Caitlin Santer

Highland Park City Council voted to approve next year's budget as prepared and without amendments proposed by Councilmember Khursheed Ash-Shafii. Council also passed a 90-day moratorium on enforcing the rental ordinance, so changes can be made and approved by the law department.

District 4 CAC members raised concerns about a City Clerk's Office error that confused potential candidates about election filing deadlines. Residents also discussed the city's Solar Neighborhoods Initiative, and the use of eminent domain to seize properties.

Councilmembers and residents said it was unfair the city was in a water monopoly with unfairly high rates. A utility finance consultant explained why those rates will steadily increase over the next few years. Councilmembers approved trash pick up and street sweeping contracts.

Solutions discussed for solving the city's mobility issues included expanded parking flexibility, neighborhood transportation hubs, improved school bus systems, dedicated freight and truck routes, connected bicycle networks and better transit corridors.

In the first of five interactive workshops on updates to the city’s master plan, community members discussed ideas for making neighborhoods more affordable and livable.

Councilmembers scrutinized applications to purchase and repurpose vacant lots while residents expressed frustration about the long, complicated process to buy them.

Chief Investigator Jerome Warfield presented police misconduct numbers from Jan-Oct 2024. Out of 767 closed cases, 151 had sustained allegations, representing 19.7% of the total. They were primarily sustained complaints of officer procedure and demeanor.

Documenters worked in a variety of roles at the Chalkbeat Detroit School Board Candidate Forum, which was co-produced by Detroit Documenters, Outlier Media, WDET, Detroit Free Press and BridgeDetroit.

With one member absent, councilmembers deadlocked in a 2-2 vote, failing to approve the final reading of the proposed Solar Energy Systems Ordinance. The ordinance is intended to encourage and protect the right of residents to install solar panels anywhere, regardless of zoning.

The planning department presented updates on the city’s master plan. Councilmembers asked how residents learned about the Master Plan Advisory Group, and how its members were selected.

Lorenzo Newsome Jr., the newly appointed pension investment officer for the $2.7 billion Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) fund, laid out his goals and vision during his first meeting with the PFRS Investment Committee. Separately, a former staffer was arrested for fraud.

Following discussion of the killing of Sherman Lee Butler, the board approved a motion for the policy committee to consider reducing the amount of time the police department has to release bodycam footage from 45 days to 21.