Mayor Kapszukiewicz Delivers 2023 State of the City Address

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz delivered his 2023 State of the City address Wednesday night broadcasted live at the Frederick Douglass Center, where he highlighted the progress the City has made in a number of areas over the last year while pointing out the challenges that remain.

The mayor opened his speech by discussing gun violence, which has spiked across the United States in the aftermath of the pandemic. However, he pointed out that the City has not had a gun-related homicide since February 3rd.

“We’ve made a lot of progress in a number of areas but there’s more work to be done,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. “I have no doubt if we work together we will be able to overcome our challenges.”

The mayor highlighted many successes: a strong local economy, a healthy city budget with a $43.5 million rainy day fund, a record-setting amount of sidewalk and road repairs, the highest number of youth programs in the City’s history, a new Wayman Palmer YMCA, new parks and recreation renovations, and new market-rate housing developments that are underway at places like Westgate, The Colony and the Four Corners.

The mayor rounded out his address with two important challenges to sustain Toledo’s future. These include developing a site to attract new electric jobs of the future and making needed upgrades to the Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“In order to attract the jobs of the future, we are going to need to be creative and think outside the box,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.

Other Notable Highlights

The mayor said that he is encouraged by the direction the City is moving and that he is willing to try any and every approach to curb gun violence, including hiring Cities United.

The mayor recognized Council Member Tiffany Whitman, who identified Cities United as an organization that could play a role in keeping our community safe.

“There is nothing more important to prosperity than peaceful neighborhoods,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.

The mayor also touted the progress that has been made since the Toledo Roads Levy passed in 2020. Thanks to the generosity of the voters, Toledo now resurfaces 15 to 20 times more roads than it did before the levy passed.

The mayor said that the City has seen robust economic advancements and applauded the momentum in housing development.

The mayor went on to celebrate other achievements.

Toledo has been listed in the top ten for economic development in the country 6 out of the last 7 years, according to Site Selection Magazine.
General Motors invested $760 million to convert a powertrain facility into a propulsion systems facility for electronic vehicles, indicating that they believe Toledo can be profitable.
Big job projects, such as the 300 jobs at the Jeep vehicle customization operation on the old textile leather location and the Hilton downtown, have earned national attention.
The Vibrancy Initiative was launched to provide them with the tools necessary to succeed. The initiative includes a façade grant program and the White Box Initiative, which together have used grants to leverage $11 million in private investment.

Quality of life programs such as rental and mortgage assistance, sidewalk repair, and Vision Zero, which aims to have zero traffic fatalities by 2031.

The mayor acknowledged the hard work that has been put into fighting blight and noted that hundreds of thousands of pounds of refuse and millions of pounds of debris were removed last year. He went on to say the city has appropriated $4.1 million for a new cell at the landfill to extend its life to the end of the century.

But the mayor emphasized the need for more recycling.

To that end, the mayor said that the city has taken a big step in creating its own municipal recycling facility. Currently, the City pays $400,000 a year to transport recyclables to Lorain County, but the City could save money and help the environment by doing it itself.

The mayor also announced that the City plans to demolish 1,000 more vacant and blighted structures in the coming year.

The mayor concluded his speech by inviting residents to be an active part of building a better Toledo. For the second year in a row, the mayor bestowed the Irene Drouillard award. The adult award went to Samantha Boyle for creating the Luken T. Boyle Campaign for Kindness following the death of her son who was bullied. The second award was given to Jaden Jefferson a teenage multimedia journalist.

###