Detroit offers help for residents who can't pay their property taxes

Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit joined other community leaders yesterday in announcing help for low-income residents who are having problems paying their property taxes. The full video from this event is embedded above this post.

Homeowners in Detroit who cannot pay their property taxes for financial reasons may be able to reduce - or even eliminate - their current year’s property tax obligation through what is called the Homeowners Property Tax Assistance Program. Those applying to this program must meet certain financial requirements. This includes both the family’s household income as well as their total assets.

Depending on one’s income, Detroiters may qualify to be exempt from 25%, 50% or even 100% of the normal property taxes on their home. The income guidelines for 2020 are listed below.

Detroit gets double the good news

A new day in Detroit | Photo by Frank Nemecek

Detroiters got two pieces of good news today. Both of which point to continued recovery for the Motor City.

First, Standard's & Poor's announced that they raised the City of Detroit's credit rating. The credit agency said in part “Detroit is demonstrating the ability to meet its budget demands, while also providing a strong reserve cushion against unexpected events or stagnating revenues,. They went on to add that Detroit “must continue investing in public infrastructure and economic development initiatives” to help stabilize its population and tax base.

I know simply from being in this neighborhood that things are getting better in Detroit on a slow but steady basis. Regardless, it's exciting to have an international agency like Standard's & Poor's confirm what I have been telling everyone for some time now.

More details about the improved credit rating for Detroit is available here.

The second piece of good news came from the Detroit Fire Department. They confirmed that 2018 saw the lowest number of structure fires in our city since the 1960s. This was a 42% drop in fires since 2014.

The Detroit News has more on this drop in structure fires on their website.

There are a lot of people who have put an enormous amount of work into making these two things happen. I thank each and every one of them and look forward to more great things for Detroit in the near future.

Water deal on the line

The deal to create a regional water authority for southeastern Michigan is in trouble, according to published news reports. The City of Detroit's bankruptcy plan called for such an authority to be created no later than June 14. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel doesn't appear inclined to go along with it.

If Hackel doesn't like the deal, that's between him and the people of Macomb County. I'm okay with this deal falling apart.

If there is no deal on a regional water authority then there is nothing to prevent the City of Detroit to retain ownership of that portion of water system that is within its city limits but sell the suburban portion of it. Such a sale would not only remove the water system's debt from the City's books, it would likely also leave us with more than $1 billion in cash.

The cash from such a sale could then be used to pay down some of the other debt that Detroiters carry - either debt from the City of Detroit itself or from the Detroit Public Schools. Either way, paying down our debts would enable us to lower our property taxes.

And lower property taxes - either as reduction in debt service levied by the City of Detroit or a reduction in what the Detroit Public Schools levy - would be welcome in a city like Detroit which has the highest taxes in Michigan.

If Hackel isn't happy with the regional water deal, that's between him and the people of Macomb County. I simply hope that Mayor Mike Duggan, Councilman Gabe Leland, and the other members of the City Council use this opening as a chance to advance the interests of our residents.

Let the deal fall through, if Hackel continues to object.

Sell the portion of our water system that is in the suburbs to any number of private investors.

Use the proceeds from such a sale to pay down debts - for either the City of Detroit or the Detroit Public Schools.

Once the debt is paid down, lower the debt service levy on Detroiter's property taxes.

The choice is clear. The only question that remains is: what will Detroit's leadership do?

Public hearing for Rouge Park funding

The Detroit Recreation Department will hold a public hearing to discuss its application for funding from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund.  This will happen tomorrow, March 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Crowell Recreation Center (16630 Lahser).

The Detroit Recreation Department is seeking $600,000 from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund for the improvements at Brennan Pool and In Town Youth Camp inside Rouge Park. The Recreation Department will add $250,000 to that amount for a total project cost of $850,000.

The Recreation Department is requesting funds for:

• Renovate bathhouse at Brennan Pool in Rouge Park;
• Remove platform diving boards at Brennan Pool in Rouge Park;
• Renovate and repair Brennan Pool itself;
• Replace damage picnic tables;
• Replace damaged metal slide in playscape area; and
• Upgrade gravel in the walking path.

