Council President: ‘I’m on a hunger strike!’

Council President: ‘I’m on a hunger strike!’

  Council President Charles Pugh has stopped eating – and you can watch it live. “I’m on a hunger strike!” he declared on his Facebook page this afternoon. The city’s first openly gay councilman is joining others statewide on a one-day hunger strike to call attention to the inequalities facing gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals. […]

Pugh raises cash from builders, developers for a campaign that doesn’t exist

Pugh raises cash from builders, developers for a campaign that doesn’t exist

Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh has said repeatedly he is not running for reelection. But that didn’t stop him from holding at least two fundraisers last year with builders and developers who do business with the city, according to campaign finance reports, some of which only became available recently because of tardy filings. At […]

More taxes, fees? Detroiters pay fortune for abysmal services; council mulls another tax hike

More taxes, fees? Detroiters pay fortune for abysmal services; council mulls another tax hike

It’s not easy being a taxpayer in Detroit. Property taxes are disproportionately high, yet city services are abysmal. The income tax rate is the highest in the state, but an obscenely high portion of the money is spent paying back debts from years past. And today, as the city and its suburban communities decide at the ballot […]

Tax hike in Detroit? Council considers plan to put police protection on ballot

Tax hike in Detroit? Council considers plan to put police protection on ballot

Detroit City Council declined to vote on whether residents should have the opportunity to vote on raising taxes to put more cops on the streets, saying the police department needs to provide a more thorough plan. Council members said they want to ensure the roughly $56 millon that would be raised from a tax hike […]

Detroit City Council rejects contract because of city’s former ties with KKK

Detroit City Council rejects contract because of city’s former ties with KKK

Detroit City Council declined to approve a contract from a Howell-based company today because of the city’s ties with the Ku Klux Klan. “This looks really bad,” Council President Charles Pugh said of the contract. “You can’t have contracts coming from Howell, Mich.” It’s unclear whether council has the legal authority to reject a contract […]

Detroit, Hamtramck consider sharing fire services

Detroit, Hamtramck consider sharing fire services

Hamtramck and Detroit are exploring a relationship to share fire services at a time when both communities are cutting public safety to fill budget gaps. “The financial realities force us to think outside the box,” Hamtramck City Manager Nervus Nazarko told Detroit City Council this morning. “We would support anything that would make financial sense […]