Council’s Power is Limited in Negotiations with Land Bank
After more than a year of trying to make changes to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Detroit Land Bank Authority and City Council, Council members were surprised to learn recently that their power to influence the operations of the DLBA, a quasi-governmental body, are limited. And many aren’t happy about that.
Council members, including our District 4 representative Latisha Johnson, have been proposing changes for months that would require more transparency and accountability from the DLBA while giving Council more say over how the land bank functions.
But according to a recent statement by the council’s Legislative Policy Division, City Council can’t propose amendments to the MOU, they can only vote for or against the contract as a whole.
