DETROIT— “A work in progress.”

This was the key message of Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s state of the city address. The address, which took place at the Max M. Fisher Music Hall on Tuesday February 22 at 7:00pm,  drew a crowd that filled every seat.

Bing focused on the many improvements made, including a drop in the homicide rates, and unemployment being at its lowest in two years.  He also paid special attention to city services, such as the police force, and how major changes are forthcoming.

Mayor Bing

“We are instituting new management procedure moving officers from desk jobs back to police work and putting civilians in administrative roles…adding 120 officers to streets,”  he said. In addition to this management procedure and the building a new headquarters, Bing mentioned a new “Project 14” which will give police officers incentives to move back into the city that they serve, providing 24 safety for residences.

This change is welcome, especially to House Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-12).

“In southwest Detroit we had three police stations right in the neighborhood and then they consolidate them into one centralized area,” she said. “This has greatly decreased the number of police present in our community.”

Bing also addressed the city’s emergency services and a new system for prioritizing life threatening calls and routing non emergencies to other departments. He did mention that he believes citizens are partially to blame for misusing the number.

Tlaib says that while there have been reports of citizen having used the ambulance in properly, there has not been enough data to show if these are just one-time incidents.

“There isn’t enough data to say it is the citizens’ fault,” said Tlaib. “A huge concern I have is that when you pick people up in an ambulance, they charge the insurance so where is that money going.” The EM Services were recently audited and Tlaib says she knows changes had to be made.

“The blame is only being laid on residents calling and there is not enough looking at the data”

Bing also noted the value of citizens’ input in maintaining and revitalizing the city.

“This administration has made it crystal clear that we need change. We will not do things the same way and our community will always have a seat at the table,” he said.

Bing also talked about making it easier for small businesses to open. He made mention of the many “hoops” that people have to go through to open a business and pledge to make Detroit more business friendly.

“I’ve had people tell me they want to open a business but don’t know how, or who to talk to in the city. Ease of access and being transparent about the process is extremely important,” said Tlaib. Bing made mention of putting permits online and making it easier for business owners to navigate the path to opening a small business.

Also, major companies are now making moves to  invest in Detroit, opening up a number of new jobs.

“I believe we have turned a corner. Businesses, philanthropic organizations and our state and federal government believe in Detroit again, and are aligned like never before,” he said. Compuwear Corporation is developing a major system here in the city and the health organizations are putting $22 million in neighborhood improvements.

“Bing is starting that partnership between residents and the city will work,” said an optimistic Tlaib.

Despite the advances, Bing knows tons of work needs to be done in the city. He called citizens to action as the fight to revive Detroit continues.

“It is time for all of us to think about what we can do to help our city,“ Bing said. “Good government creates an environment to help regular people do extraordinary things. It inspires people to work together and take responsibility for their community.”