Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad delivered his annual State of the City address Tuesday night, saying communities across the nation were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and yet Benton Harbor continued to rise. Muhammad noted much progress has been made in the city when it comes to fixing streets, and that’s largely thanks to the city income tax.
“If you ride down Union, if you ride down Broadway, if you ride down one of the worst streets that we had in the city of Benton Harbor, which was Emory, it is fixed today,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad credited everyone who pays taxes in the city for fixing the streets. In a year that saw police violence and unrest dominate the national conversation, Muhammad noted the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety has a program to hire local.
“Our director chooses persons, preferably from the city of Benton Harbor, and we allocate funds to send them to the police academy, and we work with them as they come back, and they’re hired.”
Other 2020 accomplishments cited by the mayor include the new in-house trash collection program, a stable budget, and renovations to city properties. Looking ahead, he said all in the city should work together to address incidents of violence.
“It’s going to take a collective effort with clergy, business owners, local government, non-profit organizations, police, everybody working together, so we can come up with programs that will engage our young people.”
Goals for the coming year include fixing up run-down properties and establishing new housing. Muhammad also announced he’s going to seek for the Benton Harbor Public Library to be renamed for Berrien County Commissioner and Benton Harbor resident Mamie Yarbrough.