The public is invited to attend and provide suggestions or ask questions regarding the proposed project. Additional information on the project may be obtained by calling (313) 224-1155.

10 Things Detroit's Emergency Manager Should Do

I would like to welcome Kevyn Orr to his new job as emergency financial manager for the City of Detroit. I'm not thrilled that the City of Detroit has an emergency financial manager. However, I believe in making the best of things. Therefore, I want to share with him, and everyone else, the following 10 suggestion as to what he should do over the next eighteen months that he will serve in this capacity.

#1. Don't Take It Personally.

You are going to be called a lot of names in the coming days by a lot of different people, Mr. Orr. Much of the name calling will come from people who have their own agenda to serve. Some of it will come from people who are mad about the condition of their hometown and need to vent. Others are frustrated at how little their elected representatives listen to them and fear that an emergency manager will listen even less. More still will come from people who are simply piling on.

No matter what you do in this position, Mr. Orr, please don't take any of it personally. Turning around one of the most troubled cities in the industrialized world is a big job with tremendous consequences. We don't have time for anyone to take these things personally.

#2. Bring Back Warren Evans

Former Chief Warren Evans

Crime is rampant in Detroit. It is quite literally destroying our city as residents, businesses, and visitors flee for their own safety.

When Warren Evans was chief of the Detroit Police Department, violent crime dropped dramatically and police response times improved by 29% in less than a year. Plus, he did it all while reducing the amount that DPD spends on overtime by almost $7 million. He was so much better than either of the police chiefs that Detroit has had since then that it's not even funny.

I don't think there is anyone else who is as prepared to hit the ground running as chief of police for Detroit.

Some critics will argue that Warren Evans was too much of a showboat to be in a high-ranking position. He did, after all, have a pilot for a reality television show. However, as far as I'm concerned, if he can effectively reduce crime and improve police response times then he can be on whatever television show he wants.

#3. Fire Ralph Godbee

Ralph Godee resigned as chief of the Detroit Police Department last year. However, according to a report from Fox 2 News, he is still on the payroll as a DPD employee. Neither Mayor Dave Bing, Mr. Godbee, nor anyone else have refuted their report nor offered any explanation as to why someone could still be an employee of the department long after resigning.

For all of these reasons, as well as the fact that he was flipping incompetent as a police chief, Ralph Godbee should be fired immediately. Whoever decided to keep him on the payroll long after he resigned should also be fired.

Guest Commentary: Things the Emergency Manager Should Do

Erik Drader, a resident of the other fine neighborhoods in Detroit, posted a series of comments on the Facebook page for this blog that outlined what he thinks our soon-to-be appointed emergency manager should do once in office. I agree with some of ideas and disagree with others. However, I think this is a great way to start the conversation about what the emergency manager for Detroit should do.

Therefore, with his permission, I am proud to present his comments as a guest commentary on this blog.

There is no entity or organization in the country that is more wasteful, incompetent, and utterly broken as Detroit city government. Given that, the emergency manager should dismantle as much of city government as possible, and transfer the authority and operations to different organizations and/or units of government. Use Cobo, Campus Martius, Eastern Market, and the Riverwalk as successful examples of the city turning over responsibility to dedicated non-profits, private/public partnerships, regional authorities, or different units of government, and replicate these successes as much as possible. 

I would love to see the city completely get out of the transit business and hand off everything to the new regional transit authority  The city should let Belle Isle become a state park, and then try to find partnerships to help fund and maintain as many other city parks as possible. 

I would also like to see if city airport could be turned over to the county airport authority and expanded. City airport could be a huge asset if the runways were expanded to allow full size aircraft to land there. The City tried to do that while Mayor Coleman A.Young was in office, but there were too many businesses and residents that would have had to move at that time. That area has experienced massive population loss and abandonment, so it should be much easier to acquire the needed land now than it was 30 years ago.

There are many departments that should be eliminated and turned over to state or county control. The departments of health, human services, and human rights are good starting points. The City should also look at turning over property tax collection to the county. 

