Sarah Cwiek

Another Detroit city department says it simply can’t function if proposed budget cuts go through.

The law department says “there is no way” the unit can run on what’s allotted in Mayor Dave Bing’s budget proposal.

Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittenden told the Detroit City Council the city’s new charter gives the law department new responsibilities.

Bing proposes slashing their budget by more than half. But the Council moved to restore most of that funding.

The cuts concerned City Council member Saunteel Jenkins. She feared they could actually cost the city more in the long run—and put it on a path to violating its consent agreement with the state.

State officials celebrated a major milestone toward finishing the long-delayed Gateway Project Tuesday.

They opened a road that will route trucks directly to the Ambassador Bridge from surrounding highways.

The Gateway Project is meant to better connect the bridge and highways. It’s also supposed to keep heavy truck traffic out of southwest Detroit neighborhoods.

The Detroit branch of the NAACP held its annual “Fight for Freedom fund” dinner last night.

There was celebration of the branch’s centennial anniversary this year. But there was also grave concern over continuing civil rights struggles.

The dinner is traditionally one of the Detroit NAACP’s largest—and most lucrative—events.

This year, it drew thousands of people, including much of Michigan’s political and business elite.

Many speakers focused on what they see as the “new” civil rights issues—like the “mass incarceration” of African Americans, and stricter voting laws that some say harken back to the Jim Crow era.

Detroit branch president Reverend Wendell Anthony says too many political leaders right now are “acting without conscience.”

Starting this weekend, there’s a new transit option for people looking to get around downtown Detroit.

A new, private bus company is looking to fill in some of the gaps in Detroit’s battered transit system.

The Detroit Bus Company will run a route linking the city’s central neighborhoods and Southwest Detroit on Saturday. Historically, that relatively small area hasn’t been linked very well by traditional public transit.

Bus Company founder Andy Didorosi says they’ll launch a route with stops at a few gathering places.

Detroit’s City Clerk says budget cuts would compromise her ability to run elections.

Janice Winfrey took her case to the Detroit City Council Friday.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing wants to cut the election department's budget by 25%, from $7.4 million to $5 million.

Bing says that’s part of across-the-board cuts that need to happen as the city grapples with state mandates to reduce its deficit--outlined in the consent agreement between the city and state.

But Winfrey argues that elections are different. “They made cuts without really understanding what’s involved, and the laws that are required, that we follow, in order to administer an election,” she told the Council.

DTE Energy shareholders were met by protesters at their annual meeting in Detroit Thursday.

Hundreds of people demonstrated outside the company’s Detroit headquarters.  And inside, several interrupted CEO Gerard Anderson as he tried to run the meeting.

Protesters shouted for DTE to “Pay its fair share!”

They were talking about the fact that DTE was named as one of the nation’s “Dirty 30” companies in a recent report—one that paid more in lobbying expenses than federal income taxes from 2008 to 2010.

Demonstrators also protested the utility’s shutoff policies. The utility shut off service to 200,000 in its southeast Michigan service area in 2011.

That number has more than doubled over the past five years.

Demonstrators also criticized DTE’s continued reliance on coal-fired power, rather than renewable energy.

Protester Thomas Reinke said renewable power sources are now both cleaner and less expensive than coal.

 “We’re getting poorer and poorer every day, and we’re being forced to pay high costs of utilities that could be offset by wind and solar, or other types of renewable energy,” said Reinke, who says he owns a small, residential renewable energy business.

DTE officials announced Thursday that they’re looking for more wind energy suppliers.

“DTE Energy is seeking approximately 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from Michigan-based wind projects that will be operating by the end of 2013.  This solicitation is part of DTE Energy's plan to meet Michigan's renewable energy goals,” the company said in a written statement.

By state law, they must provide 10% of their power from renewable sources by 2015.

As for the tax-dodging accusations, a DTE spokesman counters that the utility has paid more $1 billion in taxes since 2008, mostly to state and local governments.

The Detroit City Council is interviewing candidates for the city’s new financial advisory board this week.

The nine-member financial advisory board is a requirement outlined in Detroit’s consent agreement with the state.

The City Council gets to appoint two members, and approve the rest, who are appointed by the Governor, State Treasurer, and Mayor.

On Wednesday, the Council interviewed Mary Beth Kuderik, Chief Financial Officer for the UAW Retiree Benefits Trust.

Council members seemed keenly interested in Kuderik’s record managing health care costs—one of the city’s biggest long-term expenditures.

Kuderik says she thinks the city could save a lot of money in health care costs.

“My sense is that there would be opportunity for savings, even in terms of cash flow,” she said.”

Council President Pro-Tem Gary Brown cautioned it won’t be a part-time job to start.

“There is so much information that you have to be brought up to speed on, to understand how the city operates, that I really do see it being a full-time job for 30-45 days,” Brown said.

The Council has until May 10th to finalize the board.

So far, only one advisory board appointee lives in Detroit. That’s a concern to some Council members.

Several Council members have said qualified city residents they’ve approached have declined interviews, saying the issue is too contentious.

Detroit’s community access centers are one casualty of the city’s ongoing cost-cutting.

The centers, also known as neighborhood city halls, get no funds in Mayor Dave Bing’s proposed budget.

Their functions—like organizing the annual Angel’s Night and Motor City Makeover campaigns—will be shifted to neighborhood recreation centers.

But Detroit City Council members question how that transition will work without any funding. Bing’s proposed budget eliminates funding for several city departments.

Council member Saunteel Jenkins says she understands the need to cut costs—but her concerns extend beyond the community access centers.

10 community health centers in Michigan will get $19.6 million in federal funds.

Those health centers are key primary care providers for uninsured and underinsured people in many communities.

The money is part of about $11 billion provided to community health clinics through the national health care reform law.

Dr. Anand Parekh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Science and Medicine with the US Department of Health and Human Services, calls the health centers “an important safety net.”

Detroit leaders are promising better service for the city’s more than 100,000 regular bus riders.

Officials phased in what they’re calling the "415 plan" this past weekend.

It promises service every fifteen minutes along the city’s four busiest bus routes during peak riding hours (6 am-6 pm).

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing turned bus management over to a private firm, Parsons Brinckerhoff, earlier this year. He credits them with improving service.

“I think the outside management team has worked very, very well with our employees," said Bing, speaking Monday during his first day back from more than a month-long battle with health problems. "They’re listening to each other, they’re good ideas being brought to the table, and the implementation plan is moving forward.”

But the four-fifteen initiative comes on the heels of cutbacks to other city bus routes, and the elimination of overnight service.

And while timely service has improved, city officials admit it’s still a long way from where it needs to be.

“It should be 90-95% [on-time]," said Detroit Department of Transportation CEO Ron Freeland. "Especially when you consider that most of our customers are going to use more than one bus line.”

In a report released just last week, the transit advocacy group Transportation Riders United gave Detroit’s bus system a “D-minus” grade—with only 63% of buses arriving on-time.