Bing: City council cuts affect police, recreation

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - The beach at Belle Isle, public park restrooms and two recreation centers could be forced to close if the city council fails to reconsider additional cuts to Detroit's city budget, Mayor Dave Bing said Monday.

About $50 million in council cuts to Bing's $3.1 billion budget for the next fiscal year also would reduce the number of police officers on Detroit streets and potentially shutter some fire stations, Bing said in a release.

Bing vetoed the council's budget June 1, but the body voted 8-1 last week to override his veto.

Council Budget to Reduce Services

One week ago, the Detroit City Council voted 8-1 to move forward with a budget that reduces city services by $50 million beyond Mayor Dave Bing’s recommendation. City departments, which have the responsibility of managing their budgets, have analyzed the cuts and the staffing and service reductions that will result. Attached, please find a detailed summary of three high-priority areas that will be affected by the $50 million cut.

• Public Safety (Police and Fire)
• Parks, Recreation and Grass Cutting (General Services and Recreation)
• Transportation (DDOT, People Mover and Woodward Light Rail)

MayorDave Bing issues the following statement
“These cuts won’t solve our fiscal crisis. My administration reduced spending by $200 million in this budget and we did so responsibly, without hurting public safety or eliminating transportation services and park maintenance. We have to tell people the truth about the service reductions that we’re facing if we don’t reach a compromise.”

Detroit faces a $155 million budget deficit. The new fiscal year starts July 1.

Some council members have said the additional cuts were needed because Bing's budget contained unrealistic revenue projections.

The council's cuts include $12.4 million from public safety, nearly $8.2 million from transportation and $7.5 million from recreation.

If forced to make those additional cutbacks, Bing said sponsored events at downtown's Hart Plaza also would be shut down this summer and grass at parks and in vacant lots would go uncut.