The money used for pensions and used for the DDA are not one and the same. They just aren't. The vast majority of money that comes through the local (city and county) governments is earmarked from the moment it comes through. If these went to a millage (and it looks like they were part of the 18-mill non-homestead operating millage that was voted on in 2012), there are legal restrictions on what you can do with that money. I would have to look at exactly how the millage documentation is worded and what it prohibits vs allows, but an argument on this path is not a well-founded one. There is a surprisingly small amount of money that is truly "free" to be applied for whatever purpose you want to allot it for. And many of these assignments are the purpose of Detroit and Wayne County's board of commissioners, not anyone else.
I just think the finger of blame is being pointed in the wrong direction. If citizens of Detroit don't like DDA money being used for stadiums, don't vote for the electors who will pursue that. If they're unhappy with what happened with Comerica Park and Ford Field, how about they read a millage that they voted on?
The Ilitches are becoming slumlords... but it's equally incumbent on Detroit and Wayne County to prod them to go the right way.
Lastly,
Detroit Public Schools operating millage
Another likely ballot initiative is the renewal of an operating millage for Detroit Public Schools, which exists primarily to pay off debt. In 2016, a legislative initiative created a new entity — the now three-year-old Detroit Public Schools Community District — that exists solely to educate students.
The split was part of a sweeping plan to resolve the massive debt that had crippled DPS and its schools. While the millage revenue goes toward paying off debt, the newer district is funded through the state school aid fund, which provides per-pupil funding for schools in Michigan.
The operating millage revenue is important to projections that the old debt in DPS will be paid off in 2027.
“The complication for us is that these dollars are not funding our day-to-day operations.” Vitti said during that Sept. 27 committee meeting. “And for Detroit residents, that’s obviously a complicated structure and situation.”
The 18-mill operating millage generates $70 million annually in revenue and affects non-homestead property, which includes industrial, commercial and rental property. Homeowners are not affected by the millage.
The millage expires Dec. 31, 2022. August 2020 is the first opportunity the district will have to place a renewal before voters. They would have several more opportunities to put the question before voters before the millage expires. If voters reject it, bond holders could seek a judgement against all residents of the city, which would then affect homeowners.
This is the millage in question. It is quite literally specified that it is on non-homestead property (aka not taxing people's homes or included in their property tax). This is the millage that they were speaking about in relation to LCA (voted in 2012, 10 year millage, expires in 2022.
This money is not money that can legally be used to fund pensions or whatever. It simply can't. Nor can it be used to fund social services. It can be used to fund precisely what the millage states it can fund. This millage was bundled with the DDA and DPS and DPSCD.
If you want to get into an argument on bad fiscal management in the City of Detroit? I'm all ears and support that.
But it doesn't matter if there is a pool of 80 bazilion dollars for one thing next to an empty pool for another if the pool of 80 bazilion dollars was created by a voted millage. You have to understand the realities of the situation before you really dig into the meat of it, because you can't shuffle around money in state and local government for ****s and giggles. You or me as a member of the public might not see it all... but there is a **** ton of process that it all goes through.
I know that's not much solace to the pensioners in Detroit that do not get their money or people who have to worry about whether street lights will be on, but you can't just shuffle around millage money for fun.
E: One big arrow in a citizen's quiver is to attend the city council, county board of commissioners, etc. type meetings. I know that Washtenaw County holds these twice monthly and the vast majority of all appropriatable money must go before this board and be read aloud at these meetings. And documentation of a new millage going in front of them to go on the ballot must be read aloud and voted on by council members or commissioners. I do not know Wayne County's or Detroit's schedules... but if the citizenry has issues (and they should, because Detroit and Wayne County have been kind of an S-Show for decades), this meeting and the ballots when they vote these city council members and commissioners in are when they are meant to address them.
All of the tax monies and monies from state and federal sources require public hearings.
But yeah, let's go with "big bad Detroit and Mr. I working together to simply steal all the riches of the citizens and leaving them no options for anything".
I will finalize by saying that the Ilitches do need to work on District Detroit. It is ****ing appaling the state that their "development" is in. But that's something that the City and the County and the Public need to hold them to doing. If they're leaving blighted buildings, tell them that their abatements aren't going to renew when they run out. If they're not giving you the buildings you promised, go nuclear and withold funding from them until they break ground.
E2: I apologize... this is terribly formatted. I will eventually go through and clean it up.