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State of the City
Mayor Phil Thompson January 25, 2006 One of the required duties of a Mayor is to deliver a report on the financial
and well as the general overall condition of the city which they serve each
year. In so doing they have the opportunity to set out plans and goals for the
city for the future. The State of the City address as it has come to be known was delivered to the
City Council at their regular meeting and for many years they were the only ones
who heard it. I am always amazed as I prepare the State of the City
address and review the previous year and addresses as to what we have
accomplished during the year. I also realize the State of the City does not depend on or reflect only the
thoughts of the Mayor, the City Council, various Boards or Commissions. It
depends and reflects the goals and accomplishments of each and every one of us.
This may be an individual, civic group or other governmental unit. I do appreciate the Kiwanis Club of Rochester for providing this forum to
deliver the address in a public setting and for each and every one of you for
taking the time out of your busy day to attend. There are many who for one
reason or another are not able to attend but the local media has provided the
opportunity for basically everyone in Northern Indiana to have access to this
address, with it posted on the City website the world has the ability to see
what we as a city are doing and what we have accomplished. Previous addresses
are posted on the website so that any citizen may see what the goals and plans
are for the city. Financially the City of Rochester is in good shape under the watchful eye of
our Clerk-Treasurer, Carla Smith. Carla has done a very good job of keeping all
of us informed through out the year as to our financial condition. We have had
several trying years due to reassessment and the unknown factor of when we will
receive our funds for the year. It appears we are settling into a normal
routine, to help put that into perspective in 2004 we received about $8,600.00
on funds invested until they were needed. The delay in taxes kept us from
receiving the funds until late in the year. One positive thing was the fact we
did not have to borrow money to operate the city. In 2005 the city received
about $60,000.00 in interest on investments which helps reduce the amount needed
to be raised by taxes. The City Council and Department Heads play a big part in our financial
condition. Being well informed the Council has done a good job of approving
realistic budgets and as the Department Heads realize they have the ability to
get needed funds they have moved away from the wish list type budget requests we
had seen in the past. The Department Heads have done a very good job of living
within their budgets and the request for additional appropriations are few and
usually due to something totally unforeseen. Since 2001 we have been actively working towards a new Fire Station for the
City of Rochester. The original thoughts were to be able to construct a new
station without increasing taxes. Funds in two accounts have been earmarked for
the station, The Rainy Day Fund which is basically a savings account for large
items was established and unspent tax dollars placed in the fund at the end of
each year were able to accumulate. The Rainy Day Fund has a balance of
$482,277.00. The Community Host Fee, funds coming to the City from the landfill
has a balance of $715,730.00. We have come a long way in the past few years but
it has been a real learning experience. In reviewing our financial situation and
various needs in the city our financial advisor, H. J. Umbaugh, suggested we
might want to consider spending the cash for various projects and bond the Fire
Station. This option will be discussed as we get ready to build the station. We have learned a lot about fire stations in the past year. The original
thought was to construct the new station on the site of the present station.
Among our goals was to build a station that would serve Rochester and Fulton
County for a number of years. We can fit a new station on the present site but
it does not really allow for future expansion. Response time, cost of land and
site preparation are other considerations. We have discussed this enough, I am
hopeful in the very near future we can decide where the new station will be and
start on the next phase. We can hear and see a fire truck and think in terms of fighting fire as being
the primary job of a fireman. We do not see the number of hours spent in
training and public education. The Rochester Fire Department and the various
Township Fire Departments are in the process of having a Fire Prevention or
"Smoke" trailer built. Public education is the best way to insure
public safety and reduce losses contributed to fires and unsafe conditions. The
Community Foundation and Cinergy have underwritten the cost of the trailer also. Two new weather-warning sirens have been installed this year in the city with
support of Rochester Township and various citizens who helped with the
installation. One is on the east side of Lake Manitou and the second at the City
Park. These sites were selected with the thought of advanced warning to citizens
who may be enjoying outdoor activities as severe weather approaches as well as
the mobile home parks. The Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Department and 911 are in
the process of installing a new software system for law enforcement replacing a
system purchased in 1991. The cost is in excess of $150,000.00 but divided
equally three ways made it affordable for all concerned. The trick here was not
necessarily cooperation but getting it in all three budgets for the same year,
of course this has been complicated by the tax situation of the past several
years. The City of Rochester has worked for several years to replace Police vehicles
as they approach 100,000 miles getting away from the situation of replacing them
when they are completely worn out. Working in a systematic manner we have been
able to keep several cars so that each officer has their own vehicle. This has
cut down on repair expenses and well as keeping more vehicles on the streets and
in the public eye at all times. I wish I could report it had been a slow year
for the Police Department but the number of cases they work and arrests have
continued to increase as the city provides the Police Department with proper
