(gentle electronic music) - What is the role that you think the business community should be playing in Detroit right now, and how would you manage tools, like tax credits and other incentives, to lure or keep businesses in the city?

This question goes to all five candidates, starting with Saunteel Jenkins.

- Thank you for the question.

First, I think it's really important that the new mayor focus on the fact that a majority of tax abatements will start expiring in '27, by the year 2030, over half of the tax abatements will have expired, so we will need to retool this tool in order to extend those abatements, otherwise, we'll start to lose businesses, we'll start to lose jobs, and the role of business is twofold.

It's creating jobs, it's driving, it's an economic driver, and it is also a corporate... Their corporate citizenship should help to move the city forward in other ways, we need a mayor who knows how to partner with business to solve some of the issues that the city is and will face as we're moving forward, so that's the role of business and that's the role that I will play partnering with business as mayor.

- [Stephen] Okay, next up, Fred Durhal.

- Thank you, good evening to you all, it's simple, the role that business has played in the revitalization of the city of Detroit is huge, we've gotta continue public-private partnerships, but we've gotta continue using the tools to develop our city, we're not done yet, so one of the issues that we are facing is the abatement cliff, which is a serious issue, and so, yes, we will look to restructure the abatement cliff by spreading out what those tools are and the length of those abatements, but here's a key and a point that we can use, we can utilize, as we spread out the length of that abatement, an opportunity to opt in and generate revenue earlier for our city by allowing developers, as well as those who have built there, to pay a little bit early, and that'll add more money and revenue to our general fund here, but we've gotta continue to grow the city of Detroit.

When you talk about business, you just can't wake up in the morning and support business and development, you're gonna need a mayor that has a proven track record of supporting development, and that's who we are, and we'll continue to do that as mayor.

- [Stephen] Okay, next is Solomon Kinloch.

- Well, thank you all for giving me the extension of the invitation to be here tonight.

I'm excited to be a part of this panel.

One of the things that we have to remember is that the mayoral office does not just cast vision, it also communicates that vision and it also convenes a table in order to bring stakeholders together.

We have to make sure that businesses are not the only stakeholders at the table, that we are calling together neighborhood leaders, we are calling together the philanthropic community, because we wanna ensure that residents feel as much a part of the community as anyone else.

I believe that businesses need to understand that they are welcome and that this is a city that's receptive to business, and we are willing to work with anybody that is willing to invest in the future health of the city.

I believe that we should continue to do that as long as those business leaders are willing to work with the citizens of Detroit.

- [Stephen] Okay.

James Craig, you're next.

- Yeah, thank you, I'm happy to be here today and thank you for the invitation.

Certainly, we have to focus on growing our middle class.

You know, I talk a lot about, you know, growing small businesses, but that doesn't take away from continuing to grow big businesses, we have got to raise revenues in this city, but the real... And it's been said already, we have to collaborate, and we have to continue to push forward, if we're gonna grow our middle class, we have got to be a business-friendly city, and one of the things that I have heard as chief and deputy mayor over the time is that in many of the neighborhoods, they feel left out, they feel left out, the businesses feel left out.

You know, as chief of police, as you know, I leverage working very closely with small business... (indistinct) Was the gas stations, the liquor stores, the Green Light Project was widely successful.

We will continue to do that because it's important, so yes, I am business-friendly, we'll continue to work very hard to keep that relationship together, not dismissing the importance of drawing large corporations continuing into our city.

- [Stephen] Okay, next is Mary Sheffield.

- Thank you so much, good evening to everyone, thank you so much for having me, excited to be here, and so, I'm a firm believer that business needs people and people need business.

My entire decade serving on the City Council, I've tried to bridge that gap and bring the two together to ensure that we're moving Detroit in a positive direction.

There is no doubt that the growth of our city largely was due to the public-private partnerships that we've been able to partner and form here in the city of Detroit, and so, our business community, our corporate sectors are gonna have to continue to contribute to the overall growth of our city.

As it relates to fostering a more business-friendly environment, I do believe is needed.

When it comes to tax abatements, my number-one issue is addressing the core of why we have to abate in the first place, and that is because we pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, and so, my goal, day one, which we're laying the foundation now, is to ensure that we're addressing real structural property-tax reform so that we do not have to continue to abate our way out of the issues that we have in Detroit, but I do believe that business is the economic engine of our city, they provide jobs, they provide housing, and they provide vibrancy within our neighborhoods and the economic vibrancy that we want, and they must remain partners and I'm looking forward to working with each and every one of us that we... Of them as we continue to move forward.

- Okay, let's follow up on that question, in your views, what has the current administration of Mike Duggan gotten right when it comes to business and development and investment, and what has it got wrong?

What would you change?

And that first question...

The first candidate for that question is Saunteel Jenkins.

