Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield presented her first budget proposal to the city council Monday with a focus on housing and livable wages to address poverty.

Sheffield’s budget proposal includes shifting the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to be fully funded by commercial property sales. It contributes 40% of the funding now. She says that would create a $4 million investment in the rehabilitation and development of affordable housing. Sheffield says she also plans for the Housing and Revitalization Department to utilize a portion of Community Development Block grant funds to create a pilot program for infield housing.

The mayor also wants a $1 million reduction in property taxes, a $220 million transportation operations budget and to increase pay for full time city workers. 

She announced an executive order to raise the hourly wage of every full time city employee to $21.45 cents an hour. The city estimates roughly 900 people will be affected—about 70% of them are Detroit residents. 

Sheffield says it’s just one part of her plan to reduce poverty in the city. “That means that we are investing not only in our workforce, but also strengthening our families in our neighborhoods across our city. Today is about fairness, about dignity and about making sure Detroit continues to rise higher, not just as a city, but for the workers who make our progress possible.” 

Some workers could see an increase of as much as $5 per hour. The raise will go into effect during the first full pay period in July.  

-Reporting by Bre’Anna Tinsley

Interfaith Day of Unity

The 25^th Annual Interfaith Day of Unity is Saturday, March 22. The Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit hosts the event. The celebration will open with “sacred” multilingual expressions from several faiths, including the sounding of the shofar, the Muslim Call to Prayer, and the blowing of the Hindu conch shell.

Clergy from all faiths and communities are invited to participate in the service and model unity through a shared interfaith pledge. Students will offer prayers for world peace and the youngest participants will join a peace processional with banners decorated with their individual visions for world peace. Dr. Walid Harb and Bryant Frank will receive Peacemaker Awards for their friendship and service toward interfaith collaboration.

The 25^th Annual Interfaith Day of Unity celebration is March 22 from 4-6p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 37425 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills.

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The annual “State of Transit” event was this week. Put on by advocacy group Transit Riders United, it gathers leaders from around southeastern Michigan to discuss all things related to public transportation.

Detroit Director of Transit Robert Cramer told WDET at the event that one thing DDOT has made progress over the last year is modernizing its fleet of buses. That includes adding 45 new hybrid and four electric buses.

He says the hybrid models have seem to be more feasible than the electric ones at this time.

“Because we don’t have a network of charging around the city that can keep topping it off, we send [the electric buses] out for 4 or 5 hours, then we’ll have to bring them back for a pretty lengthy charging,” says Cramer. 

However, Cramer says DDOT is still facing bus availability challenges as it works to bring more buses onto the road. He says on time performance isn’t quite where it needs to be as a result.

“Right now we’re in the upper 60s,” says Cramer, “about 70% is out on time performance. The industry standard, and our goal, is 85%.”

Cramer says improving wages for drivers and mechanics has also helped the department improve service over the last year. He says it’s helped with employee retention.