Detroit City Charter: Government, Rights, and Oversight

The Detroit City Charter is the city’s local constitution: it defines who holds power in city government, guarantees certain rights to residents, creates independent offices to check misconduct, and sets the rules for how it can be changed. Voters approved the current version on November 8, 2011, and it took effect on January 1, 2012.¹ Its authority comes from Michigan’s Home Rule City Act of 1909, which lets cities write their own governing documents instead of relying entirely on state law.²

Who Runs Detroit Under the Charter

Detroit operates under a strong-mayor system. The mayor is the city’s chief executive, supervises all executive departments, appoints and removes department heads, and prepares the annual budget before anyone else weighs in.³

Legislative power sits with the nine-member City Council. Seven members are elected from geographic districts and two are elected at-large to represent the whole city, all serving four-year terms.³ District members handle neighborhood concerns while at-large members focus on citywide policy. The council checks the mayor primarily by approving or rejecting budgets and by passing ordinances.

The City Clerk is the third independently elected official, also serving a four-year term. The clerk maintains city records, keeps the journal of all council proceedings, and publishes ordinances and resolutions as required by law.³ Because the clerk is elected rather than appointed by the mayor, the office operates as a neutral custodian of government records.

The charter imposes no term limits on the mayor, council members, or clerk. When a council seat becomes vacant, the remaining members fill it by a two-thirds vote within 60 days, after posting a vacancy notice for at least 14 days. The appointed member serves until the winner of the next general election takes office, as long as that election falls at least 180 days after the vacancy occurred.⁴

The Rights the Charter Guarantees

The charter’s Preamble contains a Declaration of Rights that sits ahead of the articles establishing government structure.⁵ It opens with a guarantee that no person shall be denied the enjoyment of civil or political rights.

Placement in the charter rather than in an ordinary ordinance is the point. An ordinance can be changed by a simple council vote. Charter language requires a citywide vote to alter. Residents can point to these provisions when challenging city actions, which gives the Declaration practical weight beyond its aspirational language.

Independent Oversight Offices

Article 7.5 of the charter sets up four offices that operate independently of the mayor and council. The reasoning is straightforward: you cannot effectively investigate the people who control your budget and career. Each office has its own appointment process and protections against political interference.

Office of Inspector General

The Inspector General investigates waste, fraud, and abuse across every branch of city government, including contractors and subcontractors doing business with the city.⁶ The office can subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, compel the production of documents, and enter city agency premises during business hours. Any city employee who willfully obstructs an investigation faces forfeiture of office, discipline, or debarment, and that obligation extends to contractors through mandatory contract language.⁷

Auditor General

Where the Inspector General hunts misconduct, the Auditor General focuses on financial health. The office conducts audits of city agencies based on an annual risk-based plan, prioritizing the highest-risk operations. Agencies not selected for a full audit in a given year still receive an annual financial analysis. The Auditor General has access to all financial records, human resource records, and other agency records needed to do the job, and can subpoena witnesses and documents when necessary.⁸ Findings go directly to both the City Council and the mayor.

Ombudsperson

The Ombudsperson handles grievances from residents about official actions taken by any city agency. If a city office lost your paperwork, ignored your request, or treated you unfairly, this is the office designed to investigate it. There is no fee to file a complaint. The Ombudsperson can subpoena witnesses, take testimony, and inspect agency premises, and must report findings to the City Council. If an investigation reveals probable cause of an illegal act, the Ombudsperson is required to refer the matter to the appropriate authorities.⁹

One limit matters. Where another agency with subpoena power is already authorized to investigate the same matter, the Ombudsperson can only review whether that agency’s investigation was conducted fully and fairly. The office acts as a backstop, not a replacement.

Corporation Counsel

The Corporation Counsel heads the Law Department and serves as the city’s official legal counsel across all branches and agencies. The mayor appoints the Corporation Counsel subject to council approval, and if the council does not act within 30 days, the appointment is deemed confirmed. Beyond defending the city in lawsuits and preparing contracts, this office carries a specific charter enforcement mandate: the Corporation Counsel must document in writing any charter violation by the executive branch, legislative branch, City Clerk, or any other person subject to the charter.¹⁰

Civilian Oversight of the Police

Detroit is one of relatively few American cities that places civilian oversight of its police department directly in the city charter. The Board of Police Commissioners has 11 unpaid members: seven elected by district and four appointed by the mayor.¹¹

The board exercises supervisory control over the Police Department, establishes department policies and rules, and reviews the police budget before it goes to the mayor. It is the final authority on discipline of police employees and can receive and resolve any complaint about department operations. The board has subpoena power and appoints its own chief investigator and staff, who answer to the board rather than to the police chief.¹²

The chief of police is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council, but the mayor’s choice must come from a list of candidates identified through a professional search conducted by the board.¹² The mayor cannot simply pick anyone.

How the Charter Can Be Changed

The charter can be changed in two ways, and the thresholds are different because the stakes are different.

Targeted Amendments

The City Council can propose a specific amendment and submit it to voters. Residents can also force an amendment onto the ballot by petition. Initiative petitions require signatures from registered voters equal to at least 3% of all votes cast for mayor in the preceding regular city election. Each signer must provide their name, residence, and the date of signing, and any signature collected more than six months before filing does not count.¹³

Once the Department of Elections verifies the signatures, the City Council has 60 days to either enact the proposed ordinance or put it on the ballot. If the council does nothing, the Election Commission determines whether the question can lawfully appear on the ballot and, if so, submits it to voters.¹³

Full Charter Revision

A complete rewrite requires electing a charter commission. Under Michigan’s Home Rule City Act, a commission can be triggered by a vote of the City Council, a recommendation from 10% of qualified electors, or a petition signed by 10% of qualified electors. The commission drafts a new charter, which must be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least two weeks before the election. Voters then approve or reject it at the polls.²

If approved by a majority, two certified copies of the new charter, along with the vote totals, are filed with both the Michigan Secretary of State and the county clerk. The new charter takes effect on the filing date or on another date specified in the charter itself.² The 10% threshold for a full revision is high compared to the 3% needed for an initiative petition, which reflects the idea that rewriting the entire governing document should require broader consensus than changing a single provision.

1
City of Detroit. City of Detroit Charter Information
2
Michigan Legislature. The Home Rule City Act
3
City of Detroit. 2012 Detroit City Charter
4
Municode Library. Detroit, Michigan Code of Ordinances – City Council Vacancy
5
Municode Library. Detroit, Michigan Code of Ordinances – 2012 Detroit City Charter
6
City of Detroit. Office of Inspector General Rules for the Conduct of Hearings
7
Municode Library. Detroit, Michigan Code of Ordinances – Article 7.5 Independent Departments and Offices
8
Detroit Charter. Article 7.5 Independent Departments and Offices
9
Detroit Charter. Article 7.5 Independent Departments and Offices – Chapter 4 Ombudsperson
10
Detroit Charter. Article 7.5 Independent Departments and Offices – Chapter 2 Law Department
11
City of Detroit. Board of Police Commissioners
12
Detroit Charter. Article 7 The Executive Branch – Chapter 8 Police
13
Municode Library. Detroit, Michigan Code of Ordinances – Initiative and Referendum