State Of The City Address

Yesterday, Mayor Mark Boughton gave his State of the City Address. You can read the article here from the News-Times.

Boughton talked a lot about downtown and the homeless, along with many other issues. The following are a few points raised directly from his speech. You can read that here.

On the economy:

"As I speak to you here today, Danbury is experiencing strong economic growth and has the lowest unemployment rate in the State of Connecticut."

On the re-evaluation:

"One challenge that we will address is the recent reevaluation which has shown dramatic increases in the value of our residents homes and your businesses. We will address this challenge by using every tool in our toolbox to minimize the impact of the new assessments."

On immigration:

"Currently there is a proposal to enroll our Police Department in a program that will provide additional training to some of our officers in immigration law. After careful analysis and review, and based on the recommendations from our Chief of Police, our Corporation Counsel, and with approval from the Common Council, the City will participate in this worthwhile program."

On downtown:

"Within the next thirty days I will be appointing a task force of individuals to develop a plan for our downtown that is visionary and far reaching."

On the homeless:

"We are going to ask that people who use the shelter contribute to the city by requiring they complete some community service in exchange for staying in our shelter or contribute to themselves by enrolling in a program to get back on their feet."

Just to note, Governor Rell and President Bush will give their addresses in either January or February of 2008.