Any help that we can get from other law enforcement agencies should be welcomed and expanded as much as possible. The county sheriffs department offered to take over responsibility for policing the bus system a couple years ago, and was turned down. The state is willing to deploy more state police officers in the city to help out. Wayne State is willing to help police areas that are a little outside of the Wayne State University district.

If the Detroit Police Department can turn over certain duties and/or partner with other law enforcement agencies, coverage can improve and response times can be cut. Also, there needs to be reorganization within the DPD itself. Shortly before leaving the job, Chief Ralph Godbee said that the DPD had 100 officers working on payroll, which was still being done with paper and pencil. He said that they planned to spend $600,000 on a new payroll system to try to get more efficient. WTF? An organization of 2,500 employees can be properly serviced by a payroll department of 3 civilians. Also, a modern payroll system doesn't cost $600,000 to purchase. Internal restructuring and outside partnering could result in hundreds of additional police patrolling the streets, without any additional expenditure from the city. 

These are just starting points. There is much more that can be done to cut costs and improve service delivery. 

Also, the EM should figure out exactly how much long-term debt is owed by the city and how much of that debt the city can actually afford to pay, and then make a settlement offer to the unions and bond holders. The 2007 United Auto Workers contracts are a good template to work from. The city should set up a union-controlled Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association with a set amount of seed money (negotiated in settlement talks) and then switch over to a defined contribution retirement plan for all city employees.

If the unions and bond holders can not come to a settlement agreement with the city, bankruptcy should then be pursued.

Ralph Godbee Still Employed by the Detroit Police Department?

Charlie LeDuff of Fox 2 News broke a story late Wednesday night that Ralph L. Godbee, Jr., former Detroit chief of police, was still employed by the Detroit Police Department. This is more than four months after he retired he supposedly retired effective immediately as a result of a sex scandal.

It would be one thing if Ralph Godbee were simply collecting a pension. However, according to the pay stubs that Fox 2 News obtained and showed in this report, he is still be paid as a regular employee. He continues to earn vacation time and other benefits. This is highly unusual because it means that a city as broke as Detroit is essentially paying for two police chiefs: Ralph Godbee, the supposedly former police chief, and Chester Logan, our interim police chief.

Mayor Dave Bing and his press spokesman refused to comment on this story or explain why this supposedly retired police chief is still on our payroll.

Quite frankly, the worst part of this story, in my opinion, is how unsurprising it all is. When I first saw this story, I wasn't surprised by the revelation nor were any of the Detroit residents that I have talked to about it.

It is time, I believe, for a forensic audit of the City of Detroit's books. This simply should not be allowed to continue.

Vindication from 24/7 Wall Street

The Spirit of Detroit

The folks at 24/7 Wall Street, which provides analysis to equity investors, published a list of best and worst managed cities in the United States. I don't think it surprises very many people that Detroit came in at number four on their list of the worst managed cities.

Plus, the only reason why Detroit wasn't rated even worse than it actually is that Mayor Dave Bing has enacted at least some of the reforms that he opposed when he first came into office. Their full list of the best and worst managed cities in the United States is available here.

As someone who has spent more than 20 years following the financial operations of the City of Detroit, and who has submitted several proposals on how to improve the situation only to be ignored or ridiculed by those who were in power who insisted that they had everything under control, I have to admit that I feel a certain amount of vindication from this listing.

Harvey Santana Speaks Against the Emergency Financial Act

Screen Image from Speech - Video by Michigan House Democrats

While I have decided to take a break from talking about politics until after Christmas, State Representative Harvey Santana (D-10) who represents the Warrendale neighborhood as well as many of the areas around it has not made such a promise. He stood on the floor of Michigan House of Representatives and spoke out against the emergency financial manager act.

The full video of Representative Sanatana's speech is available here. His speech is a little less than 10 minutes long. I recommend taking a moment to watch it.

I will have much more to say, probably without references to the Old Testament, after my self-imposed Christmas moratorium on politics.

5 Things Governor Snyder Should Do to Help Detroit

Governor Rick Snyder - Official Press Photo

Governor Rick Snyder has been an integral part of 3 initiatives that were intended to improve the lives of everyday Detroiters while stabilizing the City's budget. He has pushed for a regional transit authority, a new authority to upgrade and manage Detroit's street lights, and he tried to have Belle Isle managed as a state park.

