Mayor gives sunny outlook for City despite continued economic downturns

By Christine Laughren
Feb. 22, 2009    ·    2:41 p.m.

Mayor Paul Schreiber gave his State of the City address at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Schreiber touched on the economic challenges the state is facing but said Ypsilanti is ahead of the economic crisis.

"In 2008 the city met its economic challenges head-on by passing a balanced two-year budget," he said. "Thirteen vacant city staff positions were eliminated to balance the budget."

He also noted that Water Street bond payments have been set aside through 2011 and the 2008 audit report gives the city a “clean” rating.

Water street, the Riverside Arts Center, Vetting of Blueprint for Downtown Ypsilanti, opening of Rutherford Pool this summer, ongoing Ave Maria campus renovations and filming of the Drew Barrymore movie Whip It were other highlights he touched on.

Except for a brief note in the beginning, the mayor did not make any mention of the continued increase in unemployment rates in the state and the effect those numbers could continue to have on the city level.

According to the Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategics, under the Department of Labor & Economic Growth, Michigan lost 56,000 payroll jobs in 2008, due in most part to the weakened auto industry. Manufacturing accounted for 59 percent and construction accounted for 23 percent of this reduction.

The 2008 average monthly job cut (-6,200) was higher than last year’s average (-5,000) for the same period. The unemployment rate in Michigan was at 10.6 percent in December 2008 and at 7.6 percent in the Ypsilanti area that same month.

Click on the video to view the mayor's State of the City address in its entirety.