOT’s budget is supported by a combination of city tax support, state and federal money and fare revenue.
Election department investment
A proposed 40% increase would provide support for the upcoming U.S. presidential election, along with accounting for absentee drop boxes and ensuring Detroiters have “no barriers” to voting, Duggan said.
“There isn’t going to be one Election Day on Nov 5. We’re going to have polls open 14 days in a row before the election,” Duggan said.
The mayor proposes using $4 million of for expanded presidential cycle turnout and Proposal 2 implementation.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
