DEARBORN — On Wednesday evening Mayor Jack O’Reilly held his 2013 State of the City Address at city hall, where he discussed the city’s recent developments and upcoming projects. Dignitaries and officials at the event included Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad, 19th District Court Judge Sam Salamey, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, State Representative George Darany and Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak.

Some of the points Mayor O’Reilly discussed included crime rates in Dearborn, which he says are beginning to drop. In 2012, robbery, assault, vehicle thefts and burglaries dropped by almost 11 percent. Last month, those crimes were down 16% compared to those of a year ago. O’Reilly attributes the drops to several initiatives spearheaded by the police department, which includes stronger communication with neighboring jurisdictions including Melvindale, Detroit and Dearborn Heights.

O’Reilly says working with other cities near the borders have helped capture more criminals in the area.

Mayor O’Reilly giving his 2013 State of the City Address.

“In 2010, we created a task force with Detroit to help fight crimes crossing over our borders. In 2012, that unit was so successful we expanded it to include other neighboring jurisdictions. Last year, these task force officers alone made 1,200 misdemeanor and 400 felony arrests, taking criminals off our streets,” O’Reilly stated.

O’Reilly said another major goal for the city has been to cut back on costs as much as possible. To date, they have shrunk the nonpublic safety workforce by almost 40 percent since 2001. The Department of Public Works cut overhead by combining the highways, park and motor transport divisions and merging them with the water and sewer divisions. Additionally, the selling of the Dearborn Towers in Clearwater Florida is supposed to add an additional 6 million to the budget.

The mayor also discussed the new plans of moving City Hall over to a building located on Michigan Ave. just down the street from the library, community center, police station and courthouse. He expects the move to save at least $250,000 in costs annually. The available space at City Hall will be purchased by Artspace, which is looking to transform it into a live, work and exhibit space for artists, hoping it will be a unique attraction. 

The mayor also discussed upcoming projects which are supposed to contribute greatly to the local economy. The student housing development at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Intermodal Passenger Rail Station are both expected to attract more students, employees, visitors and customers into town. The housing project is looking to open in the fall of 2013, while the train station is expected to launch in early 2014.

“As you can see, it’s been a very busy and fulfilling year with results that reflect a strong commitment to the long term interests of Dearborn from our city council, our department directors, our dedicated employees, their unions and our boards and commissions. I believe that we have correctly identified, ordered and pursued our priorities in a way that will realize long term returns. We’ve responded to new challenges with creative approaches and have redoubled our efforts to find real solutions to our ongoing issues,” O’Relly stated.