Florence Mayor Diane Whalen gave the State of the City and Budget Address at Tuesday’s City Council Business Meeting.
It is the 17th such address Whalen has given. She started her fifth term as mayor in January.
The city will begin the fiscal year with a fund balance of $52.8 million and estimated reserves at year’s end of $60.2 million.
Whalen spoke about the accomplishments in the budget year that will conclude at the end of June and the plans for the coming fiscal year.
“City government works every minute of every day,” Whalen said. “We have experienced some big city and urban growing pains, and faced things that we never expected in Florence. We will continue to face our challenges head on.”
Whalen discussed upgrades to the city’s police and fire departments, infrastructure improvements and the overall economic outlook, which continues to be favorable.
As with most Northern Kentucky cities, Florence continued to see an increase in the use of illegal drugs last year, spurred by the rise in heroin use. The Florence Police Department responded to 65,000 total calls for service last year.
The department will activate a new drug unit, which was funded in last year’s budget and will consist of three veteran officers and a sergeant. The unit will work full time on drug investigations and other crimes associated with drug activity.
The department added four new officers during the year to replace those assigned to the task force.
“The trickle-down effect of drug use has the potential to touch us all,” Whalen said. “Council recognizes that any additional employees will have impact on the long-term budget. We also recognize that we must provide the tools to those who work to make our city and streets safe and try to find as many ways as possible to deal with the problems that drug use creates.”
The Florence Fire Department remained active last year as calls for ambulance service continued to far outpace fire and rescue calls.
The department’s ambulances responded to 6,655 calls for assistance, 2,804 of which were classified as immediately life threating. The department also responded to 2,614 fire and rescue calls and completed 2,227 fire prevention inspections, covering 90 percent of those requiring assessment.
Whalen said fire code compliance is “our first line of defense against catastrophic fires and loss of life.”
The department opened the fire station on Bushelman Boulevard at Houston Road and added a third engine company and a new ambulance last year.
A new fire engine will be added at the Weaver Road fire station this year.
The city continued to improve infrastructure last year, including transportation upgrades on 94 streets, with similar enhancements planned on 97 streets this year.
Park improvements were completed at South Fork Park and Stringtown Park, with additional upgrades planned for South Fork and Lincoln Woods in the coming year.
The commercial real estate market remains strong, driven by active leasing and purchasing in the retail, office and industrial sectors.
The highlight of discussion was the expected completion of Florence Heights, which will include openings of Costco, Menard’s Dave & Buster’s and Planet Fitness.
“While the Florence Heights development is the most visible new development in the City of Florence, we continue to be excited about the 2,500 businesses that have chosen to locate and do business in Florence,” Whalen said.
The city’s retail vacancy rate is less than 4 percent, compared to the regional average of 8.4 percent. The professional office vacancy rate of 12 percent and the industrial vacancy rate of 2 percent in Florence also outpace regional averages of 20.6 and 6.7 percent, respectively.
Infrastructure improvements designed to promote commercial growth will continue in the coming year, most notable with the start of construction on Phase 3 of the Mall Road project.
The project will include the creation of an access road along the southwest side of Mall Road that will link two commercial centers to Connector Drive.
Whalen said she is grateful to be the mayor of Florence and that she lives in a community of visionaries that continue to contribute to its growth.
“I offer my sincere thanks to each and every one of you,” Whalen said. “Our business owners and their employees, and the dedicated public servants who come to work every day to keep our city on track. Our success is because of you.”