Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr., in his annual state of the city address Wednesday night, said the city is experiencing a renaissance after reversing decades-long trends of rising crime, deep deficits and a host of other problems that earned the city a reputation as a gritty, hard-scrabble river town.
"Crime is down, our credit rating is up, exciting businesses are moving in, new parks are being built, we're investing in our infrastructure, and out population is growing," Panto said, at a meeting of City Council.
"Our future is bright, brighter than anyone would have though just seven years ago," the mayor said.
He said Easton was in "survival mode" in the past and never had the "luxury to look ahead."
Those days are over, the mayor promised.
Last year, Panto said, more than $9 million was spent in the city's downtown by private and public investments, Panto said. Looking to the future, Panto said, city is looking for funding for a reconfiguration of the Route 22/Wood Avenue interchange, which carries a $49 million price tag.
Panto said the push to make Easton a cleaner, safer city has resulted in a
5.24 percent decrease in crime last year, the seventh year crime has dropped. Serious crimes dropped 10.8 percent, Panto said. He attributed the declining crime rate to the city's police, who he called "committed, effective and community minded."
Panto also thanked the city's firefighters, noting there were no fatal fires last year. There were fires at properties valued at more than $14 million last year, he said, but only slightly more than $600,000 in property damage was reported.
Among the city's other strengths, Panto said, was its growing reputation as a "foodie" town. Given the volume of food served in the city, Panto pointed out that there was an "extremely low" number of complaints. He attributed the low figure to the diligence of the city's Bureau of Health inspections.
Panto said the city's population is projected to increase more than 7,000 people by 2040, bringing the city's population to 34,000.
Easton, the mayor said, is "becoming the envy of the region ..."
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1b3g11T
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire