The new Detroit City Council-elect comprises Gabe Leland, left, James Tate, Mary Sheffield, Scott Benson, Raquel Castaneda-Lopez, Andre Spivey, council president Saunteel Jenkins, Brenda Jones and George Cushingberry Jr. are sworn in Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013, by Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey in the Wayne State Alumni House. / Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press
Did they swear to serve the public or themselves?
Demand audit of Council members’ budgets
Next public meeting of the Compensation Commission is March 23 at 6 p.m. at Coleman A. Young Municipal Center; salaries are on the agenda.
Cecily McClellan, V-P DAREA
Introduction by Cecily McClellan
Vice President of the Detroit Active and Retired Employees Association (DAREA)
City Council has done little to nothing for long term residents of Detroit for numerous years. Turning a grant program (CDBG) into a loan program is cruel for low income residents living at or below poverty levels.
It’s amazing how this same council gave millions to millionaires to build a stadium, saved the DIA at the expense of workers/retirees [meanwhile giving away billions in art that belonged to Detroit] and gives tax abatements to the affluent. But fails to prevent the outsourcing of city job and services to its’ current residents, and refuses to demand community benefit agreements for city contracts. Welfare to the rich and loans to the poor. Low and moderate income residents no longer welcome in Detroit.
(VOD–Council President Brenda Jones voted in tandem with Mayor Mike Duggan to support the phony Detroit bankruptcy Plan of Adjustment, and along with City Clerk Janice Winfrey is pushing for the pay raises.)
By Joyce Moore
March 20, 2015
Joyce Moore
I spoke at the council meeting Tuesday, March 17, 2015, and I provided this information regarding the Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG) for Home Repair:
The United States Census Bureau Poverty Threshold for one person: under 65 is $12,316.00 and over 65 is $11,354.00 ANNUALLY. These are the people the CDBG – Home Repair GRANT was designed and slated for. These are the people who are below the average median of approximately $25,000.00 annually that U. S. Housing Urban Development (HUD) uses as a criteria for requesting the CDBG funds.
After I made this presentation at the council meeting, I made a statement that council members make over $100,000.00 a year. Council Member Cushingberry challenged me and said something to the effect, “that our salary is approximately $75,000.00, $78,000.00 a year”. That may be, let me clarify, what I meant when I said “you make over $100,000.00 a year”, this is to include the benefit package, that means, dental and medical, in addition, that means the car, the gas put in the car, the maintenance of the car, the credit cards for needed expense (not sure of the limit) and phone to name a few. These items inclusive of salary are over $100,000.00.
City Council Pres. Pro-Tem George Cushingberry
There is no law or statute that I have read so far that does not allow the Compensation Commission to request an Audit of each elected City Council member. Therefore, we as residents and citizens of the City of Detroit should be requesting that every council member be AUDITED by the Compensation Commission currently and in any future salary increases.
These are the council members that we VOTED for and these are the council members (except Council Member Sheffield) that supported Mayor Mike Duggan in “REPURPOSING” the Community Development Block Grant Funds for Home Repair. These Council Members supported changing the CDBG GRANT Program for Home Repair to a LOAN Program for Low to Moderate income residents, more specifically Native Detroiters. Again, it is about POWER, MONEY AND GREED, not about the PEOPLE!
The war on the poor continues in Detroit.
This is just another phase of removing certain people from Detroit – the poor. It’s a damn shame that the so-called “electorate” demonstrate time and time again who they really work for. No other culture does that; that is, sell their people down the river for a few coins. Despicable.