The last year of the 2010s was an eventful one for Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, and he has big plans for the first year of the 2020s.

Over the past year, Brown took over a council with five new members including himself, released a book about his departure from the Progressive Conservative Party and became a father for the first time.

In a recent interview, he listed a zero per cent increase in the city’s portion of municipal property taxes — which he hopes council can repeat next year — growing recreational infrastructure and a more unified council as among his proudest accomplishments.

“We had a very divided community and a very divided council. That’s one of the things that people referred to Brampton about, was that they couldn’t agree on anything,” he said. “I think now we’ve shown, on the big issues, an ability to put grievances aside and work for the best interest of the city on the major files.”

Despite a sometimes-contentious relationship with Premier Doug Ford over the past year, Brown said he still has strong relationships with many Tory ministers and believes Brampton is well positioned for the year ahead.

The mayor said he and council will continue to focus on many of the same priorities from year one moving into their second year, including economic growth, public safety, post-secondary education, transit infrastructure, health care and improved communication with residents.

“Jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Brown when asked about his top priority for 2020.

On the public safety file, he said the city intends to continue lobbying the province for similar guns and gangs funding Toronto and Ottawa have received, as well as a continued push for dedicated crime-fighting CCTV cameras on Highway 410.

“The notion that there be one level of response in Etobicoke, and a few kilometres away in Brampton there be less of a response is because of provincial funding allocation, makes no sense. Crime does not respect municipal borders. Gang activity does not respect municipal borders.”

The mayor added bringing a university campus to Brampton remains a top priority.