AKRON, Ohio – Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan’s fifth State of the City speech on Wednesday outlined new initiatives to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within City Hall and across town.

Speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 at the John S. Knight Center, Horrigan drew on his experience of recently becoming a grandfather to describe the importance of building a more just and equitable city for future generations.

“It’s not about me, and it’s not about you. It’s about the generations coming after us,” Horrigan said. “A more equitable, opportunity-rich Akron is the legacy I want to leave for them. That requires us, as leaders, to be the change.”

Here are some takeaways from the speech:

Review of city charter

Each decade, along with the census - which Horrigan also urged attendees to participate in and promote – the city reviews its charter.

Horrigan plans to put together a Charter Review Commission, and will ask its members, “How can we make sure our charter builds and creates opportunity for all residents?”

The mayor said he has been looking into contracts awarded by the city and asking whether minority-owned businesses are being given “a fair shake” in the process.

The answer: “In the interest of time, I’ll be brief - no,” he said.

In 2019, minority-owned businesses received 5% of the city’s purchasing budget, Horrigan said.

“This is unacceptable and I’m going to see that it changes,” Horrigan said. He plans to revise the charter to include best practices for purchasing goods and services, create a process for such decisions to be more transparent, and hire experts to guide the city’s efforts, including a position overseeing supplier diversity.

Infant mortality

“One of the most important efforts around equity, one that truly keeps me up at night, is our work to ensure each of our new mothers and infants are surrounded with the support they need to thrive in their first year,” Horrigan said.

To address infant mortality, Horrigan launched the “Full Term, First Birthday” initiative in 2017 and hired Tamiyka Rose as the city’s first health equity ambassador.

Since 2016, the city’s infant mortality rate has decreased by 9%, and the African-American infant mortality rate has dropped by 16%, according to Horrigan.

“But we’re not there yet, folks,” Horrigan said. “To put it in perspective, the number of infants lost last year would fill two kindergarten classes. Let that sink in.”

Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan speaks Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 at his fifth State of the City address at the John S. Knight Center. (Robin Goist, cleveland.com)

Redeveloping neighborhoods

Horrigan addressed the city’s eviction rate, which was ranked by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University as the highest in Ohio.

“It is clear that systemic changes are needed to level the playing field for tenants,” he said. “It is also clear to me that we have to engage our landlord community in this dialogue.”

Horrigan said he plans to hold a “town hall” meeting with landlords later this year, to “ensure that all ideas are heard as this community works with tenants and landlords alike to create fair and workable solutions to combat evictions.”

In 2017, Horrigan released the “Planning to Grow Akron” report, which outlined a plan for increasing the city’s population to 250,000 by 2050. The plan included a 15-year tax abatement for new home construction or renovation.

“Akron has more than 1,000 units of new housing in development or under construction,” Horrigan said. “The year before I took office, there were less than 20.”

But the city’s housing stock is often priced too low, he said, so routine home maintenance is sometimes more expensive than what the property is worth. Horrigan said that is unacceptable.

“Too many residents are living in deteriorating homes with limited prospects for property valuation,” he said. “Through targeted investments and forward-thinking strategies, we will do what it takes to ensure older houses are rehabilitated in this city.”

Horrigan announced that the city’s Office of Integrated Development has begun working on a second “Planning to Grow Akron” report. Set for release this summer, the plan is expected to recommend ways to bridge disparities in investment across Akron’s neighborhoods and to encourage the private sector to assist property owners in rehabbing the city’s historic housing stock.

Safety and streets

Horrigan provided an update on the use of dollars generated by the Issue 4 ballot initiative, passed by Akron voters in 2017 to increase the city’s income tax from 2.25% to 2.5% to pay for police, fire and roads.

Issue 4 investments have included constructing two fire stations, buying software, hardware and gear for safety forces, resurfacing streets and launching a police academy.

Over the next year and a half, the police department is expected to be at its highest staffing level in a decade, Horrigan said. He did not provide a number of expected employees.

This year, the city expects to complete designs for a new Fire Station No. 12 in the Wallhaven neighborhood, with construction slated to begin in 2021. It is set to be built at the corner of Westgate Circle and South Hawkins, across the street from a Swenson’s – where, Horrigan pointed out, he worked as a carhop in the 1980s.

Issue 4 has nearly tripled the city’s annual repaving budget, Horrigan said. Since 2016, Akron has repaved more than 150 miles of crumbling streets.

The city is on track to finish the first phase of the Main Street reconstruction project – between Mill and Cedar streets – by July, and the $42 million Bowery project is nearing completion. Horrigan said. Romig Road is being reconstructed to pave the way for a new Amazon distribution center, which is expected to open later this year and hire more than 1,500 people.

“I realize the past few years have been filled with orange barrels, and I know that can cause frustration. But I’m happy to report we’ve made major headway,” Horrigan said. “It can feel like a lot all at once, but the investments we are making now will pay off for decades to come.”

Economic development and supporting entrepreneurs

Horrigan praised Bounce Innovation Hub for its efforts to support entrepreneurs, especially minorities and women. Companies at Bounce employ more than 270 people, and the business incubator is on track to surpass its goal of $25 million in annual startup revenue, the mayor said.

“Today, I’m proud to say that 50% of the client companies at Bounce are female- or minority-owned,” Horrigan said.

In 2019, more than 12,000 people visited Bounce, which is more than six times the number of visitors in 2018, Horrigan reported.

Horrigan also publicly debuted the Rubber City Match program to connect new and expanding businesses with vacant space in the city’s designated Great Streets districts.

The mayor said the city’s six Financial Empowerment Centers – which began in 2018 in partnership with the United Way of Summit County – have offered free financial coaching to 946 residents over the course of more than 2,700 sessions.

“Most importantly, these sessions have now generated $1.3 million in increased savings and reduced debt for local residents,” Horrigan said.

He said the city has committed $250,000 to hire more financial coaches to keep up with demand for services.

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