DETROIT – Mike Duggan held his final press conference as Detroit’s mayor to announce a budget surplus exceeding $100 million.
Duggan will leave office on Dec. 31 after 12 years as Detroit’s mayor. He will be succeeded by Mary Sheffield.
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At Tuesday’s press conference, Duggan said the recently completed financial audit for the 2024-25 fiscal year shows a significant growth in the surplus since September, when it was projected to be $60 million.
You can watch the full press conference in the video player above.
“I cannot imagine a better gift on Dec. 23 than the fact that we just received the official audit for 2025,” Duggan said. “And I’m pleased to say I’m leaving behind a $105 million surplus for the next administration.”
It is the 11th consecutive budget surplus of $100 million or more for the city of Detroit.
“We didn’t do this once,” Duggan said. “We did this every single year.”
Duggan credited the city departments and Detroit City Council for their partnership and fiscal discipline.
“The surplus came almost entirely from the management of the departments,” he said. “They actually saved $100 million from what they originally budgeted to dispense.”
Despite economic challenges nationwide, including the pandemic in 2020, Duggan said Detroit maintained balanced budgets and even ran a $200 million surplus that year and emphasized the importance of setting aside funds for pension obligations, which the city has been paying for two years.
“We paid our pension obligations, we paid our debt obligations, and we ran a $105 million surplus,” he said.
In addition to the 2025 surplus, Duggan said the city now has $550 million in reserves.
Duggan framed his tenure as reversing long‑term decline, while acknowledging that Detroit’s transformation is ongoing and will continue under Sheffield.
Unlike when he took office, when the city faced huge deficits, Duggan said Sheffield will start her term with $105 million ahead.