Mayor Barlow’s State of the City Address

Presented by Mayor William Barlow Jr.
As we mark our official first 100 days together in office, we can all look back and be extremely proud of what we have already accomplished.

For the first time in a long time, our residents are excited about our community. They are encouraged by their local government.  They are paying attention and taking note of the changes and decisions we are making.

And that is precisely why we have been aggressive and hard charging through these first 100 days and will maintain that pace for the foreseeable future.

Let me first once again congratulate the newest members of city government: DPW Commissioner Tom Kells, City Attorney Kevin Carraciolli and City Clerk Deana Ascenzi Lafond for transitioning into their roles quickly and competently. I am extremely grateful for the work they took on and carry out on a daily basis.

Also, I believe we owe a job well done to our new council leaders, President Shawn Walker and Vice President Rob Corradino as they serve in their respective roles and work together to make sure the two separate branches of city government function in unison.

Also, I’d like to thank all of our council members who took office in trying times and have worked together to settle into office and passionately serve our constituents.

It hasn’t been an easy first few months as we walked into office facing a previously implemented water fee increase and a tough budget on the horizon, but we rolled up our sleeves and immediately got to work doing exactly what our constituents asked us to do.  I’m happy to work together with each of you and I am grateful to be joined by such a capable, sincere group of people who truly want to do what is best for our community.

When I decided to run for mayor, I ran because I felt the city needed a drastic change.  We needed a jolt of energy and we needed a “Can-Do” attitude.

And, when I won the election, I vouched to myself and to the residents of this city, that I would use the same amount of energy and passion it took to win an election, to represent and move our city forward, because the leadership in City Hall was stagnant and absent for far too long and it showed.

It is also precisely the reason why we entered the New Year with incredible momentum and with the help of the Common Council we have carried that momentum through the first 100 days and have made considerable progress in several different areas.  Because of that momentum, I believe the state of the city is strong, energetic and active…and although we certainly have some challenges ahead, I believe we have reason to be optimistic.

We’ve already made progress on many different fronts.  From creating a new city website that we will launch next week, to initiating the process of using debit and credit cards at city hall, to taking unprecedented steps by creating an ethics board to ensure a transparent government, to establishing worthy relationships with Senator Ritchie, Assemblyman Barclay, Congressman Katko and DOT Commissioner Matt Driscoll who have all been extremely helpful already, we’ve already proven that we aren’t afraid to lead, make changes and be productive.

We accomplished overhauling systems and departments in city government that previously could’ve been considered broken.

We started with creating a separate Code Enforcement Office, delivering on a promise that most of us had made.  In addition, we established a permit coordinator position to facilitate and encourage growth and investment and it has been successful.  The feedback we’ve already received has been positive and we will continue to streamline and simplify the processes, enhance communication between our departments and ensure that should somebody want to invest in our community, we encourage them to do so and assist them in completing their desired projects, offering solutions rather than setbacks.

This culture change in City Hall will certainly repair our reputation and prove to prospective investors and residents that we are indeed open for business.

Our Community Development Office led by Justin Rudgick has experienced some changes within the department and we are seeing the product of those changes.

In our first 100 days working together, we delivered on another campaign promise and initiated and engaged in a waterfront feasibility study so we can finally begin to capitalize on our waterfront and determine how to best approach real development and investment.

We also worked swiftly to avoid a grant recapture that could’ve cost the city $400,000 because of past non-compliance.  We have already transitioned the Community Development Office into a local economic driver of our community, specializing in economic development and small business, and again, repairing a reputation and creating a culture that will surely help move our community forward.

Perhaps the biggest challenge city government faces financially is the infamous Consent Decree.  Without question, in the first 100 days, the administration has taken a head on approach to this document and we have taken gigantic steps to ensure that we remain on track and in compliance to avoid further penalty.

On January 1, we privatized the management of our wastewater plants.

Camden Group has done an excellent job taking control of the plant and transforming the plants into facilities the city and state can be proud of.

We have established a Safety Committee and a Mission and Work Quality Committee to improve the work being done and the culture at the wastewater plants.  We have quickly embarked on several projects and repairs at the plant, like submitting plans of improvement to the DEC, to installing new equipment and repairing old equipment within budget.