Each of those 3 things has provoked a certain amount of controversy and none of them have been enacted. I won't discuss the merits of those 3 initiatives, at least not in this post.

Instead, I want to take the time to highlight 5 things that Gov. Snyder should do to help Detroit, which would not provoke the political stalemate that his other ideas have encountered.

It has never been more important to turn things around in Detroit. A recent poll by the Detroit News shows that 40% of Detroiters intend to leave the area within in the next 5 years. Crime, and the Detroit Police Department's inability to respond effectively to it, is the prevailing reason for their intended departure.

Detroit simply cannot afford to see that many residents leave that quickly. A 25% loss in population over 10 years is largely responsible for our current financial condition. A 40% drop within 5 years will drive both the City of Detroit and the Detroit Public Schools into bankruptcy, which will set off a series of events that will likely prove detrimental to all of Michigan.

If that happens, even if we do get those 3 things that the Governor is currently working on, the loss of residents and tax revenue and corresponding bankruptcy will mean wide-scale credit downgrades for cities and counties throughout the region. It will be harder for them to borrow the money they all need to borrow from time to time and it will cost them a lot more when they are able to borrow. That, in turn, will make many of the problems those communities are facing much worse.

With all of that in mind, I present 5 things that Governor Snyder should do to help Detroit. I believe an overwhelming majority of Detroiters will support these initiatives.

#1. Find a Buyer for the Rackham Golf Course

Stock Photo by C. Flart

The City of Detroit owns the Rackham Golf Course in Huntington Woods. It's a fantastic course; often ranked as one of the best public golf courses in the United States. However, because it's in the suburbs, very few city residents use it.

Kwame M. Kilpatrick tried to sell the Rackham Golf Course to private developers when he was Mayor of Detroit. No one in Detroit rallied in opposition to the sale nor complained that our jewels were being taken from us. Pretty much everyone in Detroit seemed okay with the idea of selling the course to private developers.

The courts, however, ruled that a deed restriction from the Rackham family prevented the City of Detroit from selling it to anyone other than another unit of government. The deal to sell the course died shortly after that ruling came down and the City of Detroit continues to own a valuable asset that does little for city residents.

Gov. Snyder could use his influence to persuade either the City of Huntington Woods or Oakland County to buy the Rackham Golf Course for a price that ideally is at least somewhat close to what those developers were willing to pay a few years ago. Failing that, the State of Michigan could step in to buy it. The purchase could be financed with the sale of bonds and those bonds repaid with revenue generated by the golf course.

As for how this would benefit Detroiters, the proceeds from such a sale would be enough to:

• Replace our current fleet of ambulances that are simply beyond their serviceable life;
• Reopen at least one of our closed police stations; and
• Buy a couple hundred squad cards for the Detroit Police Department.

Being able to say that we own that golf course is nice. However, I think most Detroiters would vastly prefer the benefits of selling the thing.

#2. Takeover the Operations of Detroit's 9-1-1 Call Center

Officially, it takes the Detroit Police Department an average of 37.6 minutes to respond to an emergency, which is the worst response time of any major police department in the industrialized world. Most people who have had to make one of those calls, however, can attest to the fact that its true response time is much higher. Individual police officers have told me that they are on scene within a few minutes of getting a call, it just takes much longer for DPD to route those calls for service than it would for other departments.

Officials within DPD love to offer one excuse after another for their response time. None of them, in my opinion, hold any water.

No small part of the department's response time has to do with how those calls for service are routed within DPD's call center and dispatching. Therefore, I believe it would be prudent for either the State of Michigan or Wayne County to takeover management of Detroit's 9-1-1 call center and police dispatching.

Moreover, if Detroit were to combine its call center operations with the Cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park, the cost to each community would likely be lower than it is now. Faster response times at a lower cost is powerful thing that will do a lot to stem the exodus from Detroit.

