Detroit, MI

Sterling Heights budget plan includes resurfacing 14 Mile, new fire staff

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2024

Sterling Heights budget plan includes resurfacing 14 Mile, new fire staff

The city of Sterling Heights is expected to approve a $252 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes upgrades to 14 Mile and 18 Mile roads, adding a risk-reduction officer in fire prevention, and increasing water and sewer rates by 5.9%.

The Sterling Heights City Council is scheduled to vote on the budget at its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Under the proposed budget, Sterling Heights would add two employees in the fire prevention division of the Fire Department. One is a community risk-reduction officer, who will look at “new and improved ways to inspect buildings,” said City Manager Mark Vanderpool. The other position is a mobile integrated EMS health coordinator, who will help reduce the number of low acuity ambulance runs in the city.

The city is also planning over $22 million in road work in the upcoming fiscal year, including the $10 million revitalization of Clinton River Road. The city is planning to reconstruct the road between Hayes Road and Canal Road, close sidewalk gaps and add bike lanes or a non-motorized path. Jennifer Varney, the city’s chief financial officer, said the initial work on the project, like environmental studies, will occur in the next fiscal year, but construction might not start until summer 2025.

The budget includes resurfacing 14 Mile from Van Dyke to Maple Lane, 18 Mile from Utica Road to the Plumbrook Drain and 17 Mile from Mound to Van Dyke.

Sterling Heights council members haven’t made any amendments during the budget process. Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the council can change the budget at any time during the fiscal year, though.

“This is just making sure that the majority of us approve of what’s there and we have a roadmap to where we’re going,” Ziarko said of the impending budget approval.

New employees for fire prevention

The budget includes hiring a community risk-reduction officer, who would develop new ideas for fire inspection processes. For example, the city’s Building Department conducted virtual inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic, so something similar could be done for fire inspections, the city manager said.

“The risk reduction officer is gonna identify more of these types of ideas,” Vanderpool said, “so that we can be more productive in our fire inspections, be able to do more of them and continue to keep our community very safe.”

A mobile integrated EMS health coordinator would also be added to the fire prevention division. Vanderpool said EMS personnel across the country are “overloaded” with a growing number of EMS runs. He said this is due in large part because people call 911 “for any ailment.”

“And the vast majority of those 911 calls are low-acuity calls,” Vanderpool said. “They don’t require a 911 EMS life-threatening response.”

Vanderpool said the mobile integrated EMS health coordinator would conduct outreach and work with “habitual callers.” The coordinator would educate these residents about alternatives to 911. The position also involves working with senior living facilities.

Ziarko said the city has residents who are “regulars” when it comes to 911 calls.

“How do we help them cope with their needs?” she said, adding that the city could suggest to them how to make their home safer.

Water and sewer rate increase

The FY 2024-25 budget includes a proposed combined 5.9% hike to the water and sewer rates. Varney said the Great Lakes Water Authority, which supplies the city’s water, and Macomb County, which treats the city’s sewage, are increasing their rates.

She said Sterling Heights’ average water use has been decreasing, but the city still has to maintain the system and pay workers, so the city has to charge higher rates to ensure it has enough money coming in.

Ziarko said that when utility providers give the city a rate increase, the city has had a history of not passing it on to residents.

“In this case, it’s necessary in order to balance our budget,” she said.

Other budget highlights

The city’s fund balance is “in a really good position,” said Varney, the city’s chief financial officer. The general fund balance will rise to about $38.4 million in fiscal year 2024-25, according to the city’s budget document.

“I think we’re well-positioned in case there’s any unexpected financial turmoil,” she said.

The city will have a millage rate of 16.5938 mills, a slight increase over the current rate of 16.3800 mills, due to an increase in the refuse collection millage rate. Last year, the City Council approved a new refuse collection contract, which went into effect last Wednesday, Varney said. The contract includes inflationary increases and additional services, including universal curbside recycling and automated cart collection, she said.

Varney said that under the old contract, residents had the option of paying $57 a year to the waste company for a curbside recycling subscription. Under the contract with the new company, recycling is universal. So the residents who were previously paying for a subscription will see a slight decrease in how much they’re paying for waste services.

“Obviously by … everyone having curbside recycling, we hope that recycling in the community increases exponentially,” she said.

asnabes@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

Published

59 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week.

A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway.

As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.

Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.

The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.

Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.

This is a developing story.

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Detroit, MI

Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.

Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.

McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.

On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.

Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.

You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”

You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:

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Detroit, MI

Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal did not agree to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season before the 8 p.m. deadline Thursday, Jan. 8, to exchange salary figures in the arbitration process.

Skubal filed at $32 million; the Tigers filed at $19 million.

It’s a difference of $13 million.

An arbitration panel will review the case during a hearing scheduled for late January or early to mid-February. The arbitrators must determine whether Skubal is worth more or less than the $25.5 million midpoint. If he’s worth more, they will select his $32 million proposal; if less, they will select the Tigers’ $19 million proposal. The panel isn’t allowed to choose a salary in between $19 million and $32 million.

The Tigers operate as a file-and-trial club in salary arbitration under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meaning there won’t be further negotiations with Skubal regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract could still be negotiated, but it’s highly unlikely.

Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – reaches free agency after the 2026 season. The 29-year-old is positioned to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive a $400 million contract.

If the two sides were to reach an agreement before a hearing, it would likely be a one-year contract with a player option, thus maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.

The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $17.8 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration. He previously earned $2.65 million in 2024, then $10.15 million in 2025.

Why couldn’t the Tigers and Skubal agree on a salary for 2026?

The arbitration case for Skubal is unusually complex, thanks to a rarely used provision highlighted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Because Skubal has more than five years of MLB service time, he isn’t limited to comparing himself only to past arbitration-eligible players. Instead, he can compare himself to any player in baseball.

Those unique rights allow Skubal – who has five years, 114 days of service time – to point to MLB’s highest-paid pitchers (such as Max Scherzer’s $43.3 million per year from 2022-24 or Zack Wheeler’s $42 million per year from 2025-27), arguing that his elite performance warrants a salary in that range – not in the $17.8 million range, as projected by MLB Trade Rumors.

That’s what pushed the Tigers and Skubal to an arbitration hearing.

[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season.

If Skubal wins the arbitration hearing, he will surpass Soto and claim the new record with his proposed $32 million salary. If Skubal loses, then he will earn the $19 million salary proposed by the Tigers.

There are two other arbitration records on the line.

The highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015 – his fourth year in the arbitration process as a Super Two qualifier. The largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander Jacob deGrom, who surged from $7.4 million to $17 million – an increase of $9.6 million – with the New York Mets in 2019.

Those records for pitchers will belong to Skubal – but only if his proposed $32 million salary is selected by the arbitration panel. He will fall just short of the records if the panel selects the Tigers’ proposed $19 million.

Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball.

More notably, he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

In 2025, Skubal registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year MLB career.

Skubal became the first back-to-back AL Cy Young winner since right-hander Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025.

The Tigers haven’t been to an arbitration hearing since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.

Fulmer lost the case, receiving the Tigers’ proposed $2.8 million salary rather than his requested $3.4 million. Before that hearing, the Tigers hadn’t participated in an arbitration hearing since 2001 – and the Tigers haven’t lost a case since 2000.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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