Muhammad Delivers State Of The City Address

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Benton Harbor is a city is a state of transition. That’s a message from Mayor Marcus Muhammad, who gave his annual State of the City address Tuesday. Muhammad said as the city moves into the future, there will be growing pains and it’s important not to leave people behind. He spoke of the city’s ongoing lead issues, telling residents the city’s mission won’t be complete until all lead water lines have been replaced.

“The city of Benton Harbor has allocated $33 million to address the lead service line issue in the city of Benton Harbor,” Muhammad said. “We have procured contractors, and they are already on the ground working to remove the lead.”

Muhammad pointed to recent accomplishments, saying the Community and Economic Development Department has grown, new housing developments are coming, the summer youth program has been brought back, and work is underway to fix streets throughout the city.

“We will have a schedule, a monthly schedule and weekly schedule online, and the city manager, we’ll be working with him closely to inform the residents when we’ll be working and coming to a block near you.”

Looking beyond the water crisis, Muhammad said the city will eventually work to help residents replace lead water lines that may be inside their homes, going beyond just the line from the street to the home. He also noted the city has nearly $6 million in federal ARPA funds that will be used for more infrastructure work.