2020 Inauguration Address

by Contributor | January 3, 2020 8:34 am

2020 Inauguration Address
Mayor William J. Barlow Jr.

I, along with the 2020 Oswego Common Council, would like to thank you for attending tonight’s ceremony and can think of no better way to kick off a new year, a new decade, by celebrating with some of our closest friends and family to reflect on the last four years and the progress we’ve made, while preparing for the next four years and what lies ahead.

Those who know me, especially the Common Council and my team at City Hall, know that I am not particularly good at taking a moment to look back and reflect, because there is always much more work to be done, but today is about perspective.

It is amazing to look back to four years ago, and think of how different things were. I believe that years from now, when our children and the next generation of community leaders look back on the work we’ve done, they’ll say this was the most productive four years in the history of Oswego city government.

I truly hope that our successors know that our motivation and our goals, were more than political rhetoric and Pollyanna statements, but were real and guided by one simple mission: to leave this place, better than we found it.

We’ve come a long way in a short period of time to be sure. I’d like to think we’ve brought out the best in Oswego these last four years.

We are taking advantage of being a waterfront community and enhancing our waterfront by creating the Harbor Trail, painting the lighthouse, constructing scenic overlooks and seating areas, and transforming our Wright’s Landing Marina. We’re revitalizing our core downtown by using our $10 million Downtown Revitalization grant to spur large scale development, build back our downtown, create jobs, attract people to our city and to give our residents more things to do.

Four years ago, code enforcement was non-existent in the city of Oswego.

Fast forward to now, we’ve developed a code enforcement program, using aggressive techniques and legislation that is being replicated by other municipalities all around the State of New York, holding landlords accountable, empowering tenants, better protecting women and children, restoring our historic neighborhoods, eliminating blight and raising property values throughout our community.

We finished a comprehensive re-write of the city zoning code to undo years of poor planning and developed a document that will surely guide this community forward long after this administration is gone.

We redesigned the city HUD housing program, reforming the program from a taxpayer subsidize free handout out, to a program promoting self empowerment, assisting and placing priority on low income families who are working and trying their best. We created the “Inspire Center” giving residents a place to go with resources to assist with a job search, help write a resume, and connect people to local employment opportunities.

We built our first dog park and built our first ADA accessible playground to be a more inclusive community, accommodating those with physical limitations. We made the city pool and ice rinks more accessible by making them free to the public, paved well over $3 million worth of city streets and created tax breaks for home and business owners who invest and improve their property.

We invested millions of dollars in our city equipment, municipal buildings and public infrastructure, streamlined and simplified the building and permitting process by cutting bureaucratic red tape and eliminating unnecessary hurdles for our small business owners, and we instituted programs to recognize, assist and employ our veterans.

In four years, we’ve secured forty-three million dollars in grant funding to ease the financial burden on our residents and conduct transformative improvement projects, infusing new life into our community.

We made Oswego a more affordable place to live, shrinking the size and decreasing the overall cost of city government.

We reduced wasteful spending by cutting city-wide overtime costs by a third.

Despite inheriting a large budget deficit our first year in office, our hard work, along with making some difficult but necessary decisions, allowed us to lower property taxes for the first time in twenty years, and offered the first tax reduction, without using the general savings account to offset costs, for the first time in at least fifty years.

On top of that, we put $200 a year back into the pockets of our residents by lowering the annual sewer bill for homeowners.

These accomplishments are so much more than simply the accomplishments of City government. We did this.

Our recent renaissance is the culmination of cooperation and the hard work of the public and private sectors, the not-for-profit community and private individuals. We did this together, and quite frankly, I’ve never viewed city government as the leader of this new era of progress and momentum.

Our small business owners are the leaders; our local, major employers are the leaders; and above all, our resilient, steadfast and loyal city residents – the true Oswegonians, are the leaders, demonstrating that leadership with their actions, each and every day. My friends, we can all agree it’s been a very difficult few decades for our city, but despite everything we’ve been through, look at the tremendous progress we made in such a short time, and that’s a testament to each and every one of you.

On January 1, 2016, we were at a crossroads.

We could continue down the current path, a path of stagnation, a path of negativity, a path of skepticism at best. Or, we could pull it all together, get down to business and make it happen.

My goal, was to simply use city government to partner and enable those in our community who were eager to bring forth change.

Above all the tangible, material achievements I’ve already mentioned, I’m more proud of restoring the faith, confidence and trust Oswego residents have in their local government.

Much of this credit belongs to the Common Council. For years, petty, ridiculous and self-serving politics held this community back.

Certain groups of individuals, motivated only by their own self-interest, controlled the agenda. These actions led our constituents to feel betrayed and believe that local government was part of the problem, not part of the solution.

I’ve been fortunate to have a Common Council who shared the same vision, set aside party affiliation and politics, ignored self-interest and worked only on behalf of the people.

We understand we work for you. Together, we made city government function while thinking big picture, allowing taxpayers to feel that City Hall is working for them.

For them, on behalf of them, not against them. Not hurting them, not deterring them, not penalizing them. But working to keep money in their wallet.

Working to keep their small business profitable. Working to bring more opportunity to their family members.

Working to make their community safer.

Acting on decisions that make our residents confident in their government, supportive of the direction we’re heading and proud to not be from Oswego, but to be in Oswego.

