Detroit citizens file lawsuit to keep city from using tax dollars for Little Caesars Arena
Concerned citizens are taking on the City of Detroit in a federal lawsuit which alleges that city agencies are using tax funds appropriated for public schools to build facilities for Detroit’s NBA and NHL franchises.
If the suit succeeds, the City of Detroit and other involved parties will have to find alternative funding sources for its part of the cost of not only Little Caesars Arena, but a proposed new practice facility for the Detroit Pistons as well.
According to Jennifer Chambers of the Detroit News, D. Etta Wilcoxon and Robert Davis filed suit in federal district court on Thursday. Both plaintiffs allege that the city is using tax dollars that are earmarked for other purposes to aid in the construction of the new sports venues illegally.
The Detroit Downtown Development Authority and the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority are named as the defendants in the lawsuit. The suit asks the court to issue an injunction that would prevent the two agencies from using any tax dollars for the stadium projects without getting voter approval for using specific funds toward those ends first.
This suit follows concerns raised by members of the city council which nearly mirror the issue at stake in the suit. The tax dollars currently purposed for the city’s part of the nearly $863 million construction cost for Little Caesars Arena are interpreted as originally designated for Detroit’s public schools. City council members have voiced trepidation about the stadium project taking dollars away from not only Detroit’s public schools, but the city’s public libraries as well.
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At this point, the stadium project could only be stalled, not cancelled by the potential power of this suit. If the district court were to find for the plaintiffs, it’s likely that the city agencies would appeal. The city could circumvent the issue by collaborating with Detroit and Wayne counties to hold a special election, but it’s worth questioning whether doing so would present a cost savings over simply fighting this suit in court.
The Detroit Red Wings and the Pistons could also extend an olive branch by promising to donate funds to help make up any shortfalls in the budgets of Detroit’s public libraries and schools.
Ultimately, the ability of this suit to affect any major change is questionable. The suit states that the rights of citizens to vote are being violated, but that claim depends on substantiating that the city’s bureaucracy has stepped beyond its authority to use tax dollars at its discretion.