Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch’s megachurch owes nearly $30,000 in delinquent water bills in Detroit, raising questions about whether voters should trust him to manage a city with a $3 billion budget, according to public records.
Kinloch, 52, is the senior pastor of Triumph Church, a Detroit-based megachurch with more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in the city.
The church’s financial troubles stand in stark contrast to Kinloch’s opulent lifestyle, which includes a $1.3 million, 5,100-square-foot home in the suburbs. He rented an apartment in Detroit to qualify as a candidate.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s (DWSD) records show Triumph Church at 15801 Joy Rd. owed $19,784 as of Aug. 18. Another site, at 2760 E. Grand Blvd., owed $9,873 as of May 2025.
Those debts are part of a larger pattern. The Joy Road location owed more than $51,000 in September 2024 and over $60,000 in June 2000. With few exceptions, records show the church has been delinquent since April 2016. The East Grand Boulevard church has been behind since at least January 2024. The city redacted earlier records for reasons that remain unclear.
Since 2013, the city has shut off water to tens of thousands of residents, but it does not appear that service was ever interrupted at Kinloch’s churches.
To catch up on the bills, the two Detroit churches are now on a payment plan, spending about $7,000 a month combined. Roughly $1,300 of that goes toward paying down the debt. At that rate, it would take nearly two years for the churches to pay off what they owe.
Metro Times obtained the records from Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who sued the city and DWSD for access to some of the information. Davis also filed a lawsuit against Southfield and City Clerk Janet Jackson on Tuesday for failing to disclose whether Kinloch’s suburban church has unpaid bills. Jackson could not be reached for comment.
Despite the delinquent water bills, Triumph Church spent more than $583,000 on events at Huntington Place in Detroit from July 2021 to July 2025.
In a written response early Wednesday, Triumph Church Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said the church is making good on its payment plan.
“Triumph Church, along with 35k residents, non-profits, commercial and industrial customers are on the same plan,” Godbee said. “The church is current on this plan.”
Godbee added, “As a nonprofit entity that works from a zero based budgeting standpoint, we have a fiduciary responsibility to take advantage of programs such as the affordability plan so that we can allocate our resources in the most efficient and effective way possible. To do otherwise would be irresponsible.”
Kinloch’s campaign did not respond to questions about why the churches are behind on their bills or why voters should trust him to run Detroit’s budget.
But Godbee said the high water bills that residents and businesses are burdened with are a concern to Kinloch.
“Pastor Kinloch understands firsthand the strain caused by soaring water costs and, as mayor, will put measures in place to help Detroiters address the burden of excessive fees —particularly those driven by the drainage tax,” Godbee said.
He added that Triumph Church has a long history of helping the community.
“The role of the church has always been to uplift and empower our community,” Godbee said. “For more than 105 years, our church has served as a beacon for Detroit. Under Pastor Kinloch’s leadership, that impact has grown tremendously. As it pertains to special Triumph Church services they are self-supporting through private donations and sponsorships and the events pay for themselves. At a time when regular Detroiter’s feel left out of the access to downtown Detroit, these services minister to tens of thousands of people.”
According to Godbee, Triumph Church in Southfield is up to date on its water bills.
Davis argues the delinquent payments in Detroit raise serious questions.
“It’s concerning if the house of worship that he leads is not as financially solvent as one may think based upon what is advertised,” Davis said. “If Mr. Kinloch is having difficulty leading his fine religious institution, then how can he lead a multi-billion-dollar corporation that is the city of Detroit?”
At the same time, Davis praised some of the church’s work.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Triumph Church’s outreach,” Davis says. “I think many churches in Detroit should learn more about community outreach. But it is concerning that there is a pattern of delinquency of paying the financial obligations of their church.”
The delinquent bills are the latest controversy dogging Kinloch’s campaign. In late July, the Detroit Free Press reported that Kinloch pleaded guilty to assaulting his first wife after threatening her with a butcher knife and beating her with its handle, according to police.
He has also faced questions about residency. For most of the past three decades, Kinloch has lived in Oakland County. In March 2024, he registered to vote in Detroit and moved into a downtown condo with his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. He later relocated to another apartment in the same complex in the Greektown area.
Metro Times recently revealed that his brother never served a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to his third drunk driving offense in 2003.
Kinloch finished second in the August primary with 17.4% of the vote, far behind Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who won with 50.8%. Sheffield and Kinloch advanced to the general election on Nov. 4.
Sheffield has also nearly doubled Kinloch’s fundraising. Between July 21 and Aug. 25, she raised more than $206,000, compared to his $116,000.
On Wednesday, former City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins, who came in third in the primary, endorsed Sheffield.
Mayor Mike Duggan opted not to run for reelection and is instead campaigning for governor as an independent in 2026.
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