|
We’re well into the new year of 2008, so I decided to look around Palmetto and see how things are going in the City, specifically within city government. I’m happy to say that there are many things of which I am proud. But, before I discuss the things that I think are good, I’d like to say that the only reason they are this way is because of the people who have made them good. Palmetto’s Department Heads are: Chris Lukowiak, Public Works Director; Jim Freeman, City Clerk; Chief Garry Lowe, Palmetto Police Department; Michele Hall, City Attorney; and honorary department head Tanya Lukowiak, Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director. These five people, and the great people working for them, are the reasons why things are going well in Palmetto.
As for Palmetto City Government, I’m proud of the fact that the leadership has been stable for the past five years. Without this stability we could not have produced a balanced budget in record time and with few substantive changes by the commission members. Our planning is being done, and we are following our plan. Our City Comprehensive Plan is being kept up to date and our commission is following it. Likewise, we have developed downtown guidelines for development which we are following. Along with stability, we have been able to achieve accountability in our operations and financial responsibility across the board in the city.
The City’s finances are in excellent shape. We have recently looked into our finances, particularly our city debt, and our ability to support our repayments. Without going into detail (available upon request), suffice it to say that compared to other cities in Florida of comparable size, we are well within the acceptable ratios. In other words, we are by no means overextended and we are financially healthy. Our auditors are able to complete our annual audits quickly because of the detail and organization of our financial records, and our Combined Annual Financial Report supports our healthy condition. This year, for the second year in a row, our Finance Department, under the direction of Karen Simpson, was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association.
Like all law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, the Palmetto Police Department (PPD) has been busy with the ever-increasing challenges of drugs and gangs, but has made substantial progress in controlling those threats to our city. Our crime rate has gone down 4.4% over the past year. During 2007, PPD worked hard and was reaccredited by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation. Only 128 out of 412 Florida city police departments have achieved this distinction. In fact, we are about to begin the process to be considered for national accreditation! We continue to enjoy a rapid response from PPD to citizen requests, and our police officers have developed great community relationships that help to keep us all safer.
To see how busy the Public Works Department has been in Palmetto, you only have to look around at the newly paved or repaired streets. Much of the department’s effort is hidden from sight under our streets, but we have many fewer manholes “popping their tops” when we have heavy rains. We also have fewer areas that flood, and this is all because we are chipping away at the projects on our Capital Improvement Program. Take a look at the construction on the Jackson Park retention pond project across from the Palmetto Youth Center on 17th Street West. We expect that this project will eliminate the serious flooding that has inconvenienced families for many years.
Many newly-annexed areas in the city are being provided utilities, and reclaimed water distribution lines are being installed all over the city. We are working on a very complicated and heavily regulated solution to our reclaimed water disposal problem. An aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) well will someday allow us to store the excess reclaimed water that we have during the rainy season and then recover it for use during the dry season. The city’s firm objective remains to stop discharge of reclaimed water into Terra Ceia Bay. Southwest Florida Water Management District’s strict and somewhat slow process will necessarily delay completing the ASR well for at least a couple of years, but we continue working on bringing the well to fruition.
The Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA) work in the city is commendable. If you haven’t been there recently, take a drive along 11th Street between 5th Avenue West and 2nd Avenue West. This project was fully funded by the CRA, and the new infrastructure, new streets, sidewalks, benches and street lights in this area are a beauty to behold. The CRA is funded by revenue engines like Riviera Dunes, Wal Mart and several other new projects that are providing tax increment funding to eliminate slum and blight conditions in the CRA area. Another worthy project of the CRA was the initiation of the nearly finished 34-unit Habitat for Humanity subdivision on 12th Street West at 6th Avenue West to the east of Albertson’s.
Palmetto is lookin’ good. Recession or not, citizens are sprucing up Palmetto and bringing forward new projects that will provide jobs, workforce housing and a general improvement to our city. We’re in good shape in Palmetto, and your city government is doing a good job of keeping us moving in the right direction.
Mayor Larry Bustle |
