Human Services Department director suspended; Bing vows further action on spending abuses

Promising sweeping changes to end decades of corruption at City Hall, Mayor Dave Bing suspended several staff members and the director of the beleaguered Detroit Human Services Department today while announcing new safeguards to prevent corruption following a Free Press report about the agency misusing tax dollars.

Speaking to reporters, Bing said he's recommending the employees' termination after his office ends its investigation into the misuse of federal funds that are supposed to help low-income people.

"The investigation will continue until we have uncovered every instance of potential abuse," Bing said. "It is important to this administration, to this city and to the indigent population that we act immediately to right the wrongs."

About an hour before the news conference at the Human Services Department on the city's east side, police escorted the director, Shenetta L. Coleman, out of the building.

The news comes a week after the Free Press revealed the agency spent more than $200,000 on furniture from money that was supposed to help clothe and feed low-income people.

This morning, a Detroit City Council committee investigating the department declined an opportunity to question leaders about their spending decisions.

Saying the probe of the Human Services Department is still incomplete, members of the Internal Operations Committee postponed a discussion of the issue until next week.

“I would rather us do it all at once, rather than piecemeal,” Councilman James Tate said.

The committee received its first response from the Human Services Department on Tuesday afternoon, giving council members insufficient time to review the report, committee Chairwoman Brenda Jones said.

“It appears the department is saying they did everything on the up and up,” Tate said of the report.

But, he added, there are many unanswered questions for the department before any conclusions are made.

The Free Press revealed last week that the Human Services Department issued a no-bid, $1.2-million contract to Detroit-based nonprofit Clark & Associates to hire employees for a food and clothing bank.

A union leader who first exposed the misspending to the council questioned the sincerity of the administration's 's investigation, saying nothing was done last year when audits revealed the department mismanaged more than $100 million.

“The furniture purchase is an ideal example of why management needs to review purchasing policies,” Greg Murray, vice president and administrative representative of the Senior Accountants Analysis and Appraisers Association, told the council. “This mismanagement is creating stresses on our budget and our city.”

Bing's office emphasized that it's doing everything possible to get to the bottom of misspending at the department and reiterated the mayor's goal of wiping out corruption that has plagued the city for years.