2007 Events --> Feb. 22, 2007
5th State of the County on Feb. 22 at the Henry Ford Community College campus in Dearborn

Dearborn - In his fifth State of the County address, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano on Thursday outlined an aggressive plan to help the region rebound from the stagnant economy and job losses.

“We are building tomorrow’s Wayne County today,” Ficano said during his address at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn.

“It has been said that a goal without a plan is merely a dream. In Wayne County, we don’t need dreams; we need action.”

Among his proposals:

• A tax-free zone at Cobo Hall. With such a zone, the six-percent sales tax could be waived on merchandise bought and sold at Cobo. The no-tax zone would give Cobo a marketing tool to attract other conventions. Ficano said he will encourage the governor and state legislature to create the zone. Ficano’s plan to expand Cobo to nearly one million square feet has garnered widespread support. The tax-free zone would be an additional way to make Cobo more competitive.

• A sales tax holiday. Ficano urged Michigan to join 14 states and Washington, D. C. to eliminate sales tax during a week for back-to-school shopping. The tax holiday would extend to all clothing, books and supplies priced at $100 or less per item; computers up to $2,000, and furniture, small electronics and computer software less than $500 per item. The state has never had a sales tax holiday.

• Expansion of the bio-tech industry and bio-diesel facilities. Ficano announced plans for a second bio-diesel plant in Wayne County. Advanced Resource Recovery will build a facility in Inkster to take a once hazardous waste facility and convert it into an environmentally friendly state of the art bio-diesel facility. The facility will employ 40 people.

• A streamlined permitting process. Wayne County has reduced its permit process to 60 days for the processing of all environmental, roads, engineering and health permits. Ficano encouraged the state and local communities to do the same to speed up development along the I-94 corridor between Detroit Metro and Willow Run Airports.

During his address, Ficano cited several accomplishments, including the county’s balanced budget and good credit rating; saving of millions of dollars for Downriver communities through the county operation of the waste water treatment plant; the fix up of hundreds of homes through the Nuisance Abatement Program, and launch of a community-wide alert program for emergencies. The Wayne County Land Bank has attracted more than $30 million in commitments to develop foreclosed and abandoned properties in just its first three months of operation, Ficano said.

Ficano also cited the results of two trade missions to China. Wayne County has created business partnerships, opened a trade office in Chongqing and brought an investment of resources and jobs to Canton Township.

"To attract and retain companies here, we must have a global market place that is competitive with a level playing field." " We cannot repeat the mistakes with China that we made with Japan," Ficano said. "Hopefully, we've learned that foreign companies like Toyota must be encouraged to locate in Michigan. Chinese companies want to locate here and we welcome them."

The State of the County address was broadcast live on WJR 760 AM and on www.XLInteractive.com and taped by Comcast Cable.

Event Photos (Click to enlarge)