Do you remember when we used to be the third-largest city in Oklahoma? Now we are the sixth. Norman and Broken Arrow steamrolled by in the past decade, and now Edmond has passed us according to the U. S. Census Bureau.
Not only did they grow faster than we did, but we have also been declining. That decline is causing problems throughout our local economy, with the damage touching each of us. Without a doubt, some will not realize it until they try to sell their home and find out it is worth less than 10 years ago, and indeed, it may take an extended time to sell, if successful. Everyone has seen a continuing increase in dilapidated homes and buildings.
I have discussed with anyone who will listen the challenges that we face, most of which have been caused by the declining population. We have not produced a new primary job in 15 years, and our children are leaving us out of necessity.
The professional economic prediction that if we continue the status quo is to further decline. And we all know that crime is too high.
The council and I are asking you to realize that the current CIPs do not address several newly realized challenges that must be addressed if we intend to turn this local economy around. The citizens did vote for some industrial development funds, along with some IT funds, but it was too little to address the problem once it was understood.
Most know by now that we have not invested in job creation even on the level of much smaller communities, and we are living the results of our decisions. Indecision is the enemy of progress.
I personally want to pledge to you that we will continue to make our local government more efficient, and to continue to improve customer service.
We have recently revealed the iHelp Portal where citizens are turning in potholes, blight and other issues. I am hearing from citizens that they have indeed been impressed with the response of the City to repair these items timely.
Additionally, we have initiated the Citizen CIP Portal where you can go and check on the status of any CIP project. It is important to this council that what the citizens were told, will indeed happen.
In that regard, enough funds were designated in this proposed extension to make sure that what you were told, could be completed. This includes both Gore Boulevard from 67th to 82nd, and Rogers Lane from I-44 to Garden Village, along with some other smaller projects.
So, everything that you were promised in the current CIPs, will happen.
We are working toward a Transparency Portal where you can go online and see how the City spends every dollar. The goal is transparency at your fingertips.
Some years ago, a Citizen Oversight Committee on CIPs was formed but it has not been functioning in the way that it really was designed. Starting in April, we will require that committee to report to the citizens their findings of how the CIPs are being managed, and the money spent. We will likely start with a quarterly report to the citizens and see how that works and evaluate from there. We continue to find new ways to bring transparency and oversight to the process.
My pledge to you is to finish every project that was promised to you and to continue to bring new ways to bring transparency and accountability to your city government. That can only be so with this CIP extension which does not raise taxes.
I humbly ask for your support by voting YES on Feb. 11 so that we can turn this economy around. Thank you for allowing me to be your Mayor.