#3. Takeover the Policing of Downtown Detroit

Detroit Police Officer on Patrol During Super Bowl XL

The unfortunate reality is that the Detroit Police Department has been mismanaged for so long, and is in such bad condition right now, that money cannot solve its problems.

It will take time to recruit, train, and deploy new police officers. Once new officers are deployed, they will still be rookies who will need mentoring and experience before they are able to maximize their effectiveness. Those things take time and, with the rate that Detroit is losing population, we simply do not have enough time.

Therefore, I believe that the best possible course of action at this time would be for the Detroit Police Department to hand the task of policing our central business distinct over to either the Wayne County Sheriff or the Michigan State Police. If those agencies are able to handle adjacent areas also, such as Brush Park, Lafayette Park, or the New Center, that would be fantastic.

By doing this, we could redeploy hundreds of Detroit police officers into the neighborhoods where their presence is essential to stem our population loss and avoid a bankruptcy. Moving police officers into the neighborhoods is something that residents have been begging for for years.

As for the costs that the Michigan State Police and/or the Wayne County Sheriff would have to incur, at least a portion of them could be paid by asking the Detroit Tigers, Lions, and Red Wings to reimburse those agencies for the costs associated with directing traffic during their games.

The idea of professional teams paying for police services, by the way, is nothing new. It is something that former Mayor Kilpatrick proposed shortly before his scandals became public and he was ousted from office. No one voiced any objections to it then. It's doubtful that anyone would object today.

#4. Takeover the Collection of Detroit's Income Taxes

The City of Detroit is one of the few local governments that has an income tax for residents and non-residents alike. Unfortunately, Detroit does a really bad job at collecting on those taxes. Mayor Dave Bing has sent out thousands of letters to people who money, but has had only limited success.

When Ken Conkrel, currently the President Pro Tem of the Detroit City Council, was mayor on an interim basis, one of the reforms that he proposed was to have the Michigan Department of Treasury takeover collecting that tax revenue. It is one of many reforms that have been discussed in this town without being enacted. Regardless, there were very few people who spoke against that move back then and it's doubtful such a proposal would stir much controversy today.

Since this would likely generate more than enough money to wipe out Detroit current $40 million deficit, I believe it is something that should be done expeditiously.

#5. Takeover Billing for the Detroit Fire Department

Stock Photo - Jakub Krechowicz

The Detroit Fire Department bills for a variety of services. For example, insurance companies, as well Medicaid and Medicare, are billed for patients who need service from our EMS, DTE is billed when they have to guard a downed power line, and so on. The problem is that the fire department only collects on 52% of those invoices.

Very few enterprises ever collect on all of their invoices. Regardless, a 52% collection rate is really low. If one were able to bring it up to 2/3 of all invoices being collected, that would mean millions more in revenue for a fire department where, quite frankly, a lack of adequate funding is costing lives.

Since the State of Michigan does a much better job at collecting on moneys owed to it, I believe it would be appropriate for them to take this task over as well. The administrative costs associated with their collections could be deducted from funds they receive. It would still mean a substantial boost in additional revenue for the Detroit Fire Department.

These, of course, are my thoughts: 5 relatively simple and not very controversial things that Governor Snyder could to help the City of Detroit and minimize the chances that it will go into bankruptcy within the next 5 years. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Shocking News Out of California

In an absolutely shocking move, the City of San Bernadino, California voted yesterday to file for bankruptcy protection before the City of Detroit does. This was followed by officials from Compton, California confirming that they are considering a similar move.

Most pundits, of course, would have expected the City of Detroit to go into bankruptcy first.

Mayor Bing Moves Forward with Pay Cuts

Detroit Police - Same Beat for Less Pay.

Mayor Dave Bing moved forward yesterday with a series of cuts to the pay and benefits of the City's unionize workforce. While no one in Detroit seemed surprised by this move, I have to confess that I am more than a little disappointed that the Bing Administration did not consider any of the other options for reducing Detroit's budget problems that others, including myself, have proposed.

Quite frankly, it's very unlikely a workforce that has already made multiple concessions even before this, and was making less than their private sector counterparts even before this, will deliver top-notched services to Detroiters. Without those services, it is unlikely that Detroiters will stay in the city and continue to pay taxes that are almost double national averages.

