CC Minutes - 01/04/11 State of the City

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VII. STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS Mayor Piercy delivered the following address: Good evening. The State of the City is our traditional salute to the past year and our kick -off to the one just beginning. It gives us the opportunity to talk about what we've accomplished and the challenges we face. We're here tonight to celebrate living and working together in this community. We know the most important thing about our lives, our jobs and this city we call home is how we care for each other, how we care about the well -being of all who live here, now and in the future, and how we build toward a common good that will enable us to live well together. It is about how we do this in the best and worst of times. Let me begin my comments by thanking Jennifer Solomon for her service, Mike Clark and Betty Taylor for their council leadership, and by welcoming Pat Farr back. Let me ask us to remember with gratitude two former Mayors of Eugene who passed away this year: Ruth Bascom and Gus Keller. Thank you Willamette Jazz Band for honoring us with your presence tonight. You are a great example of the talent of our city's young people and the value of our public schools. Thank you city staff and city manager for your great fortitude, intelligence and leadership in these tough times - managing a slow recovery with continued dedication to providing the very best for the people of Eugene. Let us give special thanks to our police and fire departments who protect our lives and property at great personal risk every day. Thank you, City Council, for your hours of meetings, real discussion and difficult decision - making. You have demonstrated how people of diverse opinions can work well together to provide direction for our city. Thanks to the hundreds of community volunteers who've helped our departments, served on committees and advisory bodies, or stepped up for their neighborhoods or non - profits. You make Eugene a great city. There's no doubt that in 2010 our economy was our number one issue. Incomes suffered and unemploy- ment stayed high. Our city finances remained tight and regular services were more difficult to provide. We responded by focusing on smart governance, using the triple bottom line of social equity, economic development and protecting our natural resources as a lens, to maximize our dollars and our service while cutting over $17 million from our General Fund budget over the last two years. Was this easy? No, but it is something we diligently addressed. We recognized that with crisis comes opportunity and while we must deal with the crisis, we must also seize opportunities. We recognized that MINUTES —City Council January 4, 20110 Page 3