Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud delivers his May 23 State of the City address at the Michael A. Guido Theater in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Mayor Abdullah Hammoud delivered a solo state of the city address May 23 with the theme “betting on Dearborn,” focusing on the balanced budget, grant-funded projects and the city’s new PEACE parks.
The evening event, held in the Michael A. Guido Theater in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, included a prelude with a brass ensemble from the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, singers from the Dearborn Youth Theater, and the Vanguard Voices performing The Star-Spangled Banner.
City Council President Michael Sareini spoke briefly before the mayor’s address, reinforcing the City Council’s willingness to embrace change and echoing the administration’s strong sentiment of “betting on Dearborn.”
Hammoud delivered an initial state of the city address Feb. 7 in tandem with Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi in a shared “tale of two cities” format at the COMPAC.
This, his first solo presentation, was about 40 minutes long and focused on having the city’s first balanced budget in 20 years, despite starting with a $20 million structural deficit, due in part to voters rejecting the Nov. 3, 2021, 3.5 supplemental millage, which represented about $15 million or 20 percent of the general fund property tax revenue.
With more than $25 million received in grants from federal, state and county resources, the city was able to avoid cuts to city services and to move ahead with its plans for flood mitigation studies, enhanced green spaces and a proactive approach to improving traffic safety.
Hammoud expanded on his “betting on Dearborn” theme, and said people from around the world have chosen the city to raise their families, start businesses and pursue their dreams because “it’s the safest bet anyone can make.”
“Whether you are a third-generation auto worker who grew up in the South End and migrated west, whether you can trace your roots to Italy or Yemen, Poland or Iraq, people of all walks of life have bet on Dearborn,” he said.
City Council President Michael Sareini speaks May 23 prior to Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s State-of-the-City address the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.
Hammoud provided an optimistic picture of Michigan’s seventh largest city, unveiling a new mission statement and five strategic priorities.
The city’s new mission statement reads, “Dearborn is where new beginnings meet lifelong opportunities, where city government draws on the passion and creativity of residents to foster healthy neighborhoods, thriving businesses and excellent public services.”
Hammoud also spoke of the city’s new, groundbreaking partnership with Google to provide 24/7, bilingual city services; a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library that provides free monthly books to children 5 and under; local efforts to intervene in the ongoing opioid crisis, including providing free Narcan at the John D. Dingell Transit Center, and efforts to hold industrial polluters in the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods accountable.
The mayor’s PEACE Parks Project – Parks Equity and Access for City Engagement – revealed a $30 million investment.
Hammoud’s five strategic priorities to secure the future and prosperity of the city include innovative government, civic engagement and democracy, economic opportunity and mobility, a green and healthy Dearborn, and safety and justice for all.
Innovative government will include an investment in the city’s information technology infrastructure and a partnership with Google to make the city a 24/7 service provider, in multiple languages, with a state-of-the-art city website.
“These upgrades are not about getting newer versions of older things,” Hammoud said. “They’re about getting smarter, faster, more efficient and more helpful to the people we serve.”
He said the city will provide more community events, and he half-jokingly said he is tired of his sister-in-law saying how much better events are in Northville.
“I am all about competition,” he said. “So, we are coming for you Northville. Let it be known that Dearborn is the capital of family-friendly events, and we are here to claim it.”
Hammoud said the March announcement of a $30 million investment in PEACE Parks will provide needed green space, will beautify neighborhoods, improve mental and physical health, raise property values and attract investment.
“From flooding to sustainability to public health to economic development, parks are the connective tissue of our public square,” he said.
Hammoud said the city has a responsibility, as well, to heal the scars of heavy industry so that Dearborn can remain healthy and beautiful for generations to come.
He said the city is investing millions in new basketball courts and soccer fields, improved lighting, upgrading pavilions and rental spaces, building new rain gardens and installing accessible playscapes.
The Vanguard Voices perform The Star-Spangled Banner May 23 at Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s State-of-the-City address the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.
Hammoud said the PEACE Park initiative will also invest millions to improve Camp Dearborn, which he said “is here to stay.”
“This summer will mark Camp Dearborn’s 75th birthday, and we will be celebrating by bringing back the Fourth of July fireworks show that so many of us remember from our childhood,” he said. “For 13 years, the sky above Camp Dearborn has been dark on July 4, and we look forward to lighting up once again, because Camp Dearborn’s renaissance starts now.”
Hammoud said the $30 million in PEACE Park investment did not cost the taxpayers a penny in taxes.
He said three new PEACE Parks, designed in partnership with Imagine Designs, will be in three distinct city locations: in downtown west and east Dearborn, and the South End.
“These aren’t just any parks,” Hammoud said. “These new parks embody the future we want for our city: a city that is green and innovative, communal and connected.”
The mayor said his plans for economic opportunity and mobility are tied to the city’s parks, transforming the city’s downtowns, bringing in foot traffic, creating micro-economies and bringing in outdoor events.
Hammoud said that Dearborn is one of the youngest cities in southeast Michigan, with nearly 40 percent of its population under the age of 24, and has the only K to 14 school system in the state.
“While the country continues to debate tuition-free community college, we’ve been doing it for decades,” he said. “Our students are able to graduate high school with an associate’s degree at no cost to them.”
Hammoud said Dearborn has also been a capital of innovation for decades, shaping the future of the auto industry and modeling American ingenuity for the world to see.
He said the city is also a capital of immigration, holding space for anyone who dreams of providing a better life for their families.
Hammoud emphasized that Dearborn will continue to be known for its excellent city services.
“I want Dearborn to be the city that gets creative about solving problems, a city that took initiative and did not cede its responsibility to others,” he said.
Hammoud said that since his first day in office, establishing a flood mitigation strategy has been a priority.
“We can’t change what we don’t understand,” he said. “That’s why last year we initiated the first ever comprehensive study of our stormwater infrastructure to understand where exactly the vulnerabilities are.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the flooding problem. We initiated this study so we can tackle flooding neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block.”
Hammoud said that as a downstream community, Dearborn also gets water runoff from neighboring communities upstream.
“We are working hand-in-hand with those communities to treat flooding as a regional issue, and to figure out ways to pool our collective resources to address this collective problem,” he said.
Hammoud addressed the Police Department’s shift to focus on hazardous moving violations that endanger health and safety, including speeding, reckless driving and running stop signs in residential areas.
He spoke about the speed hump traffic calming measures, of which three are currently being piloted.
Hammoud said the new focus on moving violations has cut in half the proportion of citations issued to black and African-American drivers.
“In 2019, before I assumed office, 40 percent of citations issued were to black and African-American drivers,” he said. “In 2022, that number was cut in half, addressing a startling disparity that’s existed in this city for too long.”
Hammoud said the city and its people will continue to dream big.
“We will continue to govern from a place of hope, not a place of fear,” he said. “The state of our city is stronger than ever.
“Whether you are in search of a place to raise your children or a developer looking for an opportunity to invest, or a philanthropic institution in search of making a difference, this is the city for you to be in, because in Dearborn we bet on ourselves, and the safest bet anyone can make is on this place we call home.”