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2	2007 State of the City Address Mayor Arthur S. “Sandy” Kirkindall
3	Administrative Priorities Responsive government characterized by honesty, integrity, accessibility, efficiency & accountability Improved intergovernmental cooperation Smarter, more sustainable growth that balances infrastructure improvements with quality of life enhancements Economic development Continued academic excellence
4	Guiding Principles To be good citizens, stewards & civic leaders To act in the best interests of the community To build community pride & citizen involvement To lead with honesty, integrity & respect for those we serve To be ever mindful of the responsibilities of leadership
5	Changing Landscape “If something has been done a particular way for fifteen or twenty years, it’s a pretty good sign, in these changing times, that it is being done the wrong way.” --Elliot M. Estes, Former GM President
6	Accomplishments What we’re doing RIGHT
7	Economic Development in 2006 Continued retail recruitment efforts with 239 new business licenses being issued in 2006 New retail establishments opened include Old Time Pottery, Bruegger’s Bagels, Stem & Stein, Game Day Grill, Little Caesar’s & many others New retail outlets completed or under construction include 150,000 sq ft Publix Center on County Line Rd, Madison Festival strip mall on Madison Blvd, Starbucks on Hwy 72 & in Kroger shopping center, and 63,000 sq ft Furniture Row on Madison Blvd at Hughes Planning Commission approved 256,634 sq ft of retail commercial space
8	Supporting our Troops Supported BRAC recruitment efforts including recruiting trips to Ft. Belvoir (Army Material Command) & Ft. Rucker (Aviation Test and Technology Center) Continued Support of the military community through Holiday Cheer Brigade, which helped four Army Reserve families in need Continued participation in AUSA Enrolled in ADC, national organization which promotes interests of communities affected by BRAC
9	Improving Efficiency Revised City cell tower leasing policies; contracted out lease mgmt function & standardized lease mgmt & payments Shifted some misdemeanor offense dispositions to City magistrates from City judges, improving court efficiency & better utilizing judges’ time Contracted out driving school to avoid hiring more permanent Court personnel
10	Stretching Our Dollars Contracted out landscaping services at annual savings of $280,000 Made City yard waste pick-up a self-supporting service Contracted with Alatax & revising Revenue Office staffing to catch unlicensed businesses operating in Madison, resulting in $60,000 net yearly increase in license revenue Initiated audit service by Rivertree Associates to catch sales tax cheats, yielding $18,000 net yearly increase in revenues Contracted out Probation Officer services at no cost to City, resulting in $50,000 savings in compensation & benefits Maintained excellent bond ratings with Standard & Poor’s & Moody’s Revised City procurement practices to promote more competitive bidding for City contracts; estimated first year savings >$100,000
11	Sustainable Growth Issued permits for 573 new single-family homes & issued 598 Certificates of Occupancy for single-family homes Planning Commission approved 72,541 sq ft of office space & 32,477 sq ft of industrial space Increased period of developer’s guarantee of subdivision infrastructure from 13 months to 2 years Shifted administrative cost of public notification to developers
12	Improving Services Continuing to work to get CON awarded for Madison hospital Implemented Traffic Division within MPD to better enforce traffic laws, significantly reducing speeding violations & traffic accidents Automated issuance of building permits & request for building inspection & code enforcement actions Adoption of credit & debit card payment methods for certain fees & fines in City Clerk & City Court departments Integrating tech review process with WWWB & City’s Engineering & Planning/Building departments to reduce review & approval times for builders & reduce City personnel hours expenditures
13	Communicating Completed redesign of City Website & implementation of Citizen Service Request Management System
14	Working Together Working with Limestone County to establish single polling place for Limestone County portion of District 2 Cooperating with City of Huntsville to rework Slaughter/OMP intersection Working with our Federal delegation and ALDOT to begin engineering design of County Line & I-565 interchange for $1.0 million Presentation of 2^nd annual Mayor’s Scholarship Award, including $4,400 cash scholarship to BJHS rising Senior made possible by generous donations from Madison business community Acceleration of 4-laning of OMP from 11/2011 to 11/2007 with Sen. Butler’s help
15	Holding our own Of all of the accomplishments in this administration, none is more important than the City’s banding together to defeat the attempt to forcibly de-annex hundreds of acres of valuable undeveloped land from the City of Madison.
16	The Road Ahead Capital Improvement Plan
17	Infrastructure Improvements Approval & funding of additional CIP projects with help from Gulf Zone Opportunity Act Added 2^nd engineer to Engineering department to enhance in-house design capabilities Revised subdivision regulations, including requirements for additional sidewalks
18	Projects Recently Completed / Already Underway
19	Projects Slated for 2007
20	Projects Slated for 2008 and Beyond