A monthly recap of key discussions, resolutions, and community voices with a focus on what matters for Detroit residents, including those with disabilities.

March was one of the more consequential months Detroit City Council has had in recent memory. A months-long housing crisis reached its boiling point. Mayor Sheffield presented her first proposed budget and inaugural State of the City. The council approved millions in new health funding, debated data centers and free transit fares, and raised hard questions about who the city’s institutions are truly serving. Here is the full breakdown.

The Leland Building — A Housing Crisis Years in the Making (March 3 & 10)

The Leland Building situation dominated the first two sessions of March and cast a long shadow over everything else. Council members were visibly frustrated that conditions had been deteriorating since at least 2019 before reaching a breaking point. The building, a downtown Detroit residential property, was declared uninhabitable and dozens of residents — many of them seniors and people with disabilities — were displaced without warning.

By March 3rd, council members were pushing hard on the Law Department, accusing them of dragging their feet. Tenants and their advocates described alarming conditions: personal property being stolen from units, rooms graffitied, residents losing access to medications, and at least one person experiencing homelessness, tremors, and PTSD as a result of the ordeal. The tenants’ attorney accused the city’s legal team of misrepresenting negotiations to the judge and missing deadlines. Community members were blunt:

“The solutions sought by lawyers are not drastic enough. The mayor did a fundraiser in October 2025 selling hope to residents that their living conditions will change. It is all cosmetic.”

By March 10th, Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallet delivered a detailed update. Negotiations had moved: tenants would be allowed one full day (extended from an initial 90-minute window) to collect belongings, with two people permitted in each unit and a moving company handling the rest. Of the 37 affected tenants, 14 had already found housing. Mediation was set for March 18th.

The harder reality: the city was already $850,000 into costs with little hope of recovery unless the building’s owners emerged from bankruptcy with something to give. CM Mary Waters argued the city bore meaningful responsibility for allowing conditions to deteriorate since 2019 and called for the city to accept unlimited liability. CM Renata Miller noted she had submitted a data request to BSEED three weeks earlier asking how many properties citywide are in compliance — and still had no answer.

Advocates from the Moratorium Now Coalition made clear the Leland situation is not unique. Cases of landlords illegally cutting off water to tenants, and cases sitting in the Law Department for two years without action, were raised as evidence of a systemic problem — not an isolated one.

A note on disability: The Leland situation is a direct example of what happens when building code enforcement fails residents who depend on elevators, heat, and accessible conditions for their daily safety. For more on the broader housing accessibility crisis, check out my next blog post on Detroit’s Housing Accessibility Report.

Mayor Sheffield’s First Budget (March 9 & 17)

On March 9th, Mayor Mary Sheffield presented her first proposed budget, formally submitted to council on March 17th. Geared to revitalize the community, neighborhoods, and Detroiter’s, the allocations reflect broad ambitions across housing, public safety, youth services, and infrastructure :

• $220 million for DDOT
• $42.5 million for Housing and Revitalization
• $40 million for Human and Homeless Services
• $10.8 million for Community Violence Intervention
• $8 million for sidewalk repair
• $2.2 million for after-school programming
• $750,000 for a Senior Food Access program
• $1 million in Senior Transportation funding
• $500,000 for the RxKids infant cash assistance program, with Michigan State University contracted to administer it through 2029
• $1 million in debt reduction to provide property tax relief — estimated at roughly $700 in annual savings for a $100,000 property

Also in the budget: a new living wage standard of $44,616 per year ($21.45/hour) for all full-time city employees, effective July 1, and the creation of a new Office of Youth Affairs.

Council’s follow-up questions were pointed. Members submitted detailed memos pressing departments on DWSD’s income-based water plans, BSEED’s compliance rates, the Detroit Land Bank Authority’s funding model after its city subsidy was zeroed out, the Fire Department’s 63 vacancies, the Historical Museum’s $1.4 million deficit, and what happens to federal-dependent programs under the current administration in Washington. The impact of federal and state funding reductions — hitting Detroit both directly and indirectly — is a theme that will only intensify as the costs pile-up in the face of war and a tenuous economy.

Public Health — HIV Funding, WIC, Lead Hazards, and a Troubling Pattern (March 10 & 17)

The Detroit Health Department briefed council on HIV/AIDS in the city. Detroit has 5,718 residents living with HIV/AIDS, and the viral load suppression rate has climbed to nearly 88% — meaning transmission is measurably decreasing! Seven community health workers are deployed citywide, with a plan to establish regular visits to senior housing facilities.

The month saw a significant wave of HIV program funding approvals — multiple multi-year contracts totaling well over $10 million — covering prevention, treatment, and supportive services through Henry Ford Health System, Wayne State University, Health Emergency Lifeline Programs, and others. The city also accepted a $628,627 federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grant.

Other notable health approvals:

• A $7.75 million HUD grant for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program, targeting low-income families in older Detroit homes
• A $1.1 million WIC services contract through the Arab American and Chaldean Council, running through September 2029

A more troubling note: during the March 10th public comment period, a sexual assault survivor testified about her case being closed without notice, receiving no results from a forensic assault kit that Michigan State Police had only just completed, and being charged a large invoice when she filed a FOIA request to understand what happened. A second woman came forward at the March 17th session with a nearly identical account. These testimonies were not directly addressed in resolutions (council members may have reached out after the formal session), but point to serious accountability gaps in how the Detroit Police Department handles sex crimes.

