Brian Coddington

Mayor: City has ‘optimism and confidence’

Brian Coddington, Communications Director, No Phone Number Available

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 3:54 p.m.

Dropping crime rates, ongoing refinements to non-emergency medical calls, thinking holistically about stormwater management and leveraging dollars to achieve more and greater outcomes for citizen investments gives the City “optimism and confidence,” Mayor David Condon said on Monday.

Condon delivered his annual Statement of Conditions and Affairs and provided the City Council with his proposed line-item budget. Public safety enhancements, better stormwater management, street improvements and integrated strategies are areas of emphasis in the 2015 budget.

“We talk a lot about innovation and new ideas at the City as we work every day to make Spokane safer, stronger and smarter,” Condon said. “Partnerships, teamwork and a wiliness to look at traditional challenges in new ways are making that happen.”

Those accomplishments include:

  • Double-digit decreases in crime citywide over the past year. “The challenges before us now is to keep it going because I don't have to convince anyone that there is much more progress to be made,” Condon said.
  • Extending the pilot program that dispatches smaller vehicles to non-emergency medical calls and leaves resources available to meet other critical needs has been extended
  • Replenishing reserves that were drawn down to meet our needs during the recession. “Citizens have told us that starting to rebuild reserves is a priority before taking on new obligation,” Condon said.

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