Editor’s Note: The following is Blytheville Mayor James Sanders’ state of the city address delivered to the Blytheville City Council on Tuesday, March 19.
I first want to thank God, who has allowed us to see this year of 2019.
I want to thank, my wife, Joyce for standing with me and supporting me the past eight years in this office and for the thirty-six years of our marriage. I also want to thank the citizens of Blytheville for giving me another opportunity to serve you for these next four years. The support
you’ve shown me and my family cannot be measured and I thank you.
In recap, as we moved into the 2018 season, last year, we continued to invest in the infrastructure of the City. That year, we received three new garbage trucks and knuckle boom truck delivered to Public Works.
This will allow us to better serve our sanitation needs.
We worked with our City council, our City attorney and the Arkansas Municipal League to develop a process to clean condemned structures all across the town and will continue our efforts to collaborate with local businesses to help and support in this clean up effort. We’ve supported Cleaner Safer Blytheville, whose efforts early on in this administration organized and worked with several Christian based organizations to identify blight and to organize an approach with community support to address those issues. 2017, we started with this administration’s request for a 1/2 cent sales and use tax to be committed to Public Safety. This tax would sunset after 10 years. The tax would be used to enhance the salaries of our police officers and firefighters and a portion of the sales and use tax will be used to fund the remodel of the former National Guard Armory, at South Division and Byrum road, into the Blytheville Police Justice Center and will also allow for the investment in additional resources (SkyCop Cameras) that would assist our officers in surveillance in high crime and populated areas.
This tax made it possible for our administration to work with members of our community and our City Council to address the increase in salaries of our entry level and non-ranking officers. And to help us with our recruiting efforts for more Police officers. Since the passing of this tax, it has allowed us to increase our Criminal Investigation Division from two to five Detectives and allowed the Police Department to form a Street Crimes Unit which will allow us to be more pro-active in our approach to reduce crime. I has also allowed us to retain our more seasoned and experienced officers and the Fire fighters. Our Fire Department is currently fully staffed at thirty Firefighters.
Over the past years, our Fire Department has made purchases to upgrade their safety equipment. We have purchased two Fire Trucks and made much needed repairs on the Main Fire Station on Franklin Street. We also asked the council to allow us to place $350,0000 in three (CD’s) Certificate of Deposit and earmark this to address the issue of a new West-end Fire Station. These funders were the results of watchful spending of the funds from the 1/4 cent Sales and Use tax that was already being collected for Police and Fire Departments.
In Park and Recreation 2018:
We have continued to use our money wisely by working with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Arkansas Department of Rural Services. We work with these Organizations to obtain Grant funding to improve our Parks and our Museum. Through new collaborations with local business, Lowes (Lowe’s Heroes,) and Black Hills Energy, they have
invested in our community by each building new Pavilions in Walker Park.
We also the coming together of this community with the Taste of Blytheville event that was showcased in Walker Park in 2018.
We have worked with the member of the Golf Facilities Board and their volunteers along with our City Council to come up with a plan that would allow our Thunder Bayou Golf Links to operate without straining our Parks and Recreation’s budget. The cooperation these volunteers
displayed has been very beneficial with helping this administration work toward a positive solution to present to our City Council. We also worked with both our Baseball Facilites Board and the Blytheville Baseball Softball Booster to provide a safe and comfortable program for our youth and community. I would like to thank the volunteers of the Blytheville Baseball Softball Booster for their hard work over the years especially during this City’s hard financial times.
We also worked with the Arkansas Department of Game and Fish and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism on a 50/50 matching grant. We recognize the importance of having safe and secure parks and will continue working toward a solution to present to the Parks and Recreation committee.
In 2018 our Public Works:
Was very successful. Early in the year the City was met with several challenges. The weather played a big role in these challenges. From ice storms to floods, our Public Works did not just just assume the
challenge, they conquered it. With the equipment we purchased over the years of this administration, Public Works not only came to the aid of residents, our employees did this while being able to provide the normal services of trash and garbage pick up.
It’s because of the work of these dedicated individuals that we are able to carry out our day to day operation a normal manner. This allows us to keep our cost low. We made additional purchases of a Dump Truck and a Roll-off Courier Truck and several roll- off 40 yard boxes that will
minimize our contract labor cost.
