Mayor Michelle Roman began her State of the City address with a word about the pandemic, including where 600 tests could be procured this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon by driving through the driveway next to City Hall on Main Street to the front of the Police Department on Niagara Street.
“Despite the battle with Covid for these two years, we are working hard to keep our community moving forward, while keeping the safety of all our residents,” she said.
Roman touched on aspects of life including police and fire departments, their work with the community, as well as fresh water being provided by the water treatment plant.
“Our buildings and grounds team are doing a great job disinfecting City Hall,” she said. “Allowing us to provide city services to our residents.”
Roman said the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is starting to take shape. DRI is a $10 million project and local businesses were able to take advantage of it in the amount of $500,000.
“The city will see improvements at key properties across downtown areas, including the Palace Theatre,” she said, noting that the theater is nearly complete with their renovations, needing only to put solar panels on its roof.
Roman also talked about the equity improvement project that is now in its final year.
“The goal of this project is to ensure all properties are assessed uniformly and that the tax burden is shared fairly for all homeowners,” she said. “The city has updated the calendar for general assessment process to coincide more closely with the rest of Niagara County. The exemptions are due March 1st and closed on May 1st.”
The city is also looking at its Comprehensive Plan that has not been changed for 23 years.
“This will include a comprehensive rezoning of the city where residents and business owners alike have a level playing field for potential improvements to their properties,” she said. “This project will also aid the city to qualify for even more grants in the future.”
City homeowners are being helped out by the Community Development office, which is looking for grants to provide potential homeowners, businesses and community organizations.
“Community Development has been implementing an $800,000 first time homebuyer program, which offers grants in the form of deferred loans for individuals and families that need it,” Roman said. “They also applied for a $500,000 home improvement grant, which if the City were to receive this reward, it would assist income eligible homeowners in making necessary improvements to their home to meet code.”
Roman also announced a $300,000 micro-enterprise program for business owners that was “launched” in late 2021. As for COVID relief funds, the City totaled $845,000 from the CARES Act to help businesses and public facilities.
“The Dale Association and Briarwood will be receiving those funds,” Roman said.
The city’s finances are now online, Roman said.
“For the first time since 2015 the city received an essentially clean audit from the state with minor adjustments for improvement,” she said. We’ve settled the last two outstanding labor contracts in this year which helped stabilize the city’s financial future.”
Roman also said four firefighters will be hired each year to comply with a court order.
“None of this is possible without the hard work of our elected officials, the collaboration of our community partners and the city employees,” she said. “Lastly, our local businesses continue to need our support. Now more than ever. Please, do your best to support your communities businesses while continuing to follow social distancing and masking guidelines.”
“We are strong and resilient community and we rise to the challenges we face.”
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