Detroit_City_Council

Detroit City Council

Detroit City Council

Legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, U.S.


The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location besides city hall. The Detroit City Council has elected Mary Sheffield to be its president.[2] The council may convene for special meetings at the call of the mayor or of at least four members of council.[2]

Quick Facts History, Founded ...

History

The city council was first constituted as the legislative body of the city in 1824. The city began to grow more rapidly in the late 19th century, absorbing immigrants from Europe and migrants from the rural South and other areas. This body was called the Common Council until July 1, 1974.

Until the early 20th century, the council was elected from city wards, or single-member districts. However, starting in 1918, at a time of changes in local government thought to be Progressive, the city council voted to require all city council members elected at-large. This reduced representation by geography from wards, where various ethnic groups tended to concentrate. It was considered unusual for a city of Detroit's size, which had competing political parties.

While voters in the city have become predominantly affiliated with the Democratic Party, they wanted more representation by district. On November 4, 2009, city voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to once again elect seven of the nine council seats from single-member districts, and two at-large seats, beginning in 2013.[3]

Composition & Election

The council is composed of nine members, seven of whom are district representatives elected from single-member districts, with two additional members elected at-large using block voting. The district representatives are elected by a majority in a general election, with the general election candidates being selected in a top-two non-partisan primary election. The council includes two officers, the president and president pro tempore, who are elected from among the members of the council at the beginning of each new session of the body for four-year terms. The officers can be removed by a unanimous vote of council, exclusive of the member being removed, during any session meeting. Elections to the body are officially non-partisan.[4]

City Council Electoral Districts

A major overhaul of Detroit City Charter took place in 2012. This change moved to election by district for 7 districts and 2 at-large positions.[5]

Detroit City Council Electoral Districts Map

Current members

More information District, Councillor ...

Committees

The council has six[13] standing committees:

  • Budget, Finance & Audit
  • Neighborhood & Community Services
  • Internal Operations
  • Public Health & Safety
  • Planning and Economic Development
  • Rules

The council is granted the power to form additional committees at its own discretion

Vacancies and special elections

If a vacancy occurs on the city council, it is filled by appointment of the city council based on a two-thirds vote of its existing members. The appointee serves until an elected member takes office, which is filled at the next general election scheduled in the city not held sooner than 180 days after the vacancy occurs, be that an election to fill federal, state, county or city offices.[14]

Former members

Starting in 1919, nine Detroit City Council members were elected at large. Members of the council, from 1919 to the present, are:[15]

  • Color coding: pink = Republican; blue = Democratic; light green = Farmer-Labor; dark green = Progressive; gray = unaffiliated.
More information Year ...

Salaries

Salaries for elected officials are recommended every odd-numbered year by the Detroit Elected Officials Compensation Commission.[16] The 7-member board is appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, each member serving a 7-year term.[17]

After being recommended by the compensation commission, city council approved a pay increase of 3% on November 19, 2019. Regular City Council members will be paid $82,749 annually, while the City Council President will be paid $94,000.[16] Recommendations for salaries were recommended and approved in 2015 and 2017. Prior to 2015 increases had not happened since 2001.[16]

See also


References

  1. "Municipal elections in Detroit, Michigan (2021)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. "Charter of the City of Detroit, January 1 2012" (PDF). detroitmi.gov. City of Detroit. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  3. Josar, David (November 4, 2009). "Plan to elect council by districts wins". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 5, 2009. [dead link]
  4. "ARTICLE 4.THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH. Chapter 1. City Council" (PDF). Charter of the City of Detroit. City of Detroit. February 29, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  5. "Detroit, Michigan city council elections, 2013". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  6. JP Morgan Chase. "2017 Annual report" (PDF). Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  7. "Angela Calloway". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  8. "Scott Benson". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  9. "Latisha Johnson". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  10. "Mary Sheffield (Michigan)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  11. "Gabriela Santiago-Romero". Detroit News. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  12. "Fred Durhal". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  13. "The Proposed Detroit City Charter" (PDF). crcmich.org/. Citizens Research Council of Michigan. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  14. "Detroit City Council, 1919 to present". Detroit Public Library. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  15. Ferretti, Christine (November 19, 2019). "Detroit City Council approves pay raises for members, mayor". The Detroit News. Gary Miles. Retrieved April 26, 2020.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Detroit_City_Council, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.