Mayor’s Office
Dear Warren Residents:
Since my election as your mayor, I have made it my priority to make our city cleaner and safer.
We have taken positive action to accomplish this objective. Our Neighborhood Clean Sweep Program is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood, street-by-street, and house-by-house inspection effort that targets residential and commercial buildings for blight violations. We began this unique program in 2008, and our anti-blight inspectors have issued over 190,000 warning notices to businesses and residences to clean up their properties or face fines up to $1000.00.
In addition, I have added 25 Department of Property Maintenance Inspectors. The additional inspectors have streamlined response times. By giving them smaller areas to inspect allows them to take a more proactive approach. This allows complaints to be corrected within a few weeks instead of a few months as in the past, resulting in fewer violations, and leading to more satisfied residents.
One interesting sidelight to this program is the reaction of the residents in targeted neighborhoods. You would think that they would not exactly welcome these anti-blight inspectors, but the comments they get from the residents are all positive. Comments like “This is a good way to get people to clean up their properties,” “I have noticed that our neighborhood is cleaner,” and “my neighbors feel proud to live here because there is less blight.”
Also, we have demolished over 600 dilapidated homes that I call “neighborhood eyesores” and we are cutting high grass and weeds on vacant homes and charging the owner of record that is usually a bank or mortgage company.
The bottom line is that an all-out anti-blight campaign is paying dividends. Our city is cleaner. You can help in this effort by reporting blighted properties to our 24-hour 7-day anti-blight hotline at (586) 574-4662
Our police department continues to be the premier law enforcement agency in the state. The Police Department became the largest agency to be accredited by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and has become the model agency in Michigan. In 2022, crime statistics show violent crime is down 7%, robbery is down 42%, and burglary is down 23%. I have also increased the size of the department by hiring 14 new officer positions so far this year with an additional 16 to be hired by year’s end. To provide even better service for the residents of Warren, Police Commissioner Dwyer has been a driving force behind improvements in technology, equipment, and increased cultural, diversity, and communication training.
Our fire department has re-instated city-run EMS transport services that bring in $3.4 million in fees every year, and we continue to replace all fire apparatus and vehicles using a planned replacement schedule.
So, our goal of making Warren cleaner and safer is being achieved, but it will always be foremost in my mind as long as I am your mayor.
Sincerely,
Mayor James R. Fouts
City of Warren
Mayor Fouts is asking for volunteers to help with snow removal for the elderly and disabled this winter. Volunteers are also needed in the spring for lawn maintenance and in the fall for cleanup. Please contact the Mayor’s office at (586) 574-4520 or fill out the online form. Students can receive NHS volunteer hours for their service.
Budget Presentation
Mayor Fouts' Budget Presentation - Fiscal Year 2022-2023
State Of The City
State of the City 2022