And if/when those Detroiters leave, their tax dollars will go with them. That, in turn, will set the stage for yet another budget crisis in a few months from now. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Mayor Bing will want another round concessions from the labor unions then, too.

It's an absolute shame that no one in the Bing Administration is willing to listen to alternative solutions or, better yet, think of a few on their own.

Can We Compromise on Mayor Bing's Tax Proposal?

Mayor Dave Bing and the Detroit Police Commission proposed raising our property taxes in an effort to generate more money for the Detroit Police and Fire Departments. The Bing Administration argues that it is absolutely essential given the current budget condition.

Many critics, however - and this includes some on the City Council - believe that the Mayor hasn't done enough to manage his current budget effectively. Recent new reports of the Police Department wasting $4 million on expired car leases only reinforce that contention.

With that in mind, I'd like to propose a compromise. Mayor Bing can have his tax increase. I'll pay it. In return, I believe certain conditions should be written into this increase.

In return for the additional tax revenue, the Detroit Police Department should be required to:

• Eliminate the rank of deputy chief. Anyone who currently holds it should have a choice between retirement or reduction in rank and a return to patrol duty.
• Reduce the number of assistant chiefs to no more than four. The Police Commission can determine the exact areas of responsibility for each of them.
• Reduce the number of aides and secretaries the chief and assistant chiefs have. This is one of the most persistently bloated parts of DPD's budget. Each assistant chief should one civilian secretary and one sworn officer as an aide. The chief of police should only get one civilian secretary and two aides.
• All police officers hired with this new tax revenue must be assigned to either patrol, investigative, or special operations duty. In other words, every one of them should be in the field in one capacity or another. We really don't need more police officers doing desk jobs.

As for the Detroit Fire Department, they should be required to phase out the rank of sergeant. Anyone who currently holds it should be allowed to hold onto it, but no one else should be promoted into it.

By doing this, Mayor Bing gets the extra tax revenue that he wants. In return, Detroiters will get progress towards improving our public safety.

Chanting at the Public Comment Meeting?

Chanting and singing at the public comment meeting? If that isn't irrefutable proof that an Emergency Manager is needed immediately, I don't know what is.

7 Things That Should Be Changed in the Proposed Consent Agreement

Governor Rick Snyder unveiled his proposed consent agreement last Tuesday. Since then, there has been almost unending amount of howling from certain quarters within our community. Those complaints, by the way, came from many of those who were also opposed to the various reforms that we written into the new City Charter that was overwhelmingly enacted last year. Regardless of how much those individuals might protest, the fact of the matter is that consent agreement is likely coming very soon and it's probably the best thing for Detroiters.

With that in mind, I would like to offer seven specific suggestions that I believe Mayor Dave Bing as well as everyone on the City Council and Lansing should carefully consider.

#1. Guarantee Public Involvement in the Process

No matter what someone somewhere might plug into a spreadsheet, the fact remains is that it is our tax dollars that are being spent here and our futures that are at stake. While Governor Snyder was busy building his fortune, thousands of middle class families were fighting to make Detroit a place worth living in. Their efforts, quite frankly, are the main reason why this town is still standing.

If those families are going to be asked to continue the fight, and if new ones are going to asked to join in, then they must be guaranteed that they will have an opportunity to have their objections heard and their suggestions duly considered. There will unquestionably be a loud outpouring of people that my friend Jeff Wattrick of MLive.com refers to as "grape throwers" in his columns. It could be tempting to shut them out out of the process, but shutting them out also means shutting out the ordinary middle class families who have kept Detroit afloat for this long, which only gives those families yet another reason to leave.

Guest Commentary: Virtual Precincts Don't Address Real Problems

I have to admit that I'm torn in regards to the "virtual police precincts" that Detroit's Police Chief Ralph Godbee announced yesterday. I've advocated cutting administrative jobs within the police department for years. However, what I've advocated for was to cut the jobs at headquarters, rather than the ones in the precincts.

