A NEW DAY IN WAYNE COUNTY:
THE WARREN C. EVANS
2015 PLAN
Wayne County needs a proven leader
who knows how to manage, collaborate and innovate in order
to run an efficient and transparent government that makes for a better quality of life. As a lifelong public servant who
has worked and managed through some of our county’s toughest times, I submit that I am the best person to get that job
done.
As a lifelong Detroiter with a passion for improving the lives of others, I worked my way up from a rookie police
officer to eventually becoming the Sheriff of Wayne County, where I oversaw a $150 million budget and 1,300 employees.
We secured federal grants that paid for hundreds of those deputies. These grants funded police operations that resulted
in thousands of dangerous felons being arrested on outstanding warrants, thus creating a safer Wayne County.
As an assistant Wayne County prosecutor I took on slumlords who weren’t maintaining their property; as sheriff, I
worked to put a halt to foreclosures. Similarly, I addressed the problems of the juvenile detention facility to avoid federal
oversight.
These accomplishments came through finding additional resources and creative ways to
tackle difficult challenges – and collaborating with others in the city and region to get things
done.
As Detroit Police Chief I joined our men and women in blue and helped patrol the
streets. I’m proud to report that during my time as chief, violent crime was reduced by 27%.
All of these challenges were met while staying within my budget; and when the budget
wasn’t funded properly I went to court and a judge agreed.
Now, in this critical time, Wayne County must have a leader who can come
up with a plan, despite the crisis, come up with the resources, regardless of
belt-tightening, share in the sacrifice and turn things around. Every need, every challenge that the county faces mirrors the tasks I’ve faced as a manager
in other positions. So here is my platform for cleaning up Wayne County.
WARREN EVANS:
HOW TO CLEAN UP WAYNE COUNTY
POLICY
1
PUBLIC SAFETY ATTRACTS BUSINESSES,
CREATES JOBS AND ENCOURAGES FAMILIES
TO MOVE INTO NICE COMMUNITIES
As Wayne County’s next CEO I intend to pursue a real
plan for long-term growth. Too often in the recent past the
citizens of Wayne County have been sold “quick fixes” that
have resulted in burdensome costs, such as the Pinnacle Race
Course, where the County sold off 300 acres for $1 and gave
two businessmen $26 million for a race course that almost
immediately failed, and the $170 million spent thus far on
the failed new County Jail. Instead of “quick fixes,” my administration will focus on fundamentals to build the new
and vibrant Wayne County. That starts with public safety.
Public safety is the ultimate quality of life issue; with public
safety, families stay and businesses invest and plant roots.
The Ficano Administration has constantly cut the budgets
of the Sheriff ’s Department and Prosecutor’s Office. This actually increases overtime costs and court costs, decreases
morale among our first responders, and leaves more criminals on the streets of Wayne County – from Grosse Pointe
WARREN C. EVANS for WAYNE COUNTY EXECUTIVE
to Grosse Ile, from Lincoln Park to Livonia. The Wayne
County Prosecutor recently commented, “Ficano does
not give a damn about public safety.” Misplaced spending priorities decrease the quality of life in Wayne County.
During my time as Sheriff of Wayne County, we lowered deficit spending while increasing service. This was done collaboratively. Our department worked with the police chiefs in
Wayne County and the region to beef up patrols and conduct
specialized law enforcement operations to arrest sex offenders,
carjackers and drug dealers. As County Executive, I will:
n Appropriately fund the Sheriff and Prosecutor and
develop innovative approaches that will, over the long
run, reduce costs and increase safety.
n
Help the 43 Wayne County communities spend wisely by proposing shared police services and volume
purchasing in the areas of vehicles, technology, office equipment, health insurance, liability insurance,
property and casualty and workers compensation.
Dollars will stretch to put more cops on the street and
increase safety throughout all of Wayne County.
Every comeback community of recent memory built those
comebacks on getting the fundamentals right and providing
security for business investment and safety for families. The
new and vibrant Wayne County starts with reorganizing our
priorities to focus on fundamentals like public safety.
POLICY
2
PROMOTE JOBS AND REAL ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
Genuine opportunities for the residents of our 43 communities cannot be created by gimmicks, schemes, and backroom
deals.
The current Administration’s poor planning and execution have played a role in keeping Wayne County’s unemployment rate above 10% for the past 5 years and the loss of almost
3,000 businesses and 126,175 jobs between 2004 and 2011.
And, of course, the loss of 268,796 of our neighbors over the
past 10 years has meant 268,796 fewer customers shopping at
stores, eating at community restaurants, dropping off clothing
at Wayne County drycleaners, and paying tax dollars to local
cities, townships, and school boards.
