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HAMTRAMCK–Entirely surrounded by the city of Detroit and long beset with high-cost bureaucracy and poor city services, the little enclave of Hamtramck may be in for some major changes.
Mayor Gary Zych, elected in November 1997, is enduring protests and ridicule from opponents on the city council and in local unions but he is pressing ahead with an ambitious reform agenda nonetheless. Proclaiming in his February 25 State of the City address that "the days of graft and corruption are over," Mayor Zych proposed putting these services up for competitive bid: garbage collection, auto repairs, fire hydrant repairs, and tree trimming. City contracts with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) forbid privatization without the consent of the union, but those contracts expire on June 30. Mayor Zych wants the unions to have the opportunity to bid alongside private firms, but AFSCME is resisting nonetheless.
The mayor minced no words in explaining to city residents why their services are high in cost and poorly provided. Absenteeism, he said, was a chronic problem. In the days immediately after a blizzard in January dumped a foot of snow on Hamtramck, absenteeism was between 33% and 50% of the workforce.
"Hamtramck is no longer an insulated community; rather, it is a competitive market doing business above board and professionally in a competitive economy," the mayor proclaimed. Time will tell if a hostile city council and recalcitrant unions will allow that statement to be true.
