By Richard C. Clement
At the Detroit City Council Budget, Audit, and Finance committee meeting held on September 6, 2017 at the Coleman S. Young Municipal Center, the
committee set in place the plan to help repair the financial damage to the retirees
on health care costs. Committee members Gabe Leland, Janee Ayres, and Committee
Chair George Cushingberry Jr reviewed a
possible solution. The proposal is to help all retirees under 65 because they
are not eligible for Medicare. The committee discussed the best way to help
with health care cost is to get group rate health insurance by adjusting the Voluntary
Employee Benefit Agreement (VEBA) that was negotiated in the bankruptcy.
City of Detroit Auditor General Mark Lockridge |
The end result would be lower health care
costs for retirees and, that would be a major step in the road to financial
recovery for Detroit. On December 31st,
the City of Detroit will exit all State of Michigan financial control and that
will give city leadership the power to negotiate fees to sustain and elevate a
better quality of life for Detroit residents.
City of Detroit Financial Team |
This action was a result of a letter from Council President
Brenda Jones on behalf of the Retirees to use the budget surplus as a funding
source to restore the cuts suffered by them in the Bankruptcy Proceedings. The
letter was sent to the Legislative Policy Division and sent to the BFA committee
for their detailed review. Other funding sources are not off the table and will
be brought up in committee meetings before November. On other news the Detroit Police Department’s Drug
Enforcement Program was appropriated $3.8 million dollars to purchase police
equipment or services that are eligible to use in Local Forfeiture
funding.
New and Livable Housing in Detroit |
Finally homelessness and affordable housing issues were addressed by
three projects authorized by the committee.
The first one was for Kamper and Stevens to rehabilitate the exiting
Kamper building and Stevens building containing 165 units of senior housing
with 145 one bedroom units and sixteen two bedroom units. The next project was
by Norstar development USA to create the Gardenview estates on the former
Herman Gardens Housing Projects. This project will create 97 one and two story townhomes
units. The final project is by Detroit Central City CMH, Inc. to develop the
Saint Rita Apartments. Project. This development will consist of 26 units of
rehabbed living conditions.
For more information please contact the members of the Budget
Audit and Finance committee and Stay tuned for more information.