April 6, 2026 Committee of the Whole Meeting

The City of Lansing Committee of the Whole meeting on April 6, 2026, included detailed budget presentations from multiple city departments, focusing heavily on procurement and operational updates. The Information Technology Department discussed ongoing projects such as achieving 100% PDF compliance, upgrading hardware and software including VMware virtualization and Microsoft services, and implementing a new IT service management system with AI capabilities. Budget increases were noted due to rising software licensing costs and hardware price inflation, with efforts underway to identify cost-saving alternatives. The Assessing Department highlighted full staffing, digitization efforts including scanning historical documents, and the adoption of new field inspection software, with budget increases related to software support. The City Attorney's office reported stable staffing and budget, focusing on ordinance enforcement and code revisions without new positions or major projects. The Police Department reported hiring 25 new personnel, crime reduction achievements, and plans to convert some sworn positions to civilian roles to optimize staffing. They also discussed budget impacts from vacancies and retirements, software contract reviews, and grant funding. Public comments addressed the withdrawal of a controversial data center land sale and called for greater transparency and community involvement in city planning. No formal votes on procurement were recorded during this meeting, but several departments outlined procurement-related budget increases and contract considerations for software and hardware upgrades.