We need real solutions for all our communities. I believe
that a winning Wayne County is built on clean and responsive
government, reduced red tape, public safety, and the principle
that every job and every business is important. As County Executive, I will ensure that:
n Every possible Wayne County employer from the Big
Three to your neighbor thinking about opening an
Internet business in his/her basement is treated as important to the County’s economic health.
n Small businesses are recognized as the largest creator
of new jobs. So I will appoint a small business ombudsman reporting directly to me. This person will
work hand-in-hand with owners of small businesses, whether the obstacle is county red tape or a need
for advice on seeking a federal grant or navigating a
State of Michigan regulation. We will strive to be the
most welcoming county in the nation for someone
who wants to start or grow a small business. We will
focus on programs to help Wayne County entrepreneurs grow their businesses and partner within our 43
communities to support commercial and retail strip
development that will increase their property values
and make our county an attractive place to conduct
business and live.
n We create a detailed and holistic approach to economic development that is strategic and tailored to
leveraging our location – on the Detroit River, on an
international border, in the middle of the industrial
Midwest and equi-distant to North American financial centers such as New York, Toronto, and Chicago.
n We employ our work ethic, our highly trained engineers, skilled tradesmen and sophisticated manufacturing employees, and our colleges and universities
(including Wayne State University, University of Detroit Mercy, WCCC, UM-Dearborn, Schoolcraft and
Henry Ford Community Colleges, Marygrove, and
Madonna University) to sell businesses across North
America on the competitive advantages of Wayne
County.
n We make no more grandiose announcements or
sweetheart deals with political cronies that don’t provide real value or opportunities for our local communities. We will instead work community by community to help grow existing and new businesses.
POLICY
3
BETTER BUDGET MANAGEMENT AND
STRATEGIES, AND DEALING WITH DEFICIT
ELIMINATION
Wayne County communities and county government are
under siege and in significant trouble. In some communities
state oversight has been invoked. The County Executive’s Office has lost its way, forfeited the allegiance of its union workforce and its citizenry, and lost the respect of legislators in Lansing and Washington. This failure of leadership has paralyzed
county government and threatens to bring a state takeover of
the county. In the face of this crisis, the current Administration has pushed out experienced, hardworking employees and
given millions in perks to Administration friends and political
appointees. The county’s deficit grew to at least $175 million
THE WARREN C. EVANS 2015 PLAN
(as of October 2013) and may reach $300 million by October
2014. Amazingly, no one in the current Administration is able
to say with any certainty how large the deficit is!
After spending $170 million of taxpayers’ dollars on
what is now a four-floor half-finished abandoned building in
Greektown, the Ficano deficit elimination plan seeks almost
$40 million in take-backs from employees and retirees. The
road to financial stability and balanced budgets is not paved
with costly palaces or destroying the county workforce.
What I offer instead:
n
Step One for the Evans Administration will be a forensic audit to establish the baselines for the real deficit
number, true revenue numbers, and actual liabilities
so we can then chart a course for recovery.
n Step Two for the Evans Administration is to bring in
the leadership of the county’s unionized workforce
as well as regional business leaders and the County
Commission to create and execute a realistic longterm solution to Wayne County’s budget problems.
n
Step Three for the Evans Administration’s better budget management is to design multi-year, realistic budgets that will provide stability for the employees and
taxpayers of Wayne County.
n Step Four is coordination with the private sector.
Through this kind of collaboration the county can implement best practices in all departments which will
affect purchasing, budgeting, hiring and all other areas crucial to the county’s economic well-being.
In carrying out these steps I will deflate the bloated amount
of political appointees in Wayne County government. The Ficano Administration has 174 appointees who cost taxpayers
an average of $172,639 each – almost $50 million a year. In
contrast, L. Brooks Patterson of Oakland County has only 21
appointees, while Mark Hackel, Executive of Macomb County,
has just 12 political appointees.
I will look to obtain more value for what the County
spends. We could renegotiate vendor contracts and reduce the
millions spent on insurance brokers. We could do better in
Washington. The County now spends more than $300,000 for
federal lobbyists even though we have elected senior members
of Congress. Let’s look to cut in these areas rather than punish
County employees who actually get the work done and reducing staff in the critical areas of the prosecutor’s and sheriff ’s
offices.
I have proven that you can expand services to help citizens, be financially responsible and prevent outside takeover.
In January of 2015, as the new County Executive I intend to
use the same tools and tenacious leadership to get Wayne
County on the road to balanced budgets and better service.
POLICY
4
PUBLIC TRANSIT GROWS AND BECOMES
EFFICIENT
Public transit is critical to a successful region, connecting
people to employment, leisure and shopping. We have been
provided an excellent opportunity through the creation of the
Regional Transit Authority (RTA) to change the face of public
transit in Wayne County. The RTA has the potential to impact
Wayne County by bringing all four regional transit systems
(SMART, D-DOT, Detroit People Mover and the Ann Arbor
Transit Authority) in alignment with coordinated transit lines
and federal transportation funds. Additionally, the RTA will
add new transit routes on Gratiot and Woodward and I-94
or Michigan Avenue. Further, the M-1 rail line will change
the face of Woodward Avenue. All of these efforts will positively impact our 43 communities and 37 school districts by
improving connection and access for County residents. M-1
rail is a perfect example of the kind of public/private sector collaboration that is critical to the success of this region.
As sheriff, the security of our transportation was important
enough that we provided deputies to help police Detroit’s buses.
