Mayor Mary Sheffield took to the stage in the Jemele Hill Auditorium at Mumford High School, in the Schulze neighborhood in northwest Detroit, looking to make a tangible statement in her first State of the City address, as the city’s first woman mayor — and not just with her words.
Sheffield shunned the big theaters and event spaces downtown, deliberately choosing a space “in the community,” to reinforce the promise she made on the campaign trail and since taking office Jan. 1: that under her administration, the neighborhoods will not be forgotten.
“Every neighborhood deserves investment and we will tailor a plan for every community to rise higher,” Sheffield, Detroit’s 76th mayor, said from the stage Tuesday evening, March 31.’
The speech was introduced by a video montage of Sheffield on the campaign trail, on election night, after her victory, visiting people and places around Detroit, with a message of “rising higher,” that is the motto of her administration.
In front of a friendly audience, the mayor highlighted several of the initiatives her administration already has unveiled, including boosting wages for city employees; launching the Rx Kids cash assistance program for pregnant moms and babies; hiring directors to lead neighborhood and community safety programs, as well as education strategies for youth; and creating new offices and departments to combat homelessness and provide family services, affordable housing initiatives and more.
Sheffield made sure to acknowledge community members, her colleagues in City Hall, business and philanthropic partners, as well as distinguished Mumford alumni, including famed gospel group The Clark Sisters, iconic former WDIV-TV anchorwoman Carmen Harlan (in attendance), businessman Stephen Ross and blockbuster Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Hill, namesake of the auditorium and award-winning sports journalist who formerly worked for the Free Press and currently contributes to The Atlantic, as well as providing commentary on all manner of topics, was in the audience and got a special shout out from Sheffield.
Here are the takeaways of Sheffield’s first State of the City address,
Neighborhood and ‘aggressive retail strategy’
Sheffield said she aims to develop a robust retail scene in the city by recruiting national and local retailers, especially as the focus has been heavy on downtown’s public spaces, such as Campus Martius, and its restored iconic buildings. She said the city’s future will not only be defined by a few square miles of downtown.
To lead that, she said she will hire the city’s first director of retail attraction.
“This administration will ensure Detroit’s future is built block-by-block, neighborhood-by-neighborhood,” Sheffield said. “All too often, economic development is framed as a zero-sum game, where one neighborhood prospers at the expense of another. But we don’t have to pick winners or losers.”
She added that neighborhoods need vibrant commercial corridors and spaces for people to shop, work and gather.
“My administration has a clear, clear goal: to make Detroit the easiest, most predictable, and attractive city in America for retail,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield is driving efforts on her “neighborhood anchor plan” by providing resources rooted in three pillars: stabilize, strengthen and grow. The pillars ensure Detroiters have programs and support needed to thrive, direct investment into the physical condition of their neighborhoods and economic development into neighborhood corridors.
The mayor said she also is planning to develop neighborhoods by adding mid-block streetlights, after residents and block clubs requested more lighting.
Sheffield, on March 19, signed an executive order for her “Brighten Up the Block” plan, which will use Public Lighting Authority bond savings to add 3,000 mid-block streetlights in Detroit’s neighborhoods.
“We also know that well-lit neighborhoods are safe neighborhoods,” Sheffield said. “Residents will have the opportunity to participate directly in community engagement sessions that will start next month. The goal is to begin installing these new streetlights this summer.”
Cash aid for moms and babies, plans to fight poverty
Sheffield highlighted her first announcement as mayor — bringing Rx Kids to Detroit, where nearly half of children under 5 years old live below the poverty level.
“Pregnancy should not mean poverty but all too often it does,” Sheffield said. “Detroit is now the largest city to participate in its first-of-its-kind cash assistance program to support maternal and infant health.”
The cash aid program, founded by Dr. Mona Hanna, launched in Flint two years ago as a way to alleviate financial troubles during an important time for infant development, and has since expanded rapidly to dozens of communities across the state from rural pockets to urban areas, such as Detroit.
In the city, the program — which offers $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 a month for the first six months of a baby’s life — began taking applications last month and has delivered $1.8 million and enrolled 1,353 families, as of Tuesday, March 31.
Sheffield has recruited and appointed Rx Kids co-founder Luke Shaefer to be the city’s first chief of Health, Human Services and Poverty Solutions and has proposed a new Department of Human, Homeless and Family Services (HHFS), to provide wraparound services for vulnerable Detroiters and move them from homelessness into homeownership.
Living wages for city employees
She highlighted her recent proposal to increase the minimum wage increase to $21.45 an hour, or $44,616 a year, for full-time employees July 1. The wage boost would bring their compensation up to what’s considered a livable wage – how much a full-time worker needs to earn to cover basic needs where they live – in Wayne County.
“Detroiters who put in a full day’s work shouldn’t have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to meet their most basic needs,” she said. “As Mayor, I believe in the dignity a living wage can provide, and I’m leading by example.”
City officials have previously said they expect the move will boost morale for positions with high turnover and, overall, improve the quality of life for employees who may work multiple jobs.
