Livonia City Council — Regular Meeting Report - July 13, 2026

2,044th Regular Meeting of the Livonia City Council · Monday, July 13, 2026 · 7:00 p.m. · City Hall Auditorium, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan · Presiding: Council President Kayleigh Reid

1. Full Agenda Action Table

Council voted on Items 1–9 together as a single Consent Agenda. Items 10–19 (renumbered to 10–18 after Item 14 was pulled prior to the meeting) were considered individually. All votes were 7-0 unless otherwise noted.

Council Resolutions (raised from the floor, not on the printed agenda)

2. Significant Events

Tribute to Kate, President of the Livonia Democratic Club

The meeting opened with a moment of silence and a "life and legacy" tribute, signed by the mayor and council, honoring a Livonia resident named Kate — a mother, nurse, lawyer and longtime president of the Livonia Democratic Club — who died after a lengthy battle with cancer. (Her full surname was not stated clearly in the meeting recording.) Councilmember Budzinski read the tribute, and during public comment, Livonia Arts Commissioner Joe Gilligan added personal remarks, crediting her with growing the Democratic Club from roughly a dozen attendees to one of the largest such clubs in the state and with helping launch the Livonia Pride event.

Massage-establishment ownership transfer denied after disclosure of a prior state sanction

The most significant substantive action of the meeting was the council's reversal and denial of Item 12, a routine-seeming request to transfer a massage-establishment waiver at 16345 Middle Belt Road from current owner Haiyan Pi to a new owner. Councilmember Persiconi initially moved to approve the transfer after clearing up confusion over an unrelated, unaffiliated entity ("Yo Yo Spa LLC") that had appeared in the petition file from a prior, abandoned transaction. During questioning, Councilmember McDonnell — working through an interpreter for the prospective new owner — asked about the applicant's professional history and disclosed that a massage license bearing the same number (M60115256) had been sanctioned by the Washington State Department of Health in July 2022, following an investigation that cited failure to display employee licenses, missing client medical-condition records, and unsanitary business conditions, resulting in a 24-month probation. When directly asked whether that record belonged to her, the applicant confirmed it did. Councilmember Persiconi then withdrew the original motion to approve, and the council instead passed a motion to deny the transfer, 7-0.

Clean audit opinion; fund balance exceeds best-practice target

Finance & Budget Committee Chair Martha Ptashnik reported on the city's fiscal year 2025 (ending Nov. 30, 2025) audit, conducted by Plante Moran. Auditors issued an unmodified ("clean") opinion with no significant misstatements and no disagreements with management. The city's general fund balance grew by $2.1 million to $20.2 million (about 28% of annual expenditures, or roughly 3.3 months of expenses — above the 2–3 month best-practice benchmark). Total general fund revenue reached $75 million (up 5%), driven mainly by rising property tax receipts. Auditors flagged two areas of concern: a steep, multi-year decline in the Cable Television Fund balance (from over $860,000 in 2021 to about $70,000 currently) attributed to falling cable subscriptions, and a since-corrected gap in the city's written federal cash management policy.

Public criticism of a Newburgh/Plymouth tree-stump removal contract

Multiple residents (Lynn Mills and, later, Jim Biga) raised concerns that the city paid Berman's Tree Services $58,500 for stump/tree-clearing work at 11981 Newburgh Road — for future affordable senior housing — despite a lower competing bid of $43,250 from a company called "Clear Cut Land and Tree Removal," and alleged the work was not fully completed despite full payment. City officials did not respond substantively to this claim during the meeting; it remained an open public-comment item.

SMART regional transit millage on the August 4 ballot

Harmony Lloyd, Vice President of Planning and Innovation for SMART (the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), addressed the council to explain — without advocating a "yes" or "no" vote — what a proposed transit millage on the August 4, 2026 primary ballot would mean for Livonia, including expanded fixed-route service on Seven Mile, Plymouth, Haggerty and Middle Belt roads, new curb-to-curb "Smart Connector" service for seniors and residents with disabilities, and expanded support for the city's Live & Go paratransit program. She said SMART currently provides about $1.5 million worth of support to Live & Go and that failure of the millage would end SMART's ability to operate transit service in Wayne County. Other speakers, including resident Jim Biga, expressed opposition to the millage and objected to Wayne County using public funds for related messaging.

3. Public Comment Timeline

The council held two audience communication periods: one near the start of the meeting (roughly 0:03:22–0:34:19) and one near the end (roughly 1:24:09–1:31:03). Each speaker was allotted three minutes.

4. Council Member Update Timeline

Following audience communication, the President called on each council member for announcements (roughly 34:28–56:03), interspersed with the three floor resolutions listed in Table 1a.

5. Detailed Vote Record

Council is composed of seven members: President Kayleigh Reid, Vice President Patrick Brockway, and Councilmembers Carrie Budzinski, Brandon McCullough, Eileen McDonnell, Robin Persiconi, and Martha Ptashnik. Except where noted, all roll-call votes below were unanimous (7-0), with every member voting "Aye."

Note on Item 13 (Senior Citizens Housing Tax Exemption ordinance amendment): this item received only a first reading during the meeting and was not subject to a roll-call vote; it will require a second reading at a future meeting before final adoption.

The council adjourned the regular meeting approximately 1 hour and 31 minutes into the recording (around 8:31 p.m., given the 7:00 p.m. start) and reconvened for a study session at 8:45 p.m.