Mayor Ryan's Message
July 1, 2009
Three years ago, we began a journey to “Restore the Pride” in Binghamton, and through our commitment to innovative governance, we’re making exciting progress.
Let’s start with our housing initiatives, which have been crucial in improving neighborhood safety, boosting property values, and promoting economic development. Our award-winning Restore NY Program is allowing us to redevelop more than 120 blighted properties. Our Neighborhood Stabilization grant is helping us transform another eight properties. And our affordable housing programs are assisting to repair 60 additional deteriorated homes. All of these projects are funded by state and federal grants, which come at no cost to the local taxpayer.
Through all our housing programs, we’ve prioritized energy efficiency, recognizing its increasingly important role in creating jobs, lowering utility bills, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Among our many efforts, we’re building the state’s first straw-bale affordable house, we’re meeting Energy Star standards in new homes throughout the City, and we’re developing the Be2 Project, one of the nation’s first energy efficiency loan programs for homeowners. As our NYSERDA representative recently said, we've put Binghamton on the front edge of the green collar economy.
Our infrastructure upgrades are ambitious as well. We're paving 50% more streets than in past years. We’re separating storm and sanitary sewers across 50 acres of the West Side, effectively preventing backups, ruptures, and additional costs. We’re overhauling our two major gateways – Court Street and Front Street – with long-needed streetscaping, landscaping, and lighting. And just as with housing, we’ve relieved the local taxpayer by securing state and federal funds to cover most of these vital projects.
We couldn't advance these efforts without smart fiscal management, especially in these difficult economic times. That’s why we restored $5 million for future street repairs, homeownership, and economic development through the successful sale of the Regency Hotel last February. It’s why we saved more than $1 million by consolidating tax collection and enforcement to the County. It’s why we’ve reduced City Hall staff by a total of 6 positions since we took office. And it’s why we’ve restructured the 2010 Budget Process, allowing us to work more closely with the City Council.
Citizen engagement is also essential to our efforts, and we’ve enhanced civic participation through a variety of initiatives. We launched the 2010 Interactive Budget in May, and we’ll be providing community demonstrations in the coming weeks. We’ve also introduced our Open Government Video Series, which seeks to connect citizens to local resources. And with the continued support of City Hall, the Neighborhood Assemblies are allowing residents to develop community projects to meet local needs.
My administration has never been patient with the status quo, and we’ve always been proactive in advancing our comprehensive, focused approach to community development. In that spirit, we're seizing all opportunities to revitalize our neighborhoods, strengthen our infrastructure, bolster our economy, engage our citizenry, and produce taxpayer savings. Working with our partners, we’ve posted many successes in the last few years, and by advancing this approach, we’ll continue building our future together.
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