“This impacts over 900 city employees, 70% of which call Detroit home,” Sheffield said.
New growth strategy
Detroit offers “world-class culture and spaces,” Sheffield said, as she highlighted some of the city’s hot sports including the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, Eastern Market, Belle Isle and the riverwalk.
She also touted new developments on the way, including: a multi-sports complex on the Detroit riverfront, which would house a practice facility for Detroit’s WNBA expansion team, and Big Sean and Usher’s partnership with the Boys and Girls Club to open film and video production facilities for Detroit’s youth.
In an effort to retain talent and attract Detroiters to return to the city, Sheffield is kicking off a new growth plan in partnership with Dan Gilbert and the Move Detroit Coalition.
The first program will support current and future Detroiters with up to $15,000 to support homeownership and business growth and $1,000 in relocation assistance to Detroit, Sheffield said.
Applications are open at movedetroit.com.
“Whether it’s to stay, to return, or to move, it’s time to choose Detroit,” Sheffield said.
Small business programs and jobs
Sheffield plans to continue boosting small business programs like Motor City Match. She gave a shoutout to Corey Williams, who opened The Wildemere bar and grill in a vacant building after receiving a $50,000 grant. Williams managed to hire 17 Detroit residents with the help of the program.
The mayor also highlighted the Detroit Legacy Business Program, which provides funding for businesses that operated in the city for more than 30 years, and said she expects to expand the Green Grocer program, which supports small neighborhood grocers.
“We anticipate five more small grocers opening up this year,” Sheffield said, thanking City Council President Pro Tem Coleman Young II for supporting funding for the program.
Despite financial resources being available, Sheffield said business owners are seeking faster permitting, simpler zoning laws and operational support to help scale their business. The chief operating office and Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental department will develop a plan to tackle those issues.
Sheffield’s administration is also working on strategies with workforce groups to prepare Detroiters for future jobs.
“We are strengthening our talent pipeline through Detroit at Work, we’re deepening our partnerships with our high schools, colleges, and universities to ensure that Detroiters are first in line for these opportunities,” Sheffield said.
Housing
Though thousands of new units of affordable housing have been built and preserved in the past decade, there’s still more work to do, Sheffield said.
“In just about every conversation I have across this city, I hear someone say, ‘Mayor, we need more affordable housing,’ and they’re absolutely right,” she said. “We need more housing that is safe, affordable and accessible because when families have stable housing, our neighborhoods grow stronger, our children are more successful in school and families can build generational wealth.”
Here’s an overview of some of the housing announcements the mayor referenced in her speech:
- The $50-million Detroit Housing for the Future Fund 2.0, led by the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC), will offer grants and low interest loans to build and preserve affordable housing in neighborhoods.
- A down payment assistance program offering up to $25,000 for eligible residents looking to purchase a home. The third round opened up earlier this month for applications for another 450 Detroiters.
- Sheffield wants to build 1,000 single family homes over the next four years. To do this, the city of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) will offer pre-approved designs for new home construction later this year, Sheffield said. The timeline to issue a building permit to rehab a home or business is now the same day, versus 30 days or more.
- An executive order the mayor signed this month directs 100% of proceeds from the sale of city-owned commercial properties into what’s known as the Affordable Housing Development and Preservation Trust Fund, which provides financing, grants and low-interest loans to developers to keep units affordable. That’s an additional $4 million this year to develop and preserve affordable housing, she said.
- Sheffield said she wants to work with Detroit City Council to “modernize” the city’s “outdated zoning laws to make it easier and make it quicker” to build more housing for Detroiters.
Transportation for students
Sheffield announced a new program, “Show your ID, Ride for Free,” for any K-12 students in Detroit to ride a bus free of charge, seven days a week, year round. That program starts Wednesday, April 1. The money the school district currently spends on bus fare for students will go toward afterschool programming.
She said her administration is collaborating with the Detroit Public Schools Community District and charter schools to address transportation, programming and absenteeism.
Sheffield also spoke broadly about the need for safe and reliable transportation.
“We have 45 new buses in service and are scheduled to receive an additional 80 new buses over the next two years. This will allow us to achieve our goal of having 240 buses operating, on time, daily,” she said.
The city plans to add 175 new benches and upgrade 100 bus shelters, she said.
Public safety
Detroit officials have touted a 60-year drop in crime in the city. Sheffield said it remains a top priority in her administration to reduce violence crime, thanking Police Chief Todd Bettison, state, regional and federal partners, along with Community Violence Intervention groups.
“One of the things I’ve heard from residents is that they are also concerned with property crime, so I have directed DPD to create a property crime squad in all 12 precincts,” Sheffield said. “In addition to this new focus, our (neighborhood police officers) will be more visible and present in every neighborhood to build trust and enhance the overall quality of life for Detroiters.”
Sheffield is also adding a third shift to the city’s mental health co-response team, an initiative she announced during her budget proposal.
“For the first time, this blended unit of police officers and mental health professionals will be operating 24 hours, 7 days a week,” Sheffield said.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
