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Mayor Sheffield on Tuesday night
Newly minted Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield delivered an upbeat and ambitious State of the City address Tuesday night at Mumford High School, calling for free bus service for students, tax cuts, financial support for pregnant women, more affordable housing, efforts to reduce poverty, ensuring senior housing is up to code, and expediting licenses for remodeling and home construction.
“This administration will ensure Detroit’s future is built block by block — neighborhood by neighborhood,” Sheffield said.
Some highlights:
►“Show Your ID, Ride for Free” will allow K–12 Detroit students to ride the bus at no cost, 365 days a year. The program begins April 1. School district money previously spent on bus fare will be redirected to after-school programming.
► Bus drivers now earn $25 an hour. The city will add 175 new benches and upgrade 100 bus shelters.
► There are 45 new buses currently in service, with an additional 80 expected over the next two years.
► The “Brighten Up the Block” plan will add 3,000 mid-block streetlights in neighborhoods.
► Rx Kids will provide $1,500 during mid-pregnancy and $500 a month for the first six months of a baby’s life.
► A push to recruit national and local retailers.
► A vow to cut property taxes by 30–60 percent to become more competitive with the suburbs.
► Plans to modernize the city’s outdated zoning laws to make it easier and faster to build housing.
► Construction of 1,000 new homes over the next four years.
► Directed the Detroit Police Department to create a “Property Crime Squad” in all 12 precincts and increase police visibility in neighborhoods.
► Signed an executive order boosting pay for 900 city employees to a “living wage,” defined as a minimum of $44,616 per year or $21.45 per hour.
“To our corporate leaders and all employers — the ball is in your court,” Sheffield said. “If Detroit can pay its workers a living wage, you can, too.”
