MY PLAN FOR BETTER ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE​

• Maintain and repair our city and neighborhood roadways with proactive repairs:

​       The Neighborhood Makeover program in Westland was launched to repair our subdivision streets. Through continued

       fiscal responsibility and the dedicated work of our DPW Director Ramzi El-Gharib and the entire Department of Public

       Works team we can continue the progress with road and street repairs in neighborhoods all across Westland. Priorities

       for neighborhood road repair must be decided on the areas of greatest areas of need first and foremost.

​​

• Connecting broken gaps of sidewalks and ensuring more sidewalk connectivity:
  I was incredibly excited when we put together the Walk & Roll mobility program. One of the key aspects of the Walk & Roll mobility program was to focus on sidewalk connectivity along major roadways and neighborhood streets. There are many positive benefits of having a program that focuses on sidewalk connectivity. Sidewalks make it safer for pedestrians to walk down a street. Having fully connected sidewalks means more accessibility for pedestrians with disabilities and different abilities to get around on. They mean that kids won't have to walk to school or other people walk to where they are going on someone's grass.

​​

​       We can fund future sidewalk connectivity efforts through utilizing a portion of our ARPA dollars. We can also

      apply for federal and state grant funding, namely TAP grants, to fund connectivity. In the past, we have used TAP

      grant funding to do sidewalk connectivity.

       While we may not be able to get to every single sidewalk in the city, all at once, we can make a big difference and

       close many of the gaps we do have. We can reinvigorate and refocus on the Walk & Roll plan.​

​

• Explore building a water tower storage unit to lower the cost of a water bill for families:

​       Many cities around Metro Detroit (Canton, Farmington Hills, Northville, Novi) are building water towers or 

       water storage units to help lower the cost of water bills for their residents, working families and small businesses. I

       believe Westland is in a unique position to be able to do the same. A water tower can potentially lower costs by allowing

       the city to store water during off hours and then release that water for use during peak usage hours.

       

       I would like to us develop a comprehensive study to explore the costs, both construction and operational costs, to

       building a water tower or storage unit. If we can lower costs for residents, working families and small businesses

       through their water bill than we should be looking into doing so.

​​

• Address flooding issues by investing in green infrastructure:

​       Like many in Westland, my basement has flooded before after a heavy rain.  In 2021 the homes of many of my

       neighbors and my own flooded with 8+ inches of water in our basements. I know there are many neighborhoods and

       residents who experience flooded basements after very heavy rains. That's why as a city we need to continue to invest

       in resources and projects that can help mitigate neighborhood and basement flooding.

​

       One way in which I believe we can reduce flooding is through investments in green infrastructure. Green infrastructure           investments can include building out any of the following:

• Retention ponds and trenches: Retention ponds and trenches can be used to help push water off into and hold the water. In neighborhoods that are located near a park I would like to see us look into building retention ponds and drainage systems where we can push off the water into.

• Bioswales: Installing biowales in portions of neighborhoods that flood the most. Bioswales are a type of green infrastructure and they can be used to manage stormwater in neighborhoods. Bioswales are vegetated channels that are designed to allow stormwater to soak into the soil. They are typically planted with native plants that have deep root systems and that are excellent at guiding water off the street and down into the ground. Bioswale designs can vary in shape and size, but they all serve the same purpose: to collect, slow, infiltrate, and filter stormwater.

• Start utilizing permeable concrete on road construction projects: Adding green infrastructure means building our roads, curbs, and sidewalks out of porous, permeable pavement so water can flow through the concrete. It means utilizing nature through new, natural landscaping designs and putting more gardens and micro gardens (biowales) in order to help trap and stop storm water runoff. Plants and vegetation with larger root systems can help trap and stop more water, so we should be planting more gardens and micro gardens as a means to help.
   

       Using porous, permeable pavement and concreate and building new, natural landscaping across the city will allow                   water run off into the ground instead of building up on our streets and flooding our basements and roadways. It will               reduce the backup and stress on our sewer systems.

       

Information obtained below is from the following sources:

https://ldpwatersheds.org/bioswales-reduce-flooding-and-protect-waterways/

https://coast.noaa.gov/data/docs/digitalcoast/gi-econ.pdf

​​

• Holding DTE accountable when it comes to power outages:

​       As one of your elected officials on your Westland City Council I have worked to hold DTE to account when it comes to 

       the constant power outages faced by residents here in Westland. I have done so by asking for public meetings with DTE

       Representatives, speaking out publicly at City Council meetings, and advocated for communities to join together to

       stand up to the DTE monopoly. Here in the State of Michigan we rank 45th in the country in-terms of the reliability of

       our power grid. We are also 34th in the country in-terms of the costs and money we pay to have power. That means our

       power grid is both expensive and unreliable. We have to demand better from DTE.

