Wayne County Warren Evans held his State of the County Address Tuesday night. The invitation-only event was held at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. It marked Evans’ first in-person State of the County Address since 2019. Evans was joined by County Commissioners, elected officials, community leaders, and other distinguished guests for the speech.
Executive Evans stated the County government was strong and touted the many progressive strides that have been made under his leadership.
Evans touted his office’s efforts to dodge bankruptcy, tackle previous inefficiencies, and transform the county into a financially sound government.
“Against those odds, we made it work,” said Executive Evans. “Now we are more stronger, more stable, more financially sound than Wayne County has been in many many years.”
Evans continued to dive into the progress the County made to make the County financially solvent by passing eight straight balanced budgets, including surpluses. The County Executive pressed on his operational and financial management success, noting the county’s improved credit rating from Wall St., from junk bond status when he took office in 2015 to an A credit rating.
“We have continuously focused our efforts on providing better service. We’ve empowered families and businesses with programs and resources designed to help them through the pandemic, and we’ve adjusted our own operations to cope with this crisis with programs and resources designed to help them through the pandemic. We’ve adjusted our own operations to cope with this crisis.
After dodging bankruptcy, transforming its budget, and overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, Evans made new commitments and investments.
Executive Evans plans to champion new efforts into Public Health by targeting chronic illnesses and investing $60 million in the county’s health department thanks to federal funds through the American Rescue Plan.
“COVID-19 tested the resiliency of the institution we had built over the past eight years, and Wayne County passed the tested,” Evans remarked. “At the beginning of COVID, the people who were mostly likely to die from it looked like me, but together we took on the challenge of racial disparities.”
The speech also covered topics such as addressing mental health, county, economic development initiatives, the new Criminal Justice Complex, and workforce development.
The County Executive also announced a plan to address environmental health. His administration will soon install 100 air monitors, including 500 mobile air monitors for children. Evans hopes the plan will help the government learn about asthma rates and environmental health while holding air polluters accountable.
“We can use this data to take immediate action Will notify parents when air quality is low helping them to project their children before they end up in the emergency room. As for polluters, lets just say, the next time they apply for their permits, we’ll be waiting with the data we need to hold them accountable.”
Evans also declared a Public Health Emergency as a result of the dangerous conditions at its Juvenile Detention Facility and the issues of overcrowding. The County is looking to the State of Michigan to help find a resolution to the long-term residential placement and changes in legislation that requires the County to hold 18-year-old inmates.
“It’s important to reiterate that we all bear a responsibility to the safety and well-being of those in our custody,” Evans said. “The fundamental role of government is to protect its citizens especially the most vulnerable.”
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