In a recent interview with The Detroit News, Mayor Mike Duggan talked about plans and goals for his second term.
Duggan began by touting Detroit's economic growth and improved crime numbers—the unemployment rate is now at 8.4 percent and there are fewer homicides per year. The city also completed a federally-funded project to demolish 13,300 houses in.
But he says he's going to continue to prioritize efforts at neighborhood growth. "We've got great advocates for downtown and Midtown in the private sector. We need to have great advocates for businesses in neighborhoods," Duggan said. "And that's going to be the next big push."
Duggan's administration plans to renovate empty lots and storefronts in strategic neighborhoods, and as the first month of the year finishes, a new team of deputy district managers are going to be hired to implement these plans.
In the next five years, roads and sidewalks throughout the districts will be fixed by using $125 million in funds from a bond program.
Other small business programs—Motor City Match, Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, Detroit at Work—will be expanded to give greater opportunities to for regular Detroiters to grow their business, get jobs, or bid on large development projects.
A problem that the mayor also wants to increase the number of citizens with car insurance. He described rates in the city as "unconscionable."
After his proposal to the state House to create affordable car insurance was defeated, he vowed to continue the fight and hopes the bill will pass this year.
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