Four short years ago, we embarked on a journey to change the trajectory of this community. It was as much a change in the way we do business, as it was a change in our attitude about our city and its future.

We all knew the potential that Oswego had, but for decades, we failed to capitalize on opportunities, and were never willing to make the difficult decisions that would move us closer to realizing that full potential. We hit the ground running, making those difficult decisions and setting the framework for the progress we’ve seen and the momentum we’re currently experiencing throughout the city.

The Mayor and Common Council are working together like never before.

City government is working with county government. We’ve built relationships with our state and federal officials. We’ve become a partner to the private sector, creating policies and processes that will allow our local, small businesses to flourish.

Oswego is rich with history. You hear our history in the names of our streets and parks, you see it in the buildings, you read about it.

Lifelong Oswego residents often refer to Oswego as it relates to the 1960s, ’70s, the ’80, and talk enthusiastically and proudly about what Oswego was and what Oswego used to be.

The reflection, however, was usually in retrospect. But now, if you listen closely, you can actually hear residents, without provocation, speak genuinely about all that is happening in Oswego and talk about what Oswego is.

The best compliment and best encouragement this community can receive is Oswego talking positively and proudly about Oswego. We can talk about what Oswego was, talk about what Oswego is, but make sure to talk about what Oswego is becoming because the fact is, we’re only one term, four years in.

We’re just getting started, there’s more to do and there’s more to come.

I’m not naïve to the magnitude of our remaining challenges so by no means are we declaring victory yet.

We must always remember that the moment we decide to sit idle, to play politics, or to defer a critical decision, we will undoubtedly lose progress and shake the confidence we’ve worked so hard to restore.

We have the serious issue of rising lake levels that will continue to present new challenges, we must take a more aggressive approach to battling crime and the presence of drugs in our community, we still have challenges with our infrastructure and need to continue finding ways to lift our neighbors from poverty.

I’ve learned how fast four years goes and can ensure we will waste no time tackling these challenges.

I’m calling on the entire community to work together to build on the momentum we have, and it’s all of our duty to ensure this fundamental change in direction is permanent, and not just a temporary spike on the timeline of a prolonged, steady decline.

There is still plenty of work to do, and although I can’t guarantee we won’t have setbacks along the way, I am confident that much of the heaviest lifting is behind us and our best days are still ahead of us.

I’m often asked what the best part of my job is. The best part of being mayor is having the ability to directly help someone and that is how I view my job as Mayor. I get paid to help people.

My job is to do something that benefits my neighbors every day. That, I believe, is the definition of public service. The best part of public service is being able to help others and make a positive, lasting difference in the world around you.

Public service isn’t about a paycheck, it’s not about earning a buck, it isn’t about having a title, but it is rewarding work. It is only rewarding however, when you actually do something. When you produce tangible, real, impactful, results.

I’m afraid Oswegonians, New Yorkers, Americans have grown accustom to warm, fluffy rhetoric from elected officials who claim accomplishment after having a discussion, or conducting an analysis or study after study after, study, followed by a meeting and then a study and a plan, but nothing ever seems to materialize.

Public service should be about producing real results. Public service should be about a government who does not shy away from or defer important decisions. It shouldn’t be finding an excuse not to do something, listing reasons why something can’t be done.

I stood before you, ahead of my first term four years ago, and pledged that one thing I would not do, is nothing. I know there have been things I’ve done you agree with, and things I’ve done that you disagree with, but I pledge to keep my promise that as long as I’m mayor of this great city, surrounded by the great team I have at City Hall, we will work each and every day to position this city for long-term success.

We will work for the entire community. We will work for the greater good.

We will confront our challenges head on with decisive action, we’ll help our neighbors who need it most and do whatever we have to do to continue moving this community forward and guarantee that when our children, the next generation of Oswegonians, look back at our time on this earth they know that without question, we were thinking of them.

We were positioning this community to be successful for them. We were more concerned with making this city, this county, this state, this country, this world a better place for them, rather than simply serving ourselves in the present. It’ll take all of us to send that message if we wish to send it loud and clear.

It’s going to take all of us. It’ll take more than city government. We all need to be leaders and we all need to be public servants.

We have quality leaders in this community but we need more.

Please realize that you don’t need to be in elected office, or work for the government, to serve the public.

You can serve the public, make a difference and improve this community each and every day and I need you to do it. You just need to ask yourself, daily, “what did you do?” “who did you serve.”

Not yesterday, not last year, but today.

“How did you improve this community” “Who did you help?”

These questions, and the answers, have defined the last four years and will define the next four years of this administration and our path forward.

It is our obligation, our most basic responsibility, to do all we can with the short time we have on this earth to make a positive impact. We need to make the most of the opportunity we have ahead of us Oswego, and it’ll take every single one of us in this room to do it.

If not us, then who? I believe we can. I believe we will because I believe in this community.

There are positive signs of progress that are undeniable. The arrows are pointed in the right directions and the momentum, the energy is with us now.

All we have to do is keep working together to keep it going. This city has limitless potential and we are unlocking more of it each and every day.

This city, the current residents of this city and the future residents who will call Oswego home deserve the very best, and the very best they will get.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve my hometown, thank you for celebrating with us this evening,

Happy New Year and may God bless you!

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/2020-inauguration-address/

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