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Mayor Flaggs delivers State of the City address
Mayor George Flaggs delivered his State of the City address from the Robert Walker Building on Walnut to a packed room of mostly city employees.
Flaggs discussed the highlights of the past year and upcoming projects. He made crime reduction the number one goal for 2024 but did not speak about how he would do so. After going through the list below he opened the room for questions.
Here is the press release from the Mayor’s Office:
State of the City of Vicksburg from Mayor Flaggs:
Mayor Flaggs has championed a transparent city government in Vicksburg committed to growth and service at the least cost to the taxpayer. Under Mayor Flaggs’ leadership, taxpayers have seen groundbreaking quality-of-life improvements, the creation of innovative economic development policies, and an unprecedented pro-business environment that will benefit Vicksburg for generations to come.
- Brought in millions of dollars from State and Federal Government for projects:
- Fisher Ferry Bridge Repair — $4 million
- Vicksburg Animal Shelter — $1.5 million
- Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project — $1.6 million
- Street Paving inside city limits — $3.5 million
- Iowa Blvd Emergency Repair/Stabilization Project — $800,000
- Washington Street Park Improvements — $173,000
- Levee Street Pedestrian Safety Circulation Project (for bus parking, sidewalks, lighting, railroad safety railing) — $700,000
- Riverfront Development — $3.5 million
- Brownfield Community-wide Assessment — $300,000
- Brownfield Cleanup (Rubber Plant Property) — $900,000
- Constitution Firehouse Galley Building renovations — $200,000
- Moody’s reinstated an A2 Bond Rating for City Government
- Balanced the City budget for 10 years without raising taxes
- Maintained $3 million in a reserve fund
- Received a consistently clear independent audit of City finances
Economic Development
- 780 permits were issued since January of 2023, collecting $59,307.50 in fees.
- 3,012 inspections were completed with an additional 417 open cases.
- 1,040 privilege licenses were issued.
- Five-year housing plan adopted by board on October 10, 2023.
- Launched a Housing Revitalization Initiative with the NAACP to provide safe and stable housing for city residents
- NPS approved new Riverfront Park conversion, now city and county can proceed with accepting the Golding’s donation of the property and move forward with the transition.
- Progress on the Civil Rights Park on the site of the former Kuhn Memorial Hospital
- Updated police department’s record management system
- Implement first stage of public safety radio encryption
Recreation
- Facilitated disaster relief to the City of Rolling Fork due to the March 2023 tornado.
- Vicksburg Police Department participated in the Mississippi Smiles Campaign distributing food, water, cleaning supplies, and personal items to elderly residents of Vicksburg
- Appointed as Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative Co-Chair, a coalition of 104 mayors along the Mississippi River, which spans nearly a third of the country.
- Raised Vicksburg’s City Government minimum wage and gave 2% pay raise and longevity pay.
- Employees now have access to check stubs on the online portal
- City switched from printing paper checks to online self-service to save on printing costs
- Implemented DUO MFA to prevent malware, phishing and ransomware attacks
- Changed vendors for City’s phone system with savings of over $2000 monthly
- Updated CODERED and BFAC to reach a larger audience
- Human Resources Manual completely revamped to make it easier and clearer for employees
- 105 new hires for the City of Vicksburg in 2023 — each new hire participated in mandatory orientation and received a copy of the updated manual.
2024 City of Vicksburg Goals:
- Crime reduction
- Port — 500 jobs creation
- MCITy completion
- Riverfront development enhancements
- Riverfront Park completion
- Retail development
- Housing Development
- Vicksburg National Military Park Interpretive Center
- Address population decline
- City Charter reform
- Vicksburg Police Department goals and objectives
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