I'm still not sure about these "virtual police precincts." That's why I'm glad to have a retired police sergeant, and longtime resident of the Warrendale neighborhood, David L. Malhalab available to share his thoughts. The comments below are his own, with only minimal editing from me.

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee has foisted the most outlandish reorganization plan on the residents of Detroit - one that will put the lives of Detroit Police Officers and residents in danger.

He will close precincts - a necessary public building that should be kept open, at all costs. Close City Hall, cut the City Council staff and budget, but keep police precincts open 24/7. Detroit is not Boston or Lansing, it is Detroit - a deeply troubled city with very serious crime problems. Say goodbye to Detroit's false claim of "community relations."

Godbee, the Chief that shouldn't have been, and with the apparent approval of Mayor Dave Bing, will close the precincts between 4 p.m. - 8 a.m. (16 hours) to the public. Precincts have been an essential safe haven, crime reporting, and contact point between the community and the police. It is outrageous and simply, defiantly wrong to close any Detroit Police precinct for any time.

There needs to be some restructuring  within the police department - some inside police duties should be shifted to sworn civilians - but to denigrate and deceive Detroit residents, into believing that police officers don't serve the needs of residents by working inside the precinct stations - is a damnable lie - and Chief Godbee comparing officers who work inside to "Maytag repairman - waiting for a crime to happen" is insulting, and clearly dim witted. Godbee has insulted all police officers in Detroit and throughout the nation, with this clear misrepresentation of what police officers do - while assigned to inside duties.

Detroit needs more police officers on the street patrolling, but officers are needed to take thousands of police reports that citizens make inside the station - that patrolling officers can't take - which frees officers to keep patrolling.

Detroit needs police detectives in the precincts - to investigate the crime that patrolling officers and desk officers take. They need to be the contact point for residents who can't figure out where to go to get follow up information on their reported crime.

Crisnet, the primary crime report system for DPD has been a mistake and a ball and chain around the ankles of police officers since former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings approved using it - it keeps police officers from properly patrolling the streets - I have complained about it for years - former Assistant Police Chief Ronald Haddad (now Dearborn Police Chief) wrote an infamous memo, confirming my criticism of Crisnet.

Every police chief since Cummings has said that Crisnet would be dropped. It has not been - so police officers continue to be burdended by a slow crime report system.

Councilman Gray Brown has said that he could save the Detroit Police Department $8 million dollars, but has failed to put his suggestions on the table. He continues to try con Detroit residents with his ignorant blather - rather that putting a concrete proposal out so it can be discussed.

Bing put his faith and the lives of Detroit police officers and residents in the hands of Godbee - and we have got nothing good from him.

I have complained about the low hiring standards, lack of training and lack of equipment in the Department, and for years about the nepotism, favoritism, and cronyism that has corrupted and destroyed the Detroit Police Department.

I have said for years that Detroit police officers and residents deserve better from its political leaders and it police executives - Godbee's 'virtual precincts' and his lack of real, solid, and creative solutions to the Departments problems and Mayor Bing's support of him - shows that both Bing and Godbee need to be replaced, and the sooner the better - for the safety of officers and residents.

What do you think ???

DAVID L. MALHALAB
SGT  DPD RETIRED

Council and Mayor to Discuss Budget Plan

The Detroit City Council will meet with Mayor Dave Bing at 2 p.m. this afternoon to discuss his budget reduction plan. Comcast customers in Detroit can watch this meeting live on channel 22. Everyone else can watch it online here.

I will, of course, have much more to say about the City of Detroit's finances after this meeting.

Gov. Snyder Discusses Detroit's Financial Condition

Governor Rick Snyder released a YouTube video yesterday in which he discussed his thoughts on Detroit's financial problems. It's quite clear that he is not enthusiastic about the idea of appointing an emergency manager for Detroit.

I, personally, have an enormous amount of skepticism as to whether or not he'll be able to avoid it. He will almost certainly have to do in the weeks and months to come. However, it's actually nice to know that Governor Snyder isn't rushing into it.

