want
'We
service!'
1
I'C line wor ers
p ee limit 0 dministra-
tio jobs to be more efficient.
- Provide an updated city
directory, 0 that residents
ould know ere to go (or
particular services. (Currently,
,Brown stated, there were so
many changes in the tructure
o( departments that people who
call keep getting disconnected
numbers and city officials them-
se so . don
� ho does what.)
- Develop a system to coor
dinate ctions of different
departments (possibly by com
puter) so that one part of city
government will �ow what the
other i doing. Brown noted a
cue here people were told
their ter would not be turned
off, if they paid their bill by 3
p.m. A{ter they paid, they
found that orkers assigned to
tum their er off had never
been told about the arrangment
or the fact that the bill taken
care of. - Give peciaI awards
and incentives for the "best ser
vicc·provider ."
, - Give priority to maintain
ing parks near schoo .
- Expand and promote
programs in city par includ
ing supervision to make sure
that children are safe.
The pi tform concerned
about the "incredibly" long
time" it too to' demolish
dangerous bandoned build
ings, increasing demolition
costs and the expense of rues,
vandalism d crime.
The platform called for:
- An investigation by the
General Accounting Office and
a local special prosecutor to ex
amine the last eight years of the
city' demolition process fro
beginning to end to uncover
ere the I of dollars from
city cost per h to contractor
cost per house l occurriDg and
to recover un ccounted for
fuD
- AppoiDtmcDt of Special
Commission, formed by the
City Council, comprised of
citizens, city representative&
and private contr ctors to study
the r ults of the in\Utigatio
and I dopt a ne process for
demolition.
There were also caDs for a
reorganiution of city depart
ments to make services more ef-
ficient. The city asked to:
- Decentralize city services
by creating -managable" sized
neighborhood districts fo the
organization d coordination
of delivery. (The platform also
calls for setting up neighbor
hood councils to give residents
in these ar greater control
over policies which affeCt their
liYeS and futures.)
- Consolidate the present
departments of Public Works,
Sewage, Building and Safety
Engineering, Public Lighting.
and sections of the Department
of Park and Recreation in
volved in maintaining par into
one Department of Public Ser
vices. (On the other hand, the
platform calls for abolishing the
Community and Economic
Development Department,
seen by community groups
super ency controlled by city
hall.
- Change the Department
of Parks and Recreation to
Department of Recre tion,
which ould be only respon
sible for recreation program
ming and administration of
recreation butldings (leaving
maintaining parks up to the new
Department of Public Ser
vices.)
- Establish a Department of
Public Service yard in every di -
trict for better garbage collec
tion, street, alley and . dewalk
repair and incorporate lighting
and park maintenance and
cleaning into the decentralized
district system. .
There some interest in
cutting costs as well as the
gc;neral platform concern of im
proving the enviro�nt in the
suggestion that the city:
- Reduce garbage and trash
by creating recycling facilities in
each district. .
There w also interest' in
getting more money for er
vices. The public services sec
tion called for:
- Better collection of delin
quent taxe , particularly
property taxes where there
were abandoned buildings.
- Consideration of an am
nesty of delinquint taxes and a
one time "forgiveness" of some
taxes in order to get the rest, in
cases where this w necessary.
While there' interest in
usillg "alternative work
program (youth ummer
program and programs for
tho e· on social services in
Governor James Blanchard's Detroit's first Black book
-Job Start Program") to clean fair Will take pi ce on Saturdy
up alleys, there w concern J y 29th at Cobo Center from
that those in such programs 9 to 9pm and Sunday July
might be exploited or cau e � from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. .
layoffs pushing pre eat city The book fair is sponsored
worker onto unemployment. b Akbar's 'Book-n-Things, a
The section asked the city to . order boo service based
ensure that tho e on uch in t. Lo . Missouri. Boo -n-
programs: Things has ponsored first
- Would never be used in B ck boo fairs in St. Louis, on
place of regular city workers. th land of Bermu and At-
- Would have equal oppor- laata here Mayor Andrew
tunity to get full time employ- Young proclaimed April 29th
ment and that their wor on the "Black Book Fair Day", and
programs be co idered job recently in Kansas City, Mis-
experience. souri.
One issue of great concern Akbar Muhammad, owner
.: was making sidewalks, building of the boo service, says that
and public transportation more there i renewed interest
accessib e to th9SC with hand- among young dolts and teens
icaps. , in books. That reading is a
There also concern that popular alternative ource of
public transportation left all entertainment again. "We e
poor people unable to afford or ieadingmore and there is a -
drive cars isolated from jobs cial demand for Black
d other facilities. . children' boo nationwide.
Buses run by the Detroit Book fair activiti inelu :
Department of Transportation book signing by authors, poetry
(D-DOT) were accused of reading cultural entertain-.
beiDg "unreliable" and the p t- ment, present tions by co -
form charged that -until recent- mu_'ity, civic and bu ine
If there no program to leader children's ory ho
�t the numerOUs number Fe ed at book fair will
of breakdowns that occurred Ii cds of boo written r
and caused "severe disruption.". p by bIa<* writer
Transportation prOYided by P . rs. ,
the Suburbaa Mobility Bob La , of the N
:A. thority for Regional York radio talk show -Night
T rtatioa (SMART) T wiD give peciaI presea-
. to be -0( pod quality" b on Sunday afternoon.
·poor quantitY' . •. uffi- Dr.· d Williams, will
. routes, I rates between autqgrap d discusS his ne
and deli . ent transfer boob 'They Stole It But You
CODDCcti making i harder Return It", on Saturday
to iet to jobs outside of Detroit. and �unday.
The section called for -im- drganizer fo
proviDg the transportation sys- enthused by th
tem by generated in the
- Reducing transportation tici
fare acr the board.
- Increasing the nUmber of
coaches 00 east/west routes and
provide Par &. Ride or expr
service from Detroit
•
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