Novi mayor gives annual report on city’s issues

NOVI — Novi Mayor Justin Fischer reflected on the story of Novi during his annual State of the City address April 17.

The address was titled “Our Novi: A Story Still Being Written.”

“As I sat down to compile some thoughts for this State of the City address, I started to think about what is the Novi story. I started to think about, ‘What would the main chapters be? Who would the characters be? What is it that draws people to the Novi story and keeps them invested in reading it?’” Fischer said. “It was clear to me that our story has always been about a few key things: public safety, financial responsibility and a thriving, diverse community.”

Fischer said that one year prior he said it was time to make some investments in the aging public safety infrastructure, which was built in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Which is actually before I was born,” Fischer said.  

“So, it was time to bring them into the 21st century and set them up for success well into the future,” he said.

According to Fischer, 55% of voters approved the bond that is now providing for the construction of the new public safety buildings.

“The work is underway, dirt is moving and plans are being drawn,” Fischer said.

Police Chief Erick Zinser said that construction of the new public safety buildings is well underway in a video broadcast during the address.

“Since the voters approved the $120 million bond, our project has been moving right on schedule,” Zinser said.

Fischer said that he often is asked by residents what happens to their tax dollars, who pay a much larger amount than the city receives.

Fischer reminded the audience that the city is a fiduciary that collects for many different entities. He said that when someone gives the city $10,000 in taxes, the city retains $3,000 of it, and that is what is used to fund public safety, parks, community engagement and more. Fischer said that 70% of residential tax dollars goes to the school district, Oakland County for transit, the state education tax, the county parks, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Zoo.

Fischer addressed concerns that he has heard from residents about the public safety model.

He said that the city had floated the idea of eliminating the city’s police/fire dispatch department and obtaining those services from Oakland County.

“While I love my friends over at Oakland County, I think it is the wrong time for the city of Novi to lose control over our dispatch,” Fischer said.

He said that with the new state of the art building opening up, the city might be able to provide dispatch services to other communities as well.

He said that some people comment on the “combination” operating model of the Fire Department, which utilizes the services of both full-time firefighters and part-time firefighters.

“Every single one of them is fully trained and well prepared to take care of any emergency at hand,” Fischer said. “Make no mistake — whether you need the Fire Department at 9 a.m. on a Monday or 6 p.m. on a Saturday, the same level of highly trained individuals will show up.”

He said that the public safety model in no way puts people at risk. He said it is the right model of efficiency and ensuring that residents are safe 24/7.

“Let me be clear, maybe if other governments cared about efficiency as much as they do in Novi, they would adopt our model over theirs,” Fischer said.

An area where the city can use some work is in the diversity of its tax base. He said he learned from former Mayor David Landry, who he said did a really good job explaining why it is important to have a good retail, commercial and residential component to the city’s tax base.

“It’s just like your 401(k); you don’t want to be all on stocks, and you don’t want to be all on bonds, because if one goes down, you want to make sure that the risk is allocated appropriately,’ Fischer said. 

He said that while the city has had some tremendous growth in its retail sector component, with many new businesses opening up within the city, it is lacking in large-scale economic development. He said that the large-scale economic investment provides a lot of jobs and is critical to the city’s infrastructure. Fischer said the City Council has set a goal directing staff to complete and implement a comprehensive reset of the city’s economic development strategy by 2027 that is focused on attracting a diverse tax base.

“It is how we grew out of the recession in the early 2010s,” Fischer said. 

The city is continuing to invest in the infrastructure of its roads. The city invests $20 million annually into road maintenance and construction, Fischer said. 

Jeff Herczeg, director of public works, said several city roads are being reconstructed to ease congestion and increase safety.

Projects that are occurring in the city include:

• Beck Road from 11 Mile Road to Grand River Avenue.

• The bridge deck on Eight Mile Road over the railroad between Novi Road and Griswold St.

• Novi Road from Eight Mile to Nine Mile roads. 

The city is also continuing its neighborhood roads program. 

“The investment ensures the drive around the neighborhood is just as smooth as the commute to work,” Herczeg said.

As he did last year for the public safety bond, Fischer made sure to use some of his podium time to pitch the idea of continuing the Capital Improvement Program millage. He said residents have been paying it for the last decade and the city is looking to continue it for another.

Through the CIP milage, the city has been able to construct the splash pad, renovate Lakeshore Park, add 160 acres of lands to be used as parkland and preserved wetlands, and help purchase a fire truck. 

Fischer also answered a few questions that Communications Director Sheryl Walsh-Molloy had received from community members. 

One community member asked what is being done to ensure that the city doesn’t suffer yet another watermain break. 

 “I have a new best friend,” Fischer said of Sue Coffey, president of the Great Lakes Water Authority.  

He said the city continues to lobby the GLWA, and the city is working to get funding to rebuild the pipes. 

Walsh-Molloy pointed out that the reason Novi keeps losing water and a community where the problem lies, such as Farmington Hills, doesn’t is because Novi is at the end of the line and the other communities can reroute the water.