manpower and equipment to do their job. We have had several officers receive
special recognition from the state and national level for service performed. We
lost the Police Dog Zuse during the year, $7,500.00 has been raised of the
$10,000.00 needed to obtain another dog. This past year the city has received two new self-contained leaf vacuum
machines by means of funds from the Solid Waste District. The fact they are self
contained they do not have to be emptied as often as the dump trucks so we are
able to spend more time on the streets and are able to use the smaller one ton
trucks to pull the machines which is also a savings. We are in the process of
replacing the two-ton trucks at the present time and have just purchased the
second truck in two years. We still have need of a larger street garage so we
can get all of the trucks and equipment under cover which in the long run will
help extend the life of the equipment. Work is continuing in the area of stormwater, a used Vactor truck was
purchased this year to primarily clean storm sewers. Responsibility for cleaning
the storm lines was placed with the Wastewater Department as they work with
wastewater lines daily and have the expertise, knowledge and equipment to clean
and maintain underground lines. Our goal is to get the present system working as
well as it can and to target areas that need new or additional storm lines to
reduce flooding. This year storm lines were replaced on Wabash Ave. to reduce
flooding on Court and Spear Streets. In addition to working on Stormwater the Wastewater Department has spent most
of this year on regular and routine maintenance. The camera purchased to look
into lines without digging up streets has continued to save the city money and
given us the ability to see what type problems we can expect to encounter before
work actually begins. The increase in wastewater rates allowed the department to
finish the year with excess funds over and above funds needed just for
operations. Last year we successfully lined wastewater lines on Monroe Street.
We are looking at sections of Manitou Heights to use this procedure to eliminate
problems without the cost of digging up lines and having the additional expense
of replacing pavement as well as working in areas where space is at a premium
which adds to the cost. The Water Department is ready to paint the water tank on East 4th
Street and has started the necessary steps to take bids on that project. Work
will begin as soon as a contractor has been hired and can start the work. The
Water Department will start installing computerized water meters that can be
read remotely. This not only will save time in meter reading but water usage can
be tracked better and when the system has been completely installed the Water
Department will be able to make sure that water usage aligns will the amount of
water pumped and to keep incorrect readings and loss due to leakage to a
minimum. A new computer system has been installed for City Hall, Water Department and
the Wastewater Department. This takes care of city business as well as water and
wastewater billings. The Sidewalk/Traffic Commission will have their first meeting of the year in
March. One of the first items of business will be to meet with the Fulton County
Parks Board and Friends of the Fulton County Parks to discuss the idea of
jointly working to extend sidewalks or walking trail to the Fulton County 4-H
Fairgrounds and to the new county park on West 3rd Street near US 31. This year
work was done on the sidewalks on East 8th Street so individuals using the
walking trail would have good sidewalks to the business district. A portion of
the work was done under the 50/50 sidewalk replacement program but NIPSCO
replaced the sidewalk on East 8th Street on their own. The Park Department has had a progressive year. The move into the Round Barn
Pro Shop has been well received. Mill Creek Golf Course had the 2nd best year
ever in 2005 and is off to a good start this year. The Tree Board has started a planned program of pruning the lower limbs from
street trees in the interest of public safety and to prevent damage to larger
vehicles such as city trucks and school buses. They started with the Southwest
section of Rochester and will work on a section each year as funds permit until
all lower limbs have been removed. The 50/50 sidewalk replacement program, assistance with the removal of street
trees and free street trees are programs that have been well received by the
citizens and will continue during 2006. There are times you look at all that
needs to be done and wonder if we are making progress but when you stop to look
at all the new sidewalks and street trees you can see that these are worthwhile
programs that citizens have taken good advantage of. The Building Department has spent a lot of time this year working out minor
start-up problems with the GIS mapping. In 2006 we will start to see and use the
full potential of the mapping system as we continue to place city utilities and
information on it. The City Council has decided to look into the possibility of obtaining a
grant for extensive work that needs to be done on East 4th Street. This will be
a long-range project at best but if grants funds can be obtained we will be able
to solve the problems with stormwater in this area as well as curbs, sidewalks
and new pavement. We would be looking several years in the future, possibly 2009
with this project as presented to the City Council. There is a lot of planning
that needs to be done but the first step in deciding to pursue the grant is a
step in the right direction. I am very pleased with all the interaction the city has had with the county,
schools, foundations, civic groups and individuals this year. When I say city
this includes elected officials, board, commissions and employees. Rochester is
not just city government but a collection and combination of all of us. It is
not possible to say any one group or individual is responsible for growth or to
see something new completed. It is all of us working together as a community. Thank you, I do appreciate the opportunity to up-date you on city activities. I can tell you right now I am already looking forward to next year as it looks as thought 2006 it off to a real good start. I am looking for a very good year in the City of Rochester. Mayor Phil Thompson
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