MACKINAC ISLAND (WWJ) - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will ask voters to approve a $200 million bond to help the city demolish or renovate all abandoned homes in the city.
Making the announcment Thursday at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, the mayor noted that federal money for demolitions in Detroit will run dry in early 2020.
Duggan said he expects to ask the city council this fall for approval to put the bond on the March 2020 presidential primary election ballot.
Some good news, he said: There will be no need to raise taxes to get this done.
"You know how I showed you our finances are doing well?" he told the crowd. "We've paid down so much debt, we can actually sell this bond issue with no tax increase."
Duggan said he wants to demolish 4,000 houses each year.
"And it's my obligation as mayor to get to every neighborhood," Duggan said. "Because even if you're in one of those neighborhood's that's only got two or three houses left, you're still on that block. You still have to life there, which means we have to get to you...And now we have to figure out how do we do it without the federal money?"
The mayor said the bond would help get rid of all abandoned houses in Detroit by the end of 2024.