Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan s administration on Tuesday sought to tamp down a watchdog report that found excessive spending and a lack of oversight in a city program designed to help jump-start small businesses, arguing the report was not in step with reality.
Detroit s Office of Inspector General on Jan. 4 released a report from its nearly 18-month investigation into Duggan s Motor City Match program. The review uncovered weak controls in the program for issuing payments.
It also found that an abnormally high number of businesses in the grant-funded effort to support Detroit entrepreneurs failed.
Inspector General Ellen Ha stressed Tuesday during a discussion about the report with Detroit s City Council that We did not make up any of these numbers, and We were very specific.
Detroit s inspector general won t withdraw report that found Motor City Match lacked oversight
OIG says it cannot retract report, which city officials say was published prematurely
Federal agency auditing program over whether funds were used properly
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Detroit officials discuss an Office of Inspector General report on the Motor City Match program during a meeting of City Council on Tuesday.
Detroit s Office of Inspector General said it will not retract a critical report on entrepreneur-funding program Motor City Match that the city has requested it withdraw.
Mayor Mike Duggan s flagship small-business grant initiative was the subject of an inspector general s investigation released early this month that found it lacked adequate oversight and spending tactics while its success rate for launching businesses left much to be desired.
How businesses can access various new pandemic relief funds
Chad Livengood/Crain s Detroit Business
The dining area at Zou Zou’s Cafe in Chelsea has been closed due to state pandemic orders.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening threw a major wrench into a $900 billion pandemic relief package when he called on Congress to increase checks to individuals from $600 to $2,000.
The outgoing president did not directly object to many other provisions in the bill, such as a restart of the Paycheck Protection Program, which would again provide potentially forgivable loans to struggling small businesses around the country.
The nearly 5,600-page bill contains funds targeted at businesses and individuals. A good run-down of what s contained in the legislation is available here.
Public-private Detroit Means Business effort gets leader
New executive aims to grow the entrepreneur assistance website
Detroit Means Business created to respond to business needs during pandemic
Kai Bowman
A coalition that the city of Detroit and 30 private organizations formed to help businesses navigate the coronavirus pandemic just got a captain.
Kai Bowman began the position leading Detroit Means Business on Dec. 8, according to a news release. He comes to the job from Mayor Mike Duggan s office, where he was executive director for planning, housing and development.
Bowman s hiring comes after a national search led by Detroit Means Business Chair Carla Walker-Miller, CEO of Detroit-based Walker-Miller Energy Services. His title is vice president of the coalition, which is a subsidiary of the nonprofit arm of quasi-public development agency the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. Bowman s boss is Kevin Johnson, CEO of the DEGC.