Flint City Council: June Roundup

Editor’s Note: The Flint City Council Monthly Wrap Up! is a new series spearheaded by Jalen Garrison. This series serves as a guide to make council meetings journalistically sound, accessible, and engaging.

FLINT, Michigan – Welcome to the Flint City Council Monthly Wrap Up! This is a summary of some of the most important debates, resolutions, and decisions in the City Council during the month of June. We’ll also be taking a look at what’s coming up in the month of July.

This past month, the city council has been busy, especially compared to May, which was largely spent deliberating on the 2027-2028 budget.

Data Centers cannot legally be built in Flint for the next year

• City Council voted nearly unanimously to pass a moratorium on data centers until June of 2027. The Council generally agreed that there is a financial incentive to consider a data center or multiple centers in Flint. However, the general sentiment was that the body lacks sufficient clarity on the long-term effects of data centers on the environment and the health of Flint residents.
• The one dissenting opinion on the council was 4th Ward Councilwoman Priestly, who argued that a year would be too extreme and that 3 months would be more appropriate.

City Council passes the fiscal budget on the day of the legal deadline

• Flint City Council elected, in a narrow 5-4 vote, to approve the fiscal budget for 2027 through 2028. This was especially significant because it was the first time since 2022 that the council had passed a budget by the legal deadline of June 1. For a more detailed analysis, Flintside has already written about the budget here.

City Council finally approves millage funding for Eric B. Mays Community Center

• A millage is funding voted on by taxpayers, added to property taxes. The Eric B. Mays Community Center has finally been awarded the millage funding it has been seeking. For the last two months, City Council has scrutinized the Eric B. Mays Community Center leadership and city staff regarding their plans for spending the $54 thousand in funding for the community center.
• June was no exception, citing previously mentioned concerns about the lack of planning for programming and how these funds would contribute to development, as well as noting new issues, such as the salary for the center’s director.

Flint Police receive another record pay increase

• The City of Flint and the Flint Police Lieutenants Union have come to a contract agreement that is the most lucrative in the department’s history. The contract guarantees a $7,500 signing bonus for each member as well as a 7% pay increase in the first year.
• Over the course of the 3-year contract, all lieutenants and captains will receive a 6% raise in the two following years. The contract also includes retroactive pay dating back to July 2025, when the previous agreement expired.

Council votes to recognize June as Pride Month, 8 days into the month

• While City Council voted 7-1 in favor of recognizing June as Pride Month, the recognition was met with contention and criticism. 9th Ward councilman Jarret made the point that not only is it bureaucratic to recognize Pride Month every year instead of having it be a continual act of legislation, he also mentioned that the city has fallen short in advertising Pride Month insofar as it took up until the 8th of June for the proposal to reach City Council.
• 4th Ward Councilwoman Priestly has taken issue with Pride Month because she opposes designating particular months that recognize marginalized groups.

Leon El-Alamin Trial

• Councilman Leon El-Alamin is charged with domestic violence and assault against the mother of his children and his former girlfriend. His trial was set to start on Jun. 17. However, at the court hearing, it was postponed again to Oct. 14, 2026. The trial for the homicide of Deonte O’Neil Wiley took priority over the Domestic Violence and Assault Case.
• El-Alamin is filling in the first ward seat for former councilman Eric Mays, and his partial term is set to end Nov. 18, 2026.

All minors are legally required to stay indoors after 9:30 pm

• City Council has unanimously approved shifting the curfew for unaccompanied minors, 18 and younger, to 9:30 pm. The curfew is expected to revert to 11:00 pm in August, as the ordinance only lasts 61 days, but council members also discussed proposing a more permanent curfew.
• If a minor is taken into police custody for a curfew violation, their parent or guardian must be contacted and asked to take the minor home or arrange for their return within 3 hours of police contact. If a parent fails or refuses to do so, they could be charged with a misdemeanor and may also be fined.

Coming up in July

• The future of funding for the Eric B. Mays Community Center. It’s still unclear what will happen to the over $ 54,000 in funding for the community center. As time passes, the tensions among council members, community members, and city staff continue to linger and grow. The issue will be discussed at the upcoming council meetings in July, with the prospects for a resolution unclear.

City Council Candidate Interviews

• In the lead-up to the August 4th election, Flintside will be interviewing candidates running for City Council. There are 20 candidates running across Flint’s 9 wards, and we’ll be bringing you conversations with candidates to share their stories prior to election day on Aug. 4.

Updated 6:26 pm: Originally stated that Eric B. Mays Community Center did not receive funding. Updated to say that it did.