Arlington Mayor Dr. Robert Cluck

This past year was a difficult, but exciting year for Arlington. We replaced over half of our leadership on the City Council with a new Mayor and four new City Council members. We faced the most severe budget crisis ever in the history of our City. We also passed two major bond packages that will bring the City of Arlington forward into the 21^st century with a new and vibrant economy.

The 2003 City Council faced unprecedented challenges in creating the budget for fiscal year 2004. The Arlington economic decline started well over two years ago. Sales tax receipts had been down for 23 of the past 26 months. The 2002 Council had already begun the cutting process. This made the cuts in 2003 all the more painful and difficult. In the end, we decreased some services, eliminated some programs, and laid off some City employees. However, we maintained funding for our priority areas, which included public safety and essential citizen services.

Despite these challenges, 2003 also brought a number of exciting new developments. The bond package that passed in November 2003 will provide funds to improve access along Interstate 30 to central Arlington and the Ballpark. It will repave streets throughout the City, install traffic management cameras and improve the infrastructure within the Great Southwest Industrial District. Because of redesigned roads, seventy acres of prime real estate along I-30 will be available for private development, adding further to the City’s tax base.

This past year also saw the completion of two major projects funded by past bond elections. Those projects include the new Southeast Branch Library and the new West Police Service Station. The Southeast Branch Library at 900 S.E. Green Oaks Blvd. is now the largest of our five branch libraries. The West Police Substation opened on December 19, 2003. This $3.5 million facility will be open 24 hours a day, housing more than 100 patrol officers and detectives, who will serve the west and southwest areas of Arlington.

In the private sector, Arlington has also seen some significant development. One example of this is Siemens Dematic Postal Automation, which is located on Nolan Ryan Expressway near the Ballpark in Arlington. Phase I of this development is already complete, resulting in a $35 million capital investment in our community. Approximately 500 people work in this 250,000 square-foot facility with an average salary of over $60,000. Phase II of this development has the potential to bring another $35 million in capital investment to the area to build.

The Arlington Municipal Airport continues to be an economic generator. In order to increase the profile and accessibility of the Airport, the City is building a new control tower. The design phase is complete and construction is scheduled to start in the early spring. The new tower is expected to be complete by next fall. It will improve airport traffic patterns, creating an economic development incentive for corporate development in our community. This is a resource with immense possibilities for future growth that will benefit our economy. We must not waste it.

One of the things that makes me most proud of our City is the success of our Police Department in reducing crime in our community. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, crime is down in Arlington eight percent in 2003.

In 2003, our homicide rate dropped 36 percent. Robberies are down 26 percent, aggravated assaults are down 13 percent, and motor vehicle theft is down 17 percent. Increased traffic enforcement has also seen an improvement in citizen safety. Traffic fatalities are down 44 percent, alcohol related fatalities are down 56 percent, and total accidents were down 9 percent.

Although we have faced disappointing news about our sales tax figures lately, we have also seen some promising developments for our economy. The intersection of Collins and Randol Mill will see the development of a new Wal-Mart Super Center and a Walgreen’s this year. In 2004, Best Buy is coming to Lincoln Square. Other new commercial development includes Hotels.com, which will be coming to Arlington in February 2004, bringing a total of 700 new jobs to our City. Better Home Products will be moving to the Great Southwest Industrial District to occupy 100,000 square feet of space that has been vacant for five years.

In conclusion, I believe that the economic outlook for Arlington is positive, but it requires all of us working together to make it a good year. Please join me in supporting Arlington businesses in 2004 to make our City an even greater place to live, work and play.