Greenwood Mayor Mark W. Myers recently delivered his 12th State of the City address to more than 300 business leaders, community advocates and residents. The annual speech was held at the new Greenwood Fieldhouse and the event was hosted by Aspire Economic Development + Chamber Alliance.
“I am from Greenwood and for Greenwood. That is why I love this job and why I work every day to improve the quality of life here,” said Mayor Myers. “We are focused and smart about how and where we invest money. I have presented 11 balanced budgets to the common council, and ALL have been approved. Our focus on conservative but smart investment is highlighted by the fact Greenwood still has the lowest city tax rate of any city over 10,000 people in Indiana.”
Myers heralded the increased investments in public safety, infrastructure and quality of life projects. As has been the case since coming to office, the mayor remarked on the city’s focus on public safety.
“Our public safety strategy touches almost every part of the government. It starts by ensuring our first responders are well-staffed, well-paid, well-equipped and well-trained,” commented Myers. “We have been able to increase our fire budget by 25 percent this year and the police budget by 19 percent.”
Mayor Myers also reported the city is still experiencing significant investment and growth. Since coming to office in 2011, more than 5,000 jobs have been created. And, last year, the city saw a record number of permits issued.
While Mayor Myers remarked on the accomplishments in the last year, he unveiled design concepts of the new Fire Station 95, located Worthsville and Graham roads, and highlighted two critical community projects – the new Main Street Corridor Study and the launch of the city’s development of a new Greenwood Comprehensive Plan.
The Main Street Corridor Study will look at improvements to Greenwood’s “front door.” Each day 24,000 cars travel on Main Street from Five Points to Valle Vista. Mayor Myers directed a study to look at how to make this corridor both visually appealing and safe. Results are scheduled to be released later this year.
Another critical project is the development of a new Comprehensive Plan. The city last updated the plan in 2007. The Comprehensive Plan is Greenwood’s all-encompassing “blueprint for the future.” It outlines the vision for the future and provides the goals and principles to achieve success. Mayor Myers emphasized that residents will be asked to participate in the process to ensure it is a community-driven plan.
Myers concluded his address as he always does; with a call to action moving forward, stating: “It’s year 12. Let’s get to work.”