Transportation and Technology — Free Fares, Data Centers, and ADA Paratransit

The biggest transportation win of the month was a funding one: a $11.7 million increase to the ADA Complementary Paratransit Services contract with Delray United Action Council, bringing the total to over $18.4 million through June 2028. This is a meaningful investment in transportation access for residents with disabilities.

The Ride and Rise initiative — which would provide free DDOT bus rides for Detroit students — continues to be postponed. CM Santiago-Romero has championed it, and CM Benson requested a detailed cost and implementation analysis. As of March 31st, it remains pending. This one is worth watching.

After weeks of debate, the council approved a two-year moratorium on new data center development in Detroit at the March 17th session. An effort to shorten it to one year did not pass. Opponents raised concerns about the burden on utility grids, the need for new gas plants, increased utility bills for residents, and environmental impacts on surrounding communities. Proponents argued the city was walking away from construction jobs and long-term economic opportunity. The moratorium passed, but the conversation is far from over. The hope is that a study on potential costs and benefits can shed some light for the council members.

Flock surveillance cameras came up again in late March public comments — this time with new concerns: a hacking incident, misidentification of residents, and alleged ties to international organizations. A Rochester community had moved to remove them. CM Santiago-Romero’s office has been gathering information; no resolution was passed, but the issue remains active.

Development and Land Use — Music Hall, Land Bank Scrutiny, and State Preemption

The Economic Development Corporation approved a bond issuance for the Music Hall Expansion Project — a 108,000 square-foot addition that will include a rooftop venue, concert hall, recording studio, music academy, and restaurants. Music Hall expects to grow from roughly 250,000 annual attendees to 600,000, and to add 446 jobs to its current workforce of 278.

The Detroit Land Bank Authority came under significant scrutiny. CM Waters and others submitted detailed memos asking how properties are selected for demolition versus rehabilitation, how NAP (Nuisance Abatement Program) properties are protected from speculative investors, and how the DLBA plans to operate now that its city subsidy has been eliminated. Expect this to carry into the FY27 budget cycle.

After months on the agenda, Detroit Salt Company’s lease to mine minerals from city-owned property was extended through December 31, 2055, at a royalty rate of the greater of $0.52 or 3.24% of net sale price per ton.

The council also voted to oppose Michigan House Bills 5529-5532 — a package of state bills that would limit Detroit’s ability to set minimum parcel sizes, restrict how local governments can request information for site plan approvals, and make it harder to file protest petitions against upzoning proposals. Council characterized these as an overreach stripping local control over housing decisions.

Separately, the council supported Michigan House Bills 5660 and 5661, which concern a revenue-sharing trust at the Michigan Department of Treasury — seen as a mechanism to ensure communities receive their appropriate share of state revenues.

Accountability and Governance — Settlements, Disability Taskforce, and AI Policy

March brought a heavy volume of lawsuit settlements — a reminder that when the city loses in court, that money comes directly out of the budget for services. The largest single item was a $4 million settlement in Lavone Hill v. City of Detroit Police Department. Other notable settlements included:

• $350,000 — four-plaintiff civil rights case against DPD (Alston et al.)
• $255,000 — DDOT transportation injury (McCann v. Detroit)
• $216,819 — demolition contracting dispute
• $60,000 — DPW trip-and-fall case

One of the cleaner wins of the month: the Detroit City Council Disability Taskforce was formally established at the March 10th session, following a memo from CM Angela Whitfield-Calloway. This is a meaningful step toward institutionalizing disability advocacy within the council’s structure. The council also recognized March 2026 as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

CM Whitfield-Calloway also submitted a memo requesting a formal policy on the use of artificial intelligence in Detroit city government — a timely ask as council simultaneously grappled with AI and Oracle system policies in internal operations discussions. This will be an active policy area in coming months.

On voting security: all council members were unified in pushing back against misinformation on election security, publicly affirming that Detroit and Michigan voting locations are secure.

Community Events and Coming Up This Spring

March sessions approved a busy calendar of community events for spring and summer 2026. Among those greenlit:

• May 2–3: Annual Cinco de Mayo Parade & Fiesta on W. Vernor Hwy., Southwest Detroit
• May 3: Walk MS – Detroit at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater
• May 17: Eastern Market Flower Day
• May 22 – October 4: DDP Summer Programming in the Parks — Campus Martius, Beacon Park, Capitol Park, and more
• May 29–31: Detroit Grand Prix Viewing Party at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
• August 7–9: Ribs R&B Music Festival at Hart Plaza
• September 19 & 27: Gourdy’s Pumpkin Run and Growler Gallop

The city also approved a $250,000 contract to plant up to 400 trees across Peterson, Chandler, and Patton Parks, funded through CDBG dollars. Emergency shelter capacity was expanded, adding 32 new beds across two providers. And a petition was submitted requesting that a new park be named in honor of legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.

What to Watch in April

Several threads from March carry directly into April. Budget hearings for FY27 are ongoing — BSEED, the Detroit Land Bank, and the Department of Public Works are all under heightened scrutiny. The new Disability Taskforce has just been formed and will need to organize. And the broader question of how Detroit manages falling federal and state funding while maintaining services will define the next several months of council work.

One final note worth more attention than it received: multiple public commenters in March raised concerns about DPD collaboration with ICE, called for Detroit to be declared a sanctuary city, and questioned the constitutionality of arrest warrants on civil immigration matters. These issues didn’t produce resolutions — but they reflect a community conversation that isn’t going anywhere.

I’ll continue tracking these sessions monthly. If you have questions or want to get involved, reach out!