​

       We must demand that DTE do more to make our electric grid more reliable and secure so that the power doesn't go out         every time it storms or we have a little bit of wind. We must ensure that DTE is making more upgrades to our power               grid and infrastructure by trimming more trees each year, changing out transformers before they blow, and burying               power lines when possible.

​

      It’s also worth looking into DTE’s financial statements as a corporate entity. DTE Energy’s gross profit for the twelve                  months ending June 30, 2022 was $5.923B, a 11.69% increase year-over-year. DTE Energy annual gross profit for 2021            was $5.756B, a 3.08% increase from 2020. DTE Energy annual gross profit for 2020 was $5.584B, a 4.67% increase from          2019.

 

       There is something else that years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 have in common at DTE besides their net profit increases         year over year. Each of those years DTE lobbied the Michigan Public Service Commission, the unit of government that             regulates our public utilities, for electrical rate increases. That means DTE was trying to get more money out of                         consumers like us. According to a publication in the Detroit Free Press by Free Press Journalist Nusharat Rhaman, with

       numbers obtained from DTE and the State of Michigan’s own reports, DTE requested an 8.8% rate increase in 2022. That

       equates to approximately $388 million in additional revenue . Rhaman reports that this would amount to about $10 

       more a month for residential customers. Since 2010, Rhaman’s reporting showed that the Michigan Public Service

       Commission had approved six other rate increases. The most recent was in 2020, when the commission approved a DTE

       rate increase of 4.7%, or $3.93 a month. DTE and its lobbyists get the State of Michigan to give them frequent rate

       increases on the backs of consumers like all of us.

 

       According to Salary.com, Jerry Norcia, the Chief Executive of DTE, made approximately $11 million in total compensation

       in 2020 and $10,054,678 in 2021. Mr. Norcia received an 11% compensation

       increase in 2020 from 2019, during the pandemic. As a result of his compensation increase, when you factor in total 

       compensation, he now makes 67 times the pay of his average worker at DTE. Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative

       Officer David Meador made $3,729,535 in total compensation. President and COO Trevor Lauer made $2,548,069.

       Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer $2,546,164. President and Chief Operating Office Mark Steiers made

       $2,285,565 in total compensation.

 

       Meanwhile, DTE has only recently ramped up investments its tree trimming program after much public outcry and

       scrutiny. Above ground power lines and trees taking out wires and entire poles are a significant contributor to the

       constant power outrageous according to several studies. Additionally, lack of investments in the overall power grid and 

       infrastructure contribute to these constant outages and delays in service. Consumers across Westland and Metro

       Detroit have experienced constant outages throughout 2021 and have lost time and money as a result.

       DTE’s customers, residents and small businesses alike, sit for days without power watching their food go to waste, vital

       life saving medicines go bad, and experiencing the inconvenience of living without power. We’re told by DTE that we

       need to be patient and that they are out there doing the best they possibly can. And just what is DTE doing response to

       all of this inconvenience and this patience we’re all supposed to have, they are offering us another lousy $25 bill credit . . .      if you qualify for it.

 

       Upon discussing DTE’s “generous” offer of a $25 credit, I think there are some pertinent follow up questions that need to

       be asked. Did you lose only $25 worth of food in your fridge when the power went out? If you lost life-saving

       prescriptions that required refrigeration, did those only cost you $25? If you were forced to stay at a hotel, one-two-

       three-four nights, was your bill only $25? If you experienced damage to your home as a result of the power being out,

       was that damage only $25?

 

       If your power is out, don't blame the Utility Workers and hard working union members either. The hard working and

       dedicated Utility Workers from the Michigan State Utility Workers Council are doing all they can with the resources they

       are given from DTE to keep our power on and restore it when it goes out. This isn't there fault, this is the fault of the 

       corporate entities controlling our power grid here in Michigan.

​

       If you're angry at both DTE and Consumers Energy you should be. If you're looking for a quick solution to the constant

       power outrageous and annual price rate increases on our backs from DTE there isn't one. Over the long term, what

       needs to happen is for the people’s representatives, your government, at the state and local levels, being tougher on

       DTE. Taking a stand to demand more tree trimming, burying of power lines, and upgrades to our power grid. public

       control, no not privatization, over the utility companies.

​