Detroit City Council

The office will provide case management services to residents in need of affordable housing.

Detroit City Council approved more tax incentives for the District Detroit project. A Ypsilanti school teacher and poet talked about her new book of poems for children. How companies are looking to address shortage of skilled laborers. Finally, a discussion with two theater intimacy coordinators.

The deal would give the Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, a piece of vacant land on Jefferson Avenue near the bridge. In return, the company would give the city $2 million to upgrade Riverside Park.

The city had said it would cut those services by 70% later this month, after the Detroit City Council rejected a contract with one of the city’s current providers. But Duggan said the federal government made it clear that would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the city has found temporary providers to fill the gaps.

The Council first voted 5-3 to approve the contract with Transdev Services. Then, Council Member Gabriela Santiago Romero retracted her yes vote, leading to a 4-4 tie and the contract ultimately failing.

The Coalition for Property Tax Justice said Attorney General Dana Nessel told them she would issue a legal opinion on whether the city can compensate some homeowners in cash or with property tax credits. The Coalition said that’s the appropriate way to redress historical property over-assessments that led to over-taxation, which helped fuel a wave of tax foreclosures in Detroit.

The Coalition for Property Tax Justice says data show Detroit continues to systematically over-assess and over-tax some homes—a claim Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration vigorously denies.

Some Detroit city council members say landlords are getting away with evicting tenants illegally.

Housing advocates hailed the ordinance, which had been in the works for years. They say too many Detroiters were evicted before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the vast majority didn’t have legal help.

Right now, the Detroit Public School Community District's board of education is in charge of the appointments.