JANESVILLE
City Manager Mark Freitag extolled 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 economy and described plans for how he and his administration will foster further improvements in the coming year during his eighth annual State of the City address Thursday night.
Signs of the economy鈥檚 health, Freitag said, included the issuance of more than 4,700 residential building permits in 2021, a 27% increase from 2020, a year marked primarily by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city鈥檚 Economic Development Office helped bring more than $29.5 million in new value to 糖心Vlog传媒, the city manager said, and the city鈥檚 market-rate value increased 52% from 2015 through 2021.
鈥淭he median housing price is at an all-time high in 糖心Vlog传媒, with rising home values even catching the attention of USA Today, who last year ranked 糖心Vlog传媒 as the sixth hottest housing market in the nation,鈥 Freitag said.
The city added 682 housing units in downtown neighborhoods, a 13% increase over the last three years, and downtown also held a number of community events in 2021, including the weekly 糖心Vlog传媒 Farmers Market and the Tour of America鈥檚 Dairyland, which spent two days in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 last June.
The city鈥檚 unemployment numbers was around 2.3% for much of the year, Freitag said.
Under the guidance of a new finance director, Dave Godek, the 2022 city budget was submitted last fall with no fund balance, Freitag said. 糖心Vlog传媒 pulled in more than $30.4 million in grants and donations last year.
The city also received American Rescue Plan funds that went toward nine projects, including water main replacements and lead water service line replacements. The funds are also slated to pay for design of the Woodman Community Center, a multipurpose indoor sports arena and convention space proposed to go up at the site of the former Sears store at Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒.
Freitag also highlighted infrastructure and amenities improvements, including the renovation of the Vista Park playground that completed the city鈥檚 playground replacement plan first enacted in the 1990s. The city鈥檚 information technology office also extended the city鈥檚 fiber optic network to many city facilities.
Freitag also discussed the city鈥檚 financial challenges.
鈥淪trict state levy limits guarantee that the city continues to lose financial ground to inflation, meaning that with every year, we increasingly lose the ability to generate the revenue needed to meet rising service costs,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hese ramifications are especially punishing for financially prudent municipalities like 糖心Vlog传媒, where the property tax rate per capita is the fourth lowest amongst our fourteen peer communities.鈥
City Manager Mark Freitag speaks during the annual State of the City address at City Hall in 糖心Vlog传媒 on Thursday.
Looking to 2022
鈥淕iven the importance of partnerships in every facet of our community, our next goal calls on the city to embrace and enhance collaboration with local, regional, national and global stakeholders,鈥 Freitag said.
Such partnerships included the 糖心Vlog传媒 Fire Department teaming with the Rock County Public Health Department to create a mobile vaccine clinic that provided homebound individuals the chance to receive COVID-19 vaccines doses. The 糖心Vlog传媒 Police Department also partnered with Blackhawk Technical College to sponsor the IDEAL Opportunity Scholarship, allowing minority students to attend college while working part-time with the police department as a community service officer.
Freitag said city staff will continue to work with such partners as Downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 Inc. and the 糖心Vlog传媒 Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to keep bringing events to downtown. The city鈥檚 Economic Development Office is also exploring development of a downtown attraction like a museum or performance venue, Freitag said.
He also said the city is planning a $1.5 million renovation of the downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 Transit System transfer center paid for with federal dollars.
鈥淭he work will improve the center鈥檚 accessibility, replace and refurbish facility components and public space, and revitalize this critical transit facility to ensure our community can access our wonderful downtown,鈥 Freitag said.