2009 State of the City Address
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The HonorableMayor Joyce J. SealsState of the City AddressFebruary 5, 2009 at 7:30 a.m.Dow Event Center |
Good Morning:
To: Mr. Van Deventer, Chairman Braddock, members of the Chamber, elected and public officials, and friends, I bring you greetings on behalf of the Saginaw City Council and City Administration.
There is a miracle in Saginaw. It is the result of a council and administration that is determined to make changes we need to alter the direction and outcomes in the City of Saginaw. With much prayer, a solid plan, and focused efforts, I can report today that we have made significant progress toward our established goals.
In 2007 the City Council established 5 goals upon which to focus our resources and attention.
The 2007 Goals and Objectives were:
- Crime and Public Safety
- Neighborhood Revitalization and City Beautification
- Recreation and Youth Activities
- City Revenue Effort
- Organization Development
In 2008 we added:
- Economic and Business Development
City Council and Administration met in July 2008 to assess and evaluate accomplishments on all goals and objectives
City Revenue/Organizational Development
In order to give the City Manager the tools he needed to improve our financial standing and assess our real time standing, the City Council voted to reorganize the Department of Fiscal Services-Controller’s Office. We hired Plante Moran in February of 2008 to provide our accounting services. The results were immediate:
- All financial data brought current
- Timely submission of our Annual Audit
- Early submission of the annual single audit
- Non-qualified audit with significant reduction in findings. Next year we expect even more improvements with Plante & Moran’s oversight
- Due to the reconciliation of all financials, the City has been able to identify outstanding debt owed
The Manager made major changes in the Department of Fiscal Services:
- Promoted budget officer who reports directly to him. This allows the City to stay on top of revenues and expenses, and performance measures so that we can make timely adjustments
- Improvements in our budgeting process and oversight have resulted in the City receiving the Distinguished Budget Preparation Award from the Governor’s Finance Officer’s Association. We are very proud of this award
- Hired an Assistant City Manager for Fiscal Services who will bring more technology to improve services and efficiency
We want you to know that these changes are unprecedented in our state. Mayors around the state cannot believe that we have made such daring changes in our business practices in such a short period of time.
Recreation and Youth Activities
Due to budgetary limitations, the City could not directly meet the expense of a City sponsored recreation program. Therefore, we forged new partnerships to render services.
In 2007, recreation was restored at a minimum level. In 2008, we formed a partnership with First Ward Community Center, a long-standing provider of quality recreation and youth development activities. This was an excellent selection and reduced costs significantly. They already possessed recreational infrastructure. With the cooperation of the Saginaw Board of Education and the City/County/School Liaison Committee, we were able to open the Civitan Center serving students in grades 9-12 and expanded and increased services at the Cathedral District Center. We are currently exploring a long-term arrangement with First Ward to provide on going recreational services.
Besides the Basketball League at the Civitan Recreation Center, students were also provided:
- Recreation/sports
- Academic enrichment
- Life Skills
- Substance Abuse Prevention
- Violence Prevention
Numbers Served -- Summer 2008 |
|
Grades |
Enrolled |
9th – 12th |
350 |
K – 8th |
250 |
Our Signature Project with the Governor’s Cities of Promise initiative is the Andersen Splash Park. This project is the repurposing of the Andersen Water Park which was built in 1988. It was closed in 2003 due to excessive repair costs.
After much community input, the splash park idea was adopted. This project has yielded our innovative strategy to getting rid of demolished materials. Staff decided to try and sell the water slide and other relevant parts on EBAY. It worked!
Net Benefit to the City, almost $85,000 (City did not have to pay to remove the slide)
The total budget for the Project is:
$1,578,000.00 Will Include $380,000.00 Skateboard Park $110,000.00 Walking Path $ 10,000.00 Bocce Court $400,000.00 Splash Park $678,000.00 Other Expenses
Contributions to Date:
Hemlock Semi-Conductor $400,000.00 Dow Chemical $100,000.00 Dow Chemical (Supplies) $ 50,000.00 Department of Natural Resources $540,000.00 Andersen Foundation $300,000.00 Construction to Begin Spring 2009 Completion Date Fall 2010
Softball is about to emerge again because of the determination of several citizens and council people. With the help of local businesses and volunteers, diamonds were groomed in 2008 for softball games and youth softball clinics.
With the help of the YMCA, this group is in the process of (1) forming a separate 501(c)3; (2) hopes to take over scheduling and organizing use of the park; and (3) raising grants and private dollars to sustain Hoyt Park’s operations and grounds keeping.
Neighborhood Revitalization and Beautification:
In order to build a qualified team of managers and volunteers to oversee the revitalization efforts in the Department of Development:
- The Planning and Zoning Boards have had MAP Strategic Planning Training
- Recertified Building Inspectors
- Replaced Dangerous Building Inspector
Demolition Run Rate:
2005 55 Units
2006 118 Units
2007 187 Units
2008 148 Units
(reduced due to loss of funds from a federal earmark) – The Cities of Promise initiative continues to be a resource for removing dangerous and blighted structures in Saginaw.
SCENIC (Saginaw Code Enforcement Neighborhood Improvement Cooperative) Program Initiative
Departments Involved:
- Department of Development
- Saginaw Fire and Police
- Public Services
This team is aggressively performing environmental enforcements. Efforts started in the Cathedral area and are moving throughout the entire City. Over 200 problems have been addressed. We will not tolerate blight!