In 2018 our Water Works Department:
Was able to work toward much needed infrastructure improvements. With City Council’s approval, our Water Department was able to invest our water revenues back into the Water Department by securing Revenue Bonds.
This will allow portions of our water revenues to be used to upgrade the treatment facility and keep up with the newest technology of treating our drinking water. A portion of those same funds have been used to purchase property located on South 2nd Street where the new well and
additional construction are bing constructed. Also fire flow test have been completed throughout the city to insure all parts of our City have adequate fire protection.
In 2018, our Sewer Department:
We continue to work with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, (ADEQ), to fix existing problems the City has had with compliance issues. In 2011 when this administration came into office,
the Blytheville residents and Waste Water customers were tasked with paying an additional five dollars fee ($5) on their water bill for upgrades to be made to our Sewer System. We worked with engineers and ADEQ to eliminate the five dollars fee ($5) from the water bill. Then this year, this Admnistration and the City Council, worked with ADEQ, and our engineers to successfully work to remedy the issues and have brought one of the three treatment plants into compliance. Engineers are working on plans for the construction of a new Treatment plant.
In 2018 in the Finance Department:
We have been pleased with the procedures and safeguards we have put in place. We continue to see that at the end of the year all departments came in either at or under budget for the year ending 2018.
In our second year now, the Finance Department, Mayor’s office, Police Department, City Clerk/ Treasurer and District Court all received a clean audit from the Arkasas Department of Legislated Audit in 2018.
The audit was for the 2017 year. The City also ended the year with a surplus in our general fund. (THE STATE OF OUR CITY IS GOOD).
As we move into the 2019 year:
We will continue to invest in our infrastructure of the City. We will continue our approach to reduce blight in under served neighborhoods and work with our County’s Economic Development leaders to invest in our citizens to obtain jobs and be work ready.
Currently the City has approximately $15,000,000 in Infrastructure improvements going on. These improvements are in the area of our Waste Water, Water, and The Justice Center. The Water and Waste Water projects are secured and funded by Revenue Bonds from those organization. We are re-investing a portion of the revenues back into these companies for these much needed improvements that will potentially save the City money in repair and operating cost. The Justice Center remodel is secured by the Public Safety Tax bond.
We will be working with our City council, our City attorney and the Arkansas Municipal League to develop and fund a process to clean condemned structures all across the town. I will be asking local businesses to help and support in this effort. I’m asking for support from Cleaner Safer Blytheville. Early on in this administration this 501C organization worked with several Churches, Christian based organizations, and community business to identify blight and develop an organized approach with community support to address the issue.
In 2018 we worked closely with our Police Department and Community to address our crime issues. The “Back the Blue” and Crime Stoppers program have supported our law enforcement and Fire Fighters by getting the word out to support our men and women in blue. The Crime Stoppers is a good way for business community to interact with law enforcement to solve crime. It also provides an opportunity for our citizens to become involved. “If you see something, say something.” We are also supporting our Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy. This is another way we can reduce crime in our neighborhoods.
As you all are aware, there has been a spike in violent crime in community the past three months. My heart and prayers go out to the victim’s and their families. This type of violence is senseless. It robs our community of its future. We are better than that. It’s our duty to protect the peace within our city and I charge our Law Enforcement community to do that. However, you as individuals also have a role to
play. Parents, do you know where your children are? And what they are doing? All life is precious. There is no one who should feel they have the right to take the life of someone or take the law in their own hands. When someone does that, they are playing GOD.
Are we our brother’s keepers? The answer is yes. And remember, lawlessness will NOT be tolerated.
We will continue working with our City Planning committee and Code Enforcement to work with those who are looking to establish a business or looking for opportunity in our city. And we will continue working closely with our Governor, Asa Hutchinson, and legislative officials, Senator Dave Wallace, Representatives Monte Hodges and Johnny Rye to keep Blytheville on the front line in Little Rock.
We continue to collaborate with our Northeastern cities and Counties to work for a better Northeast Arkansas and a better Blytheville.
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
- Winston Churchill
I want to thank the Citizens of Blytheville and the City Council for their support. May God continue blessing this City and this Community.