Going forward, I can restore credibility to Wayne County government. Once Congress and Lansing understand that
grants will not be wasted in Wayne County, once Congress
and Lansing see the results of new leadership in Wayne County, public transit dollars will follow as Southeast Michigan becomes a national leader in mass transit innovation.
POLICY
5
COMBINING LOCAL EFFORTS FOR THE
GREATER GOOD
We can do more if we work together. Wayne County and
its 43 communities and 37 school districts all purchase similar goods and services that impact the bottom line. From my
experience as Sheriff and Detroit Police Chief, I know that by
pooling our resources, we can produce better results for our
citizens. As Wayne County Executive, I will show we can use
the County as conduit for volume purchasing (health, liability,
P/C and workers compensation insurance, auto parts, vehicles,
technology, office equipment, other services, etc.) and tax collection services.
We can create a governmental “Costco” for all Wayne
County municipalities to shop cheaper and share ideas. Working collaboratively with unions, mayors, supervisors, and other
stakeholders, I want the County Executive’s office to be a leader
in helping use our resources more effectively without hurting
the unique identity and diversity of our cities and townships.
WARREN C. EVANS for WAYNE COUNTY EXECUTIVE
POLICY
ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT
6
The roads that you and I drive on are in desperate shape
and failures in leadership are making things worse. According to the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, Wayne County has the worst bridge problem in the
state, with the highest number of bridges (549) and the highest
percentage (54%) that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Wayne County is responsible for maintaining 740
miles of roads, yet the current administration states it receives
only enough federal aid to repair just 12 miles of roads this
year. This is unacceptable.
We need real solutions to find additional federal and state
dollars to repair our crumbling roads quicker. I will re-establish the County’s relationship with the federal and state legislators who create the formulas for distributing road monies. Presently, no state or federal legislator wants to deal with
Wayne County given its record of mismanagements. I will
repair that.
As Sheriff, I found federal grants to ensure that we had
the staff to provide safety for Wayne County residents. I didn’t
wait for someone else to fix the problem. Stronger leadership,
balanced budgets, clean government, and innovation will
stretch and increase road dollars and move Wayne County toward safer and better roads and bridges.
POLICY
7
STOP THE LOSSES IN PROPERTY VALUES
AND POPULATION
Wayne County has lost over 268,796 people, 13% of its
totaWayne County has lost over 285,889 people, 14% of its
total population, over the past 13 years. Forty-one of our 43
communities lost residents last year. County residential property value declined 38.6% (over $9 billion) since 2007, and the
total estimated actual property value (residential, commercial,
industrial and other types) declined by over $46 billion (54%).
Undoubtedly, the 2008 mortgage meltdown hurt all 83 of
Michigan’s counties. Yet, six years later, other counties are back
on track and growing, while Wayne County continues to lose
its most important asset – its people. My leadership will implement sound policies with quality public servants to stop the
decline and make the County a place of growth and opportunity. My common-sense policies will instill the confidence in
Wayne County’s public servants, citizens, and business owners
that encourages growth, trust and security.
As sheriff, I put a halt to foreclosures; and as an assistant
prosecutor, I challenged slumlords in court.
Helping to improve the overall quality of life in the county
is directly tied to addressing the exodus of residents. Creating
a safer county not only brings stability to communities, but
helps the value of homes to stabilize.
POLICY
8
WORKING WITH THE UNIONS,
NOT AGAINST THEM
Great organizations prevail because the leadership and
the employees feel they are in it together. When a Big Three
automaker went through the Great Recession and faced possible bankruptcy and extinction, the leadership and the UAW
worked closely as a team to ultimately survive and thrive. In
contrast to the Ford experience, the current Wayne County
Executive has created a great divide between the well-paid
political appointees and the lower-paid union employees.
The well-documented award of a $96,000 annual pension to
a 42-year-old political appointee after only 8 years of service
and the $200,000 severance for a political appointee voluntarily leaving County service are highly publicized examples of
this divide.
In January of 2015, I will significantly reduce the political
appointee class in Wayne County. This move will free up money for deficit reduction and workforce education, which produces longer-term efficiencies and savings. It will help bridge
the divide that now exists between the unionized employees
and the leadership of Wayne County. I recognize – as the leadership at Ford did – that the unionized workforce of Wayne
County is intrinsically connected to the mission of county
government to deliver the best service possible to the citizens
and taxpayers of Wayne County. As a former union deputy
who worked my way up to Sheriff, I know that strong teams
are built with common goals, training, and shared rewards
and losses.
So, citizens of Wayne County, this is why I’m running for
the important position of Wayne County Executive. I believe
in good government. And if any place is crying out for good
government, it is the executive department of Wayne County.
Before deciding to enter this race, I studied the county’s problems and thought deeply about the necessary solutions. Here
you have my description of the road to get us there. I hope you
will join me and, together, we can clean up Wayne County.
www.warrencevans2014.com
(313) 877-9610
Paid for by Warren Evans 2014
1959 E. Jefferson Avenue, Suite 201, Detroit, MI 48207
THE
THE WARREN
WARREN C.
C. EVANS
EVANS 2015
2015 PLAN
PLAN