The City Staff mobilized stakeholders all over the City to get their input into our Neighborhood Stabilization Plan (NSP). Our initial grant will be $1,600,000 for abandoned structure and sub prime loan issues. This plan includes:
- Redevelopment of foreclosed properties
- Financial assistance to homeowners
- Blight eradication (residential and communitywide commercial demolitions)
- Property acquisitions and administration
The Cities of Promise program has been a blessing to this City. It has made major funding and state resources available to our development efforts. We were the first City to be funded under the Safe Routes to School Initiative, where Herig Elementary School is approved to receive $403,000 for area improvements.
We have received over $1,500,000 in grants for revitalization efforts in 2008.
Keep Saginaw Beautiful
Under the leadership of Councilwoman Amanda Kitterman-Miller, we held another successful beautification blitz in the City. There was collaboration with citizens, city employees, and businesses to complete this project:
- Raised over $8,000 for beautification projects in the City
- Sponsored the Great American Clean-up weekend where 15-20 citywide projects were completed by neighborhood groups, schools, church groups, civic organizations, city employees, and city commissions
- Cleaned up parks, mowed lawns, planted flowers, repaired fences, and painted houses citywide
- Partnered with Dow and Habitat for Humanity to complete a week long neighborhood revitalization project in the Covenant Neighborhood
- Plans for a week long Great American Clean-up in May 2009
Economic and Business Development
With the help of the Saginaw Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), we continue to serve our community with loans to businesses and counseling services for start-up businesses. During 2008, we provided technical assistance to 85 businesses and potential entrepreneurs in the inner city. This included advice and preparation for loan applications and business plans. Our SEDC organization made $550,000 in loans to small businesses during the 2008 calendar year.
During 2008, as the City’s economic development organization, Saginaw Future assisted 9 companies with expansions creating and retaining 800 jobs and resulting in close to $50 million in new investment. The companies range from TRW Automotive to Prints Plus.
In 2008, the City of Saginaw continued its recent assistance to Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation (HSC) by providing additional water capacity to support its latest $1 billion expansion. The partnership remains strong. HSC also announced $400,000 in funding for the repurposing of the Andersen Water Park. SFI worked closely with the City to help secure a total of $1,280,000 for the project. This is one of my biggest priorities for 2009 and will impact our youth for years to come.
Crime and Public Safety Issues
The City Council and staff selected crime and public safety as our highest priority. Innovative strategies have been undertaken to address these issues.
In mid 2007, Saginaw Police Department engaged in a mutually agreed upon experiment in staffing, which constituted a radical change from what the department has historically done. The Department switched from the traditional 8-hour shift to a 12-hour shift structure. This change has resulted in several benefits:
- Reduced the number of supervisors assigned to each shift
- This allows remaining supervisors to be used in other areas of critical need that would not be covered
- More hours available for patrol (5,200)
- More time off for the patrol force with rotating weekends off regardless of seniority
- Preliminary figures show a cost savings
With limited resources for additional officers, police administration researched technology to help in the crime fighting effort. With a federal earmark supported by Congressman Dale Kildee’s office, the City was able to secure funding to purchase the ShotSpotter Technology, which will pinpoint gunfire. This technology will help the department become more efficient in the deployment of officers to the scene of a crime and allow police to assess the situation before arriving making for better safety to officers.
We are the first city in Michigan to use this technology!
Added a fourth community police officer. He has been assigned to the Covenant District.
One of the significant accomplishments by the Police Department is the engagement of citizens in reducing crime.
– In 2007, there were 14 registered neighborhood associations
– In 2008, we certified and trained 7 additional neighborhood associations
Worked on several events side-by-side with Parishioners on Patrol to provide services to the community not previously available.
The Saginaw Fire Department responded to more than 2,200 emergency incidents while reducing fire losses community wide. Fire loss from arson was also reduced by 6.1%. We are happy to report that fire related injuries have also been reduced.
The fire department has successfully expanded its fire prevention and safety programs for all schools and has incorporated the highly entertaining Freddie-the-Firefighter program throughout our city. More than 6,500 students and parents attended the fire safety education programs presented by the fire department in 2008. Fire department staffing was increased with additional personnel being assigned to both fire prevention and suppression activities.
The fire department has received more than $183,900 in outside funding from the U.S. Fire Administration, FEMA, State of Michigan Homeland Security, and a local private foundation.
The Saginaw Fire Department is a proud member of the Arson Watch team and supports the value of pulling our community together to eradicate the crime of Arson in our neighborhoods. The success of this program is evident through the many volunteers and donated goods and services and the dramatic increase in citizen participation. From the construction workers boarding up vacant buildings, the corporate partners donating food and materials, volunteers walking our streets, to our citizens commitment, everyone wants to TAKE BACK OUR COMMUNITY, and Arson Watch is doing just that.
Arson Watch
Arson Watch 2007
- 1,000 volunteers patrolling City streets
- Four area schools provided entertainment for an estimated 4,000 local students
- 50 mobile volunteer patrols watching for arson
Arson Watch 2008
- Estimated 3,500 volunteers
- 6,000 children serviced at Dow Event Center and area high schools
- 100 mobile volunteer patrols
Conclusion
We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go. Many challenges still await us. But the City of Saginaw is in good hands. A council that plans and strategizes is always a good foundation to build upon. An administration that sees the big picture and executes the vision brings it full circle. From this collaborative vantage point, we can declare the City of Saginaw is alive and well and definitely on the move.