The Metro: Detroit Councilman Fred Durhal shares highlights from 2025 fiscal budget

Detroit City Council approved the mayor’s $2.7 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year last week. 

Every dollar allocated in the budget translates to physical changes in the city. It represents the potential for more beautiful parks, more police and fire services, and more money for retirees.  

Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal III, chair of the Budget, Finance & Audit Standing Committee, joined The Metro on Monday to discuss the city’s budget and what it means for residents. 

Durhal says the budget shows a return to normalcy for Detroit.

“It shows you Detroit is now moving forward, rising from the ashes so to speak, and continuing to fund the priorities for our residents,” he said.

Getting to the approved budget is a very long process, Durhall said, often starting before the hearings. 

“I know many council members do their outreach to their constituents in their districts, as well as the mayor and their department of neighborhoods, whole budget priority meetings, to engage the residents and kind of rent priorities,” he said. 

There’s about $33 million in changes the city council made to Mayor Mike Duggan’s original proposed budget, Durhal says, including more resources for retirees; increased funding for affordable housing; a snow removal fund for senior and disabled residents; and expanding the Office of Disability Affairs. 

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal III.

More headlines from The Metro on April 15, 2024:

• April 10 marked the start of this year’s Black Maternal Health Week. This week highlights the work being done to create equality within the health care system regarding Black maternal mortality rates. Dr. Michael Genord, president and CEO of Health Alliance Plan, joined the show to discuss ways to improve health outcomes for Black families. 
• The federal government recently announced a $1.5 billion dollar investment to reopen Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, and two years ago, the state House passed a set of pro-nuclear bills. MichMash Host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Services’ Alethia Kasben spoke with Republican state Rep. Graham Filler about those bills and Michigan’s changing relationship with nuclear energy.
• Workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. and Mercedes’ plant in Alabama will soon vote to join the United Auto Workers union. Those two plants represent the only non-union factories for the auto companies globally. Luis Feliz Leon travels the country as the associate editor for Labor Notes – the pro-worker rights outlet. He told WDET’s Russ McNamara this is the UAW’s best push to organize the south.
• The University of Detroit Mercy introduced Mark Montgomery as the program’s new men’s basketball head coach. Nick Austin spoke with Coach Montgomery on his time playing for MSU’s legendary coach Jud Heathcote and his plans for turning the program around.

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