- Yes, Mayor Duggan has definitely done a good job of attracting business, coming out of the bankruptcy, he did a great job of rebuilding confidence and investing in the city of Detroit, and rebuilding some of those partnerships, and expanding jobs and our economic engine in the city of Detroit.

Now, what we have to do is make sure that we're doing the same thing in neighborhoods, we need to make sure that there is a commercial corridor in each of the seven districts, we have to ensure that our planning is intentional and that it is inclusive, and when we are having discussions about tax abatements, discussions about affordable housing, we have a real plan in place that is driving development, and affordable housing, and public transit in a way that is building our neighborhoods, and we also have to include schools.

- [Nolan] Fred Durhal, what do you think?

- What I would say is I think the mayor has done a tremendous job of laying, you know, the groundwork for the next mayor to come in, we've stabilized neighborhoods, we've had some historic crime rates that have dropped in over 30 years, we've built over a billion dollars in affordable housing, and I think it's also necessary to recognize that Council has played an instrumental role in that as well, but we're that phoenix that has been rising from the ashes, we gotta make sure that it doesn't fly into the window, so what we need to do is to continue to invest in affordable housing, continue to invest in development, but what nobody's talking about when we talk about comprehensive property-tax reform, all of those roads lead through Lansing, and you're not gonna have to use the GPS if you've already been there to get there to deliver back here to the city of Detroit, so when we take our plans to Lansing, we're gonna lower property taxes, we're gonna work on preemption to give our city the ability to have the determination of our future, and I think we can have a better job of delivering from Lansing to continue Detroit's growth, and you're gonna need that experience leadership to continue that growth.

- [Nolan] And Solomon Kinloch.

- I don't think anyone has to herald Mike Duggan's successes and achievement, Mike Duggan is an effective communicator, he's able to do that in a wonderful way.

(people laughing) - [Nolan] As we saw today.

- As we saw today, but one of the things that we have to look at is the fact that while we've come from a dark place of dismal debt, we have to admit the fact that although Mike Duggan has done a lot, he could not, and no one could not, do everything.

He gave us a great fiscal foundation for us to do bigger and bold, and I believe that we are at a crossroad, because when you look at the numbers and see that the majority of the electorate is not even engaged in the democratic process, we have to be open and receptive to trying something different and trying something new, and one of those things is prioritizing neighborhoods, and dealing with homelessness and poverty, and bringing equitable jobs to the community so people can not only just survive, but thrive.

(people applauding) - [Nolan] James Craig.

- Yeah, as has already been said, Mayor Duggan did a phenomenal job.

He came in just after me, certainly, it was probably one of the most challenging times in Detroit's history, certainly, were a lot going on, but he certainly did a great job at dealing with the basics, streetlights and those kinda things, but also, what comes to mind for me is when he was able to get an automobile manufacturing plant built here in Detroit Stellantis on the East Side, first time in 30 years, and negotiating getting 3,500 Detroiters hired for that, but as we continue to move forward, what we need to do now, we know, there's been articles written on it, it's 77 steps to open up a restaurant.

That's just too much, why is it?

The red tape bureaucracy does not work, even in normal business situations, opening up a regular business, sometimes, individuals have to wait a couple of years, so we have to do better, because as we continue to make our city business-friendly, that's gonna stabilize our property taxes, it's gonna keep it lower, if we can't draw business into the city, then guess what?

We got a problem because the taxes are gonna pay for work, those essential services like police, fire and infrastructure, we have got to do it, so part of my plan is to decentralize what's going on as it relates to zoning... - [Nolan] Thank you, Mr. Craig.

- Oh, okay.

- [Nolan] Your time is up.

(laughs) Mary Sheffield.

- Thank you, so I think it's important to mention again, that as we talk about the success of Mayor Duggan, that nothing would've been accomplished had it not been the partnership of this council, the leadership that I've done on chairing this body within the last four years, and so, I'm glad to have been a partner in the growth of our city, but without a doubt, we know that the foundation has been laid, but there's still far too many issues that our city are... Is dealing with, one of which is poverty.

I think we have to continue to improve in boosting our middle class, raising the income levels of Detroiters, we have a median income around $38,000 compared to the state of Michigan, which is around, I think, $70,000, so we have to make sure that people here are not just getting by, but actually thriving in Detroit.

Without a doubt, we have to ensure that more investment comes back into our neighborhoods and that we're activating our commercial corridors.

I'm very excited for my administration to be way more hands-on as it relates to the education of our youth.

We heard a lot during this conference about the strategic plan of academics in Detroit, and how the mayor's office can have better involvement in that, and so, when we talk about growing our city, building our middle class, and ensuring that Detroit is a destination of opportunity, we have to invest more in education and our workforce, creating a pipeline that is ready for the jobs that are coming for today and of tomorrow, and I will- - [Nolan] Thank you, Ms. Sheffield, we appreciate it.

- [Person] And you can see the entire Detroit mayoral debate at onedetroitpbs.org.