Mayor Mike Duggan celebrated strides taken in the last decade to achieve his vision for Detroit during his 11th State of the City address.
Duggan, who is serving his third term since taking office in 2014, used the Wednesday speech to celebrate successes and outline a course for the future. Every neighborhood has one, he said, invoking a familiar theme.
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The mayor said Detroit’s prospects are tied to neighborhood success. The country sees Detroit’s star rising as the city sheds a sour reputation of bankruptcy, violence and “ruin porn,” Duggan said. He also said residents who thought their communities were abandoned are now seeing more investment and support from the city.
Duggan said residents are benefitting from surging property values, declines in crime and unemployment, reductions in blight and upgrades of parks, commercial corridors and new housing.
“When things started to go south, the manufacturing industry left, the business community left, Lansing turned their back on us and Washington turned their back on us,” Duggan said. “For all you who thought America forgot about us, they haven’t forgotten about us anymore.”
Attendees gathered in Dexter Avenue Baptist Church were given a characteristically data-heavy presentation from the mayor. Watch a recording or view slides from the hour-long presentation online.
Here are a few key highlights:
Community violence intervention progress
A year ago, the mayor announced his plan to pay community organizations for their work to reduce gun violence. At the time, Duggan said he wasn’t sure whether it would work but the approach was worth trying.
Duggan celebrated signs of success on Wednesday, releasing a “six-month report card” on six organizations that were contracted to implement innovative approaches.
Since November 2023, shootings are down 28% across the city. Areas served by four organizations posted a 44% decline in shootings, Duggan said, and will receive additional funding to continue their work for another year.
Areas served by two other organizations were less successful, posting a 13% decline in shootings. Duggan said they will be given a three-month contract extension.
Abandoned vehicle clean up
Duggan said deteriorating vehicles are another source of blight that residents are ready to be rid of and he is deploying more manpower to remove vehicles illegally parked on lawns and abandoned on public streets.
Twelve additional code enforcement officers are prioritizing properties with multiple vehicles parked on the lawn. Owners will be given two weeks to remove the vehicle before its towed.
“If you’re fixing your own car in your backyard, nobody has an issue,” Duggan said. “You can’t fix all the neighbors’ cars.”
Duggan said 5,208 vehicles were ticketed this year, but only 769 were towed. Duggan showed several images of commercial vehicles and semi trucks parked in neighborhoods illegally. Boats are also subject to removal.
The mayor encourages residents to report illegally parked vehicles by using the Improve Detroit app.
Blight by the numbers
“They’re coming, so you need to make other arrangements,” Duggan said.
Duggan said he doggedly pursued funding to eliminate blight from the city, starting with federal funding that knocked down 21,000 houses in six years, followed by a voter-backed ballot initiative to take out 20,000 more.
The mayor said there are 4,400 blighted properties left standing as of this week. There will be “next to zero” by the end of next year, he said.
Duggan said the Detroit Land Bank Authority will demolish 1,700 houses and sell 2,700. The land bank sold or rehabilitated 12,000 formerly vacant houses, he said, while the city also:
- Replaced 400,000 sidewalk slabs
- Installed 10,000 speed humps on residential streets
- Cleaned out 3,000 alleys
- Removed 400 deteriorating signs
The mayor said Detroit has also replaced 400,000 sidewalk slabs, installed 10,000 speed humps on residential streets, cleaned out 3,000 alleys, removed 400 deteriorating signs and is making strides to repair roofs and remove dangerous trees.
Honoring a community figure
Duggan surprised Russell Woods community leader Helen Moore by announcing that a renovated recreation center will bear her name.
The city is spending $8.5 million in federal pandemic relief funds to rehabilitate the Dexter-Elmhurst Recreation Center. Duggan said Moore was a strong voice in pushing the city to rebuild the neglected site.
“In the last 25 years of my life, my number one critic has been Helen Moore,” Duggan said. “Every time she brings me something, she’s right. There’s not an ounce of meanness in her, she wants things to be better for the children.”
Tax cuts for residents
Duggan said he’s still pushing for changes in state law to create a land value tax meant to give residents a 17% property tax cut. Bills introduced in the Michigan Legislature haven’t been approved.
In the meantime, Duggan said he’s also reducing taxes another way – by cutting the debt millage every year from 2023 to 2025. A 1 mill reduction was implemented in the previous year and in the upcoming budget approved by the City Council this month.
“My mother says I’m the oddest of all politicians: A Democrat who keeps cutting your taxes,” Duggan said. “We’re going to keep going.”
Draft is chance to reintroduce Detroit
The NFL Draft is coming to Detroit next week, putting a national spotlight on the city.
Duggan said the three-day event is a chance to change the image of Detroit in the minds of visitors. Roughly 300,000 people are expected, plus 50 million watching the NFL broadcast.
“The last time we were in the national spotlight, it was about bankruptcy,” Duggan said. “For a lot of people, that’s still their image. When they get here they’re going to see a very different city.”
The mayor pointed to the city’s changing skyline, with new high-rise apartments along the riverfront by the developers of the Huntington Bank headquarters and a new corporate headquarters for General Motors under construction at the Hudson’s Detroit building.
