Detroit FRC City Meeting Minutes March 29, 2021

Detroit Financial Review Commission

CITY REGULAR MEETING

Monday, March 29, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.

Remotely Using Microsoft Teams

MINUTES

Approved April 26, 2021

1. Call to Order
   1. Chairperson, Rachael Eubanks called the meeting to order 1:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call

Members Present -7

• Dr. Barnwell
• Rachael Eubanks
• Dave Massaron
• Jay Rising
• Ron Rose
• Jeremy Vidito (non-voting on City matters)
• John Walsh

Members Absent -3

• Brenda Jones
• David Nicholson
• Angelique Peterson-Mayberry (non-voting on City matters)

Let the record show that six (6) Commission members eligible to vote were present, A quorum was present.

Madame Chair, Rachael Eubanks, reported that Dr. John Barnwell has been appointed to the Financial Review Commission for a term commencing March 26, 2021 and expiring November 9, 2023. He succeeds Dr. Isaiah McKinnon, whose term ended November 9, 2021.  Mr. Ron Rose is reappointed for a term commencing March 26, 2021 and expiring November 9, 2024.  Dr. Nicholai Vitti delegated his vote on all FRC matters to Mr. Jeremy Vidito, DPSCD's Chief Financial Officer in his absence.

3. Approval of the Proposed Minutes from the February 22, 2021 Regular City Meeting
   1. Motion made by Commissioner Rose and supported by Commissioner Nicholson to approve the draft minutes of the Commission's February 22, 2021 City meeting minutes as presented. The Commission unanimously approved the minutes of the City meeting as presented.
4. Executive Director's Report
   1. Patrick Dostine, Executive Director, informed the meeting that in reviewing the City's monthly report, ending January 31, 2021, the city continues to pay its debt and pension obligations, remains in compliance, and there is no reason to consider rescinding the waiver at this time.
5. Old Business
   1. None
6. New Business
   1. Presentation - Process for the consideration of the City's annual waiver
      1. Patrick Dostine gave a detailed presentation of the process for the consideration of the City's Fourth-Year waiver.  The presentation included the 9 conditions outlined in the FRC Act for granting a waiver; the due dates for the long-term forecast report and the four-year financial plan; the reconvening of the finance and the contracts and procurement subcommittees.  He noted that presentations will be made to the commission by the City following the finance and contracts and procurement meetings for consideration of a Year-Four waiver at the May 2021 FRC meeting.
      2. Chair Eubanks invited the commissioners to raise questions as it relates to the process for the consideration of the City's Year-four waiver. 
      3. Commissioner Massaron stated that the previous executive director of the FRC discussed any concerns they had before granting a waiver, which helped the City to understand the concerns of the commission.  He further stated that even-though the proposed revisions of the city charter may not impact this waiver, it could have an impact in future years and stated that it may be helpful if the FRC staff could provide an overview of the proposed revisions of the city's charter for discussion by the commission to determine if the City and the FRC have similar or different concerns.
      4. Commissioner Rose noted that with the recent passage of COVID-19 Economic Impact Relief Bill, the City is expected to receive additional revenue that was not considered in the February Revenue Estimating Conference and queried how the additional revenue will be dealt with.
      5. Commissioner Rising informed the meeting that there is some knowledge of the amounts of money that the City is expected to receive following the passage of the bill, but it was not considered in the February Estimating Conference, or as part of the City's FY '22 budget.  He further noted that they were awaiting clarification and guidance from the US Treasury Department...  He also stated that the receipts of the additional revenue will not form part of the discussion for this year's waiver, but it will be included for consideration of the City's Fifth-year waiver request.
7. Public Comment
   1.  Michelle George
8. Next Meeting Date
   1. City Regular Meeting: Monday, April 26, 2021 at 1:00 pm, remotely via Microsoft Teams.
9. Adjournment
   1. Motion made by Commissioner Rose and supported by Commissioner Walsh to adjourn. The Commission approved the motion to adjourn.
   2. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:26 p.m.