We have invested in tools and resources at the plant instead of outsourcing, creating a significant and immediate return on investment.

And most of all, since taking office the administration has reached out to our state and federal representatives to finally ask for financial help with the Consent Decree.

We finally made some progress and through talking to Senator Schumer’s office, we can now apply for funding through the NYS Water Grants, which Community Development is working on as we speak, to provide relief for the city and our taxpayers.

Having this opportunity is long overdue, but is welcome news to the folks in city government who have worked on this project for years.

Finally, of all the improvements we have made and all the successes in our first 100 days, of all the things I just mentioned, still the most complimented department and the most improved department is our DPW.

The feedback I have received from the public on the visible and undeniable difference we’ve all seen in our parks and streets has been relentlessly positive.  The culture, attitude and morale at the DPW among the employees is at an all time high and you can see it in the work they do and in the results they are producing.

This administration is serious about responding to our constituents and we have made an honest effort and substantial progress in responding quickly and providing them with the most basic of services that they not only expect, but deserve.

The department is much more visible, spending significantly more time in our parks, neighborhoods and downtown.

And again, we will continue to work on customer service.

Customer service for our taxpayers is the top priority of the DPW and this administration.

City wide and being friendly, being responsive and being helpful to the general public is our most sought after goal and the progress we have made and will continue to make within the DPW is exceptional.

The DPW is essentially the backbone of city services and I couldn’t be more proud of how far we have come, from the top down, in that department, and I owe that to the new commissioner, the supervisors, and every single employee of the department.

Now despite our many quick victories or our undeniable progress, some folks probably still question if we will succeed or if we can keep up this pace.

But I took office eager to get things done and make changes and move forward, knowing that not everyone will agree with me or us all the time.

When you make significant changes and deviate from the quote unquote “way we’ve always done it”  and you look at things from an unorthodox or different point of you … people are going to question you, and they’ll be loud and they’ll be passionate and it’ll get quite heated and controversial at times … when you take the fence down around City Hall or propose a new parking policy … sure, not everyone will like that. But I refuse to be the mayor or be an administration that plays it safe and watches everyone else do all the work.

We have too much to lose by sitting around and waiting for a solution to arrive or to worry about the next election.

More importantly, we have too much opportunity in front of us that we cannot let slip away.

Moving forward, we will be focused on continuing to enhance our code enforcement program to help revitalize our neighborhoods.  We will continue to instill the mentality that city government is here to encourage investment, in residential and commercial property and we can solve the problems for our constituents, not create them.

We will emphasize customer service and being user friendly and streamline processes and be consistent in enforcement and compliance.

We will continue to forge relationships with our state and federal representatives and agencies so we can continue to make progress on the daunting Consent Decree that will continue to be our biggest challenge moving forward.

We will present a plan to help recover and rebuild our city’s infrastructure and neglected buildings and equipment.  We will look for and consider reforming and restructuring fees with the intent to ease the burden on our taxpaying homeowners.

We must make a serious attempt to capture the available Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding from Governor Cuomo that was passed in the state budget and focus on developing our waterfront and utilizing our natural resources.

We’ve made a commitment to our homeowners to restructure city water rates in order to provide relief.

Soon I’ll be rolling out a long-term capital budget plan to the Common Council, so for the first time in years the city can forecast and plan the large projects and purchases we need to get done.

So there is still plenty more work to do.  We know that this year’s budget will be difficult and that is why we must keep this momentum and continue to exude the same amount of leadership that we did in the first 100 days.

There isn’t a group of people I’d rather be working with to accomplish our goals.

We have such capable, competent department heads that I know will face the challenges ahead with strength and determination and I am certain we will overcome any adversity.

I’m thankful again, to have such a sincere and hard working Common Council, and I can’t begin to put into words how honored I am to serve the residents of this great community.

We are 100 days in and have already accomplished a lot and we must keep working hard.

I, for one, can’t wait to get to City Hall every day to serve this community and I look forward to what I know we will accomplish together for the city of Oswego.

Thank you and a thank you to the public whom we proudly serve!

Dated: April 11, 2016

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