A Message from Mayor Stimpson - August 20
Aug 20th, 2020
Good Evening,
It is 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 20 and I am writing to give you an update from the City of Mobile.
As of tonight, the Mobile County Health Department reports an increase of 135 patients from yesterday's report. For a detailed look at today's data click here.
Today, the Administration delivered the 2021 General Fund and Capital Fund budgets to the City Council for their review. Over the past year, the administration has worked diligently to continue to be financial stewards of taxpayer dollars.
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work play and worship. In January, the economy was booming, unemployment was very low, and spending was high. In March and April, with the onset of COVID-19, we saw slow to little financial performance. Like many cities, we experienced a decline in sales tax and loss of enterprise revenue from our cruise terminal, the Convention and Civic Centers and the Saenger Theater.
Still, we remain hopeful as revenues and transfers are expected to be 3.2% higher than the current year's budget and debt remains low, so low that if the City were to refuse to borrow more money or incur other obligations, by 2030 there would be more than $40 million annually available to invest in our best asset-our citizens. Highlights of the 2021 Budget include:
- No budget cuts
- No salary reductions or furloughs
- Health insurance for our employees remains at the same cost
- No reduction of services
- Continued investment in infrastructure including drainage, street resurfacing and sidewalks
- Funding to build the Africatown Heritage House
- Continued funding for the YES Youth Summer Jobs Program
The proposed budgets will be available on our city website on Friday, August 21.
This week, Captain Joseph Snowden, was promoted to Executive Director of Administrative Services. His current responsibilities includes: directing and planning efficient operations for Alabama's sole cruise ship terminal that generates over $6 million in annual revenue, monitoring mass transit, downtown parking, commercial passenger vessels, electric vehicles, and electric bikes/scooters.
Notably, Captain Snowden, was directly responsible for the successful switchover of 400 mechanical parking devices to credit card/app driven devices. Greatly enhanced revenue and customer satisfaction resulted in a monthly revenue generation of $50,000. His new role includes leadership of the City's Information Technology, Procurement, Maritime and Waterfront which were previously led by Interim Chief of Staff Paul Wesch. Captain Snowden is a retired Sector Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard. I am confident in Joe's ability to continue the momentum of our City. His experience and leadership will continue to be beneficial to our team.
In closing, I am reminded of Ronald Reagan's quote that states, "the greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who encourages the people to do the greatest things." We all play a critical role in making our City safer, more business and family-friendly. I am grateful for the work the administration, our business community and our citizens who choose to go the extra mile in this infinite game!
Goodnight!