Councilman Justin Roderiguez reports to voters

Councilman Justin Rodriguez and 97-year-old Grandmother at Grandparents Day at St. Paul's Ccommunity Center, sponsored by Rodriguez

Dear Friends,
I am delighted to report that after a long, arduous summer the City Council adopted the FY 2008 city budget late last week. I am even more thrilled that some of the items I championed during my first few months on Council were included in the historic $2 billion spending plan. Among those items of particular interest to the residents of District 7:

• 80 new uniformed police officers and a police substation storefront will be returning to the Deco District. This will provide an added police presence to our community and a neighborhood resource to strengthen public safety
• an additional EMS unit will be added and all fire stations will be provided life-saving equipment so that Fire Department vehicles can be utilized as first responders to help improve response time
• a $33 million citywide traffic light synchronization module will focus on major thoroughfares and will be implemented in phases. The first phase will include Bandera Road
• a $9 million enhancement to the street maintenance budget will accelerate planned street maintenance projects
• a commitment of $1 million in recurring funds for alley maintenance. This provides a systemic and wholesale change that places alley maintenance into the same rolling 5-year plan as streets and sidewalks
• a significant increase in funding for graffiti prevention and abatement. This will attack offenders proactively and ensure that they are held accountable
  

I want to thank those of you who provided input throughout the budget planning process. Your comments and support were welcomed and very much appreciated.

Warm regards,

Justin Rodriguez

Councilman District 7