Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield pitched her first proposed city budget to the Detroit City Council on Monday.
That budget proposal is balanced, but slightly smaller than in recent years due to what her administration calls “a tightening revenue environment.” Still, it makes significant investments in some areas.
Among them is a proposed $30 million increase for the Detroit Department of Transportation, which Sheffield called “historic.” She said $24 million of that will go toward giving bus drivers a raise, with the remainder dedicated to boosting bus system operations.
“The total $30 million increase will allow for improved repair and maintenance capacity, which will overall improve reliability and efficiency of our services,” Sheffield told the council.
Sheffield also proposed substantial investments in youth services. In addition to “ensuring that every child has access to an after-school program within a two-mile radius of their school,” she also unveiled plans for a pilot program that would provide free ride share services to Detroit students with chronic absenteeism. She said city recreation centers will also have extended hours during the summer months in hopes of preventing the spike in youth gun violence the city sometimes sees at that time of year.
“We are also bringing back midnight basketball to our recreational centers,” Sheffield added. “And we will also have weekly programs every Friday throughout the summer months to keep our young people engaged and occupied.”
Sheffield’s financial team told council members that the city has over $65 million in its retiree protection fund. That fund is meant to be a cushion as the city resumes making retiree pension payments out of its general fund, something it was shielded from for nearly a decade after Detroit exited municipal bankruptcy in 2014. That money is projected to last for another 10 years.
The city’s rainy day fund is also funded at twice the required minimum amount, administration officials said. They said this year’s budget doesn’t draw it down, but also doesn’t add to it.
Sheffield took over the Detroit mayor’s office this past year, and is the first woman to ever serve in that role. She replaced three-term former mayor Mike Duggan, who’s now running for Michigan governor as an Independent.
