Flint City Council subpoenas mayor over budget concerns, questions

FLINT, Mich. — In a bid to get more concrete answers on how money is being spent by city administrators, more than half of the Flint City Council voted Wednesday to subpoena the mayor for direct questioning.

A motion by Councilwoman Tonya Burns during the April 22, 2026, City Council Finance Committee meeting called for a subpoena to be issued to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley. The subpoena calls for the mayor to appear before the council at a later date to answer questions regarding the city budget.

“We’d like (Neeley) to answer some questions we’re unfortunately asking,” Burns said. “People (from the mayor’s office) don’t feel comfortable answering, so we’d like to get the ones who make the decisions.” 

Calls for more budget transparency stemmed from a discussion around funding for the Eric B. Mays Senior and Community Service Center, specifically, that about $25,000 of the center’s $135,000 operating costs was spent without prior council approval. In 2025, the city took over operations of the senior center after City Council failed to extend its lease, prompting a legal dispute.

The motion passed in a narrow 5-4 vote. Burns, Jerri Winfrey-Carter, Dennis Pfeiffer, Flint City Council Vice-President Jonathan Jarrett and Ladel Lewis voted in favor of the subpoena. Council members Leon El-Alamin, LaShawn Johnson, Judy Priestley and Flint City Council President Candice Mushatt voted “no.”

Council members are prepared to ask questions on all things pertaining to budget issues, dollar amounts and funds being approved without council approval, Burns said.

City of Flint communications manager Philip Hendricks declined to comment on the subpoena.

The subpoena did not give a timeframe for when Neeley might be called in for questioning. Priestley said this vagueness was part of the reason she voted no.

“I don’t think it’s going to prove anything,” Priestley said of the subpoena. “To me, it was a political stunt for Ms. Burns in her bid for mayor, and I don’t play those games.”

The resolution that sparked the discussion involved the acceptance of about $54,744 in millage funding for programming and operating costs at the Eric B. Mays Center. Council members opted not to move the resolution forward for full council approval, and it will be discussed at the next Finance Committee meeting on May 6.