Last year, Mayor Pam Iorio’s State of the City presentation drew less than 400 attendees, but this year it was a different story. With budget cuts and layoffs of the past, and probably in the future, around 700 attended the hour long presentation with an eye towards the future of their jobs.

A city produced video gave an overall look at the City’s accomplishments in the last year. (You can see the entire video on the link below, as well as most of the Mayor’s remarks)

Mayor Iorio boasted about the significant decreases in crime, and promised that uniformed officers and emergency response personnel would not be decreasing in number. She listed many accomplishments: 780 special events in public parks, over $29,000 in school grants, 46 miles of roads resurfaced, the opening of the 40th Street corridor, She further commented on the $400 million in capital improvements planned for the next 4 year and indicated that the funding for these projects were from special funds, not affecting current city employees, but rather assisting in keeping Tampa a great city. She specifically cited the Curtis Hixon Park project as a “gift from downtown property owners” as their taxes were designated for this project that would be the “focal point” of downtown. She further identified transportation and the need for high speed rail service as the “key to our future.” The creation of the TBARTA, 7 county board was listed as one of the best signs of progress as this once a month meeting was the first that provided an actual regional meeting addressing regional transportation issues.

She called Ybor City “safer than ever.”

“How is the public affected ? How can we help that employee ?” was how she indicated job layoffs were evaluated.

She indicated that Tampa faced many challenges ahead, but that is through adversity that character is judged. “Cities must always move forward.” She cited the upcoming Superbowl, ACC Football Championship game, and Gasparilla as the 3rd largest parade in the Nation, as to clues that we could not be in a better position to ride through the coming year.

“What matters most is our quality of life, safety, cleanliness, and job security.” She complimented City employees for their efforts and the City Council for their dedication to green issues, the comprehensive plan, and more. (But the absence of Council members John Dingfelder and Charlie Miranda could not be missed)

Overall, Mayor Iorio generated a strong spirit of optimism and clear direction with an eye to the economic realities that lay ahead. With State budget forecasts getting less optimistic every day, the future of funding will continue with a cloud overhead, and the Mayor seemed to say “bring it on, we will be ready.”

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