Westland Mayor, William Wild, Ready to Lead the City for Another Term

In November, Westland residents voted to retain their mayor, reelecting Mayor William Wild to lead the city for a fourth term. Wild was first appointed mayor in 2007 and has consistently proven his ability to lead, providing enhanced city services, safer neighborhoods, and a revived business district. Wild's background as a business owner has given him an edge with finances. The city recently celebrated its 15th consecutive balanced budget. Wild says, "I think it's easy to say you're going to propose a balanced budget, but at the end of the day, with the audits, that's when you find out if you've stayed on budget or not. We've gotten a lot better at looking at what our cost structures are and keeping it in line with our revenues. It's an ongoing battle."

Wild and city leaders organized into action as the COVID-19 Pandemic ravaged the state. "We've been able to keep local government open in Westland pretty much throughout the entire pandemic," he says. "I'm pretty proud of our fire department and our police department, they really stepped up during COVID and they kept public safety going." He adds that the city has partnered with the Wayne County Health Department and local hospitals and pharmacies to vaccinate over 10,000 residents. He adds that details about a booster clinic will be announced in the near future to serve Westland residents.

On Thursday, December 2, Wild held his Annual State of the City Address at Westland City Hall. Area leaders, business owners, and residents attended the event. In his address, Wild highlighted the efforts of the city's department of public service, which focused this past year on tackling blight, also played a key role in helping the city respond to flooding events this past summer, and helped clear the curbs and streets of debris from flooded basements and businesses. The department also oversaw $13 million in road, sidewalk, and water and sewer projects across the city of Westland.

"Wayne County performed major work within the city and we certainly appreciate their continued investment," Wild stated in his address. "Wayne County resurfaced Venoy from Glenwood to Palmer, and Wayne Road from Warren to Ford. 2022 will see the county continue the resurfacing of Wayne Road...and will begin work on the Merriman Bridge north of Warren Road."

Wild went on to say that the city's planning and building departments processed more than 80 new business applications for 2021 and saw the opening of 30 new businesses in the city during the economic challenges the pandemic brought. Wild highlighted the addition of U.S. Ice to the roster of manufacturing facilities in Westland, the opening of the $11 million Westland Community Health Center at the end of this past summer, and entrepreneur John Hambrick's creative redevelopment of the historical Eloise property on Michigan Avenue.

Wild also highlighted one of the city's gems, the William P. Faust Public Library, which celebrated its 25th Anniversary just last month. He praised library director Jennifer Roth and the support the library received from the voters who approved the millage renewal in August to fund library operations and improvements.

The mayor also laid out his Build a Better Westland Plan, which will utilize federal funding to address needed upgrades in the areas of infrastructure, fiscal health, thriving communities, strong economy, and public health and safety. Wild proposed numerous ways the funding could and should be used including replacing two fire stations, creating a program to alleviate flooding, updating of city parks, and strengthening the city's two historic neighborhoods, Norwayne and Annapolis Park. Wild closed his address by saying, "As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities to create transformational change in our city. That is my goal and I look forward to working with city council to deliver that type of progress in the near future."