State of Community Events Highlight Innovations

Each year, many elected leaders address their constituents to present the state of the community. Some are elaborate events, some are simply a speech given in conjunction with a regular meeting of the elected body. This year, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly presented his State of the City in five video segments on Facebook!

No matter the format, there are always exciting innovations in public service delivery at the forefront of these presentations.

Here are a few of the things I’ve heard in 2017:

Cool idea

Oak Park announced a great idea for building trust between the public safety department and the public that will also put additional eyes and ears on the street in neighborhoods. The department has transformed a city van into an ice cream truck – they will be out in neighborhoods giving out ice cream this spring and summer. The ice cream is being donated by a local company, Prairie Farms. The van was already part of the city fleet. The only cost was for marketing and decals on the truck.

Staff provides services, will travel

Romulus conducts traveling staff meetings as part of the city’s overall effort to provide superior customer service at all levels. The goal of these meetings is two-fold. First, it gives the business insight into how their municipality runs, and second for relationship-building both on the part of the business for any future needs, but also for city staff to learn about a local commercial customer. Mayor LeRoy Burcroff says, “Our travelling staff meetings have been extremely valuable in demonstrating to our business community that their local government representatives are working effectively on their behalf. These meetings also allow us to better understand the challenges our business community are facing and how we might be able to assist.”

Romulus staff meeting at Michigan Pneumatic Tool, Inc.

Raising funds to increase fun

Auburn Hills launched a fundraising campaign for new, planned downtown developments including the addition of an amphitheater, plaza space, and a splash pad at Riverside Park. One of the functions of the amphitheater will be outdoor performances. Using the Clinton River as a backdrop, the main stage will be a spectacular setting for concerts, plays, and other events. They are very close to achieving their fundraising goal of $1 million.

Collaborative corridor marketing

Clinton Township is addressing vacant industrial and commercial buildings along the Groesbeck corridor by working with neighboring communities and using an online tool to help potential developers and businesses view what properties are available along with zoning information, taxes, and other snippets of information that may be needed.

SEMCOG is proud to partner with our member governments in serving the people of Southeast Michigan! We enjoy attending state-of-the-community presentations and learning more about your success. Please let me know if your community is hosting a state-of-the-community event.