City of Lansing
Lansing City Council At-Large Member
2022–2025
Institutional Context
The Lansing City Council is the legislative body for Michigan’s capital city, governing a citywide constituency of approximately 115,000 residents. The Council holds statutory authority to adopt ordinances and public policy; approve operating and capital budgets; authorize public financing (including general obligation and revenue bonds); approve major contracts and intergovernmental agreements; confirm City and regional board appointments; and authorize economic development tools—such as Brownfield plans, Payment In Lieu Of Tax (PILOT) agreements, Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Abatement (OPRA) exemptions, Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) designations, and tax abatements—used to advance redevelopment, housing production, infrastructure modernization, public safety facilities, and core municipal operations. The City of Lansing employs 850+ municipal staff and operates a total annual budget exceeding $300 million across all funds.
Role & Governance Mandate
As an At-Large Council Member, Brown exercised legislative judgment and fiduciary oversight through formal votes, committee review, and open-meeting deliberation. The role required evaluating legal compliance, fiscal impacts, operational feasibility, and community outcomes across policy decisions, public financing actions, and investment authorizations affecting the city as a whole.
Key Decisions & Outcomes
Public Investment Authorizations
Approved a redevelopment and incentive portfolio encompassing 16 major Brownfield plans, Payment In Lieu Of Tax (PILOT) agreements, Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Abatement (OPRA) exemptions, and Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) actions, establishing the legal and financing frameworks that authorized in excess of $600 million in combined public–private investment through Council action. These decisions reflect the Council’s core role in determining when and how public tools are used to close feasibility gaps, accelerate redevelopment, and protect the public interest through transparent, vote-based authorization.
Housing Delivery & Adaptive Reuse Outcomes
Council actions facilitated 1,197 new residential units spanning market-rate, mixed-income, affordable, senior, and supportive housing, strengthening Lansing’s capacity to add supply across multiple affordability bands. Approvals also enabled the adaptive reuse of five historic structures, converting long-underutilized buildings into productive housing assets while preserving significant civic and industrial building stock.
Long-Horizon Public Financing & Civic Infrastructure Stewardship
Authorized more than $261 million in municipal bonds to finance core public assets and service infrastructure, including the $175 million Public Safety & Justice Complex, the $20 million Ovation entertainment facility, neighborhood infrastructure improvements, and over $55 million in sewer system upgrades. These actions demonstrate fiduciary decision-making at a generational scale—balancing debt capacity, service reliability, and long-term capital obligations.