Detroit Police Department - Money Without Results

I have long been curious about how the Detroit Police Department's budget stacks up against other departments in cities our size. Therefore, I decided to spend some time going through data from the U.S. Census Bureau and cross-referencing it with budget data from the City of Detroit as well as other cities of similar size to Detroit.

Specifically, I looked at cities with a population that is less than 1 million but more than 500,000.  There are twenty six communities in the United States that meet this criteria, including Detroit. The results were  somewhat surprising.

The bottom line is the Detroit Police Department has a budget that is 32.2% above average on a per resident basis.  In spite of this, our police response time and case closure rates are well below average.  This is in spite of the fact that Detroit also a population density that is 32.4% higher than average.

There are reasons commonly given as for why the Detroit Police Department has the problems that it does:

• Some blame it on Detroit's low population density;
• Others argue that the Detroit Police Department isn't given the resources that it needs.

In my opinion, this data refutes both arguments. Our police department has a greater than average budget while our city, as a whole, as an above average amount of density.

I believe that we, as a community, need to take a very close look at the money that we are spending on DPD and what it is spent on. I have a few examples to illustrate this point.

In most cities, the Office of the Chief of Police consists of a chief, a deputy chief, a secretary, and a couple of assistants.  In Detroit, however, the Office of the Chief consists of fifteen people with a budget of $2.6 million.

If we simply brought the budget for the Office of the Chief in line with national averages, that would be enough money to put an additional three dozen police officers on the streets.

We also have seven assistant and deputy chiefs of police that have their own "office of" staff.  Between them, they cost us almost $12 million.  If we bring this in line with national averages, it would save enough money to put approximately additional four hundred police officers on the streets.

There are also areas where job duties seem to overlap.  We have an Assistant Chief - Administration as well as a Deputy Chief - Management Services Bureau.  Both are responsible for back-office operations - such as payroll, grant management, and so on - but they're separate entities within DPD.  This hardly seems efficient.

In my opinion, having a budget for the police department that is 32.2% higher than national averages while frequently failing to deliver on services is simply intolerable. I believe it's time for us as a community to take a very close look at what we are spending our money on.

For those who are interested, all of the data that I used is available on-line. A summary of the population density for cities with a population of between 1 million and 500,000 is available here. The population data for each city came from the U.S. Census Bureau.

A summary of the budget for police departments in this population category is available here. The raw data for police budgets came from each of the individual cities. Links to each city's budget are available here.

Update - May 26, 2011
With the 2010 Census complete and its results released, Detroit now has a population of 713,777 people. This translates into a population density of 5,142 people per square mile, which is 8.2% above average for cities of our population size (less than 1 million but more than 500,000) and down from the 32.4% above average that I reported above.

As one continues to adjust for the new Census numbers, the Detroit Police Department now has a budget of $581.11 per resident, which is 66.3% above average for cities our size. The Detroit City Council has proposed $12 million in cuts to the Department, which would mean that its budget would still be 61.1% above average.

Density Doesn't Solve Everything

Jane Jacobs

I'm a huge fan of population density. I have lived in and visited other cities with a lot more density than Detroit. I've seen its benefits on a firsthand basis. I've also been known to thrust Jane Jacobs's books in the faces of random people and urge them to read her works.

When Mayor Dave Bing started talking about increasing Detroit's population density, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a moment when I thought that we had an administration that got it; one that was able to move Detroit forward. Unfortunately, a year later, all we have is talk.

The worst part of this is that Detroiters still pay a tax burden that is roughly double national averages and we still suffer through public services that are almost non-existent. There seems to be a general acknowledgement that we need to change these things. However, we as a community have not made any real progress towards improving these matters over the past year.

I have, however, heard several people postulate that once a plan to improve Detroit's density is finalized and implemented things will start to improve. I have even heard people argue, in complete seriousness, that improving Detroit's population density is a prerequisite for improving basic city services.

This argument is, in my opinion, downright terrifying. The fact that I keep hearing this means that a sound urban principle, such as population density, has become nothing more than a corporate buzzword that is thrown around in lieu of actual ideas or actions.

For everyone who believes that Detroit cannot improve its core city services or reduce its tax burden until it improve its population density, I ask you to consider a few things: