(ROCKWALL-Sept 16, 2013) We are so fortunate and blessed to live in Rockwall. I am continually bragging about our city, partly because it’s known as a great place to live, but also because there is no lack of good news to report about our hometown. Let’s start with what is important to most of us, taxes. As mayor, I am pleased to report that the city council was able to pass a fiscal 2013-2014 budget without a tax increase and still maintain the services our residents expect.
As a council, we are committed to maintain a business friendly environment, which has allowed Rockwall to become an economic destination. The resulting tax revenue lets us do many things in this budget that we would not have been able to do – including hiring needed staff members with an emphasis on public safety and providing (for the first time) a $1 million budget for road maintenance! New staff members include four firefighters and four new police department employees – two School Resource Officers (with 75% of their salaries and benefits paid by the Rockwall school district) and two 911 dispatchers requested by the City of Fate (Fate will fund the new positions).
I could go on about the new budget, but there is more good news to share with you. It is an honor for our city to be certified as a Scenic City at the top certification level – Platinum. The designation was made by Scenic Texas, an organization that confirmed a direct relationship between a city’s economic development efforts and the visual appearance of its public spaces.
Rockwall received the certification based on its high-quality scenic standards for public roadways and public spaces, more specifically its strong standards for: sign regulation, landscaping, clearly stated unity-of-design standards, our emphasis on establishing and protecting parks, trails and open spaces and our preservation efforts. Recognition for these amenities is a high honor, but wait until they see downtown after the renovation project is completed next year!
I was excited to learn from the Rockwall Economic Development Corporation about a second prestigious designation. Citing new industry in our city, CNN Money magazine ranked Rockwall County second in the nation for job growth in its Best Places to Live edition! The magazine cited aerospace, logistics, defense and manufacturing companies in the EDC’s Rockwall Technology Park as one of the primary reasons for the job growth. Other reasons included retail growth, the Harbor Heights commercial and residential development and, of course, our quality of life.
Speaking of the business climate, 10 new restaurants will open (or may be open by now) in our city. No shortage of places to eat here! Our hometown – which still maintains a small town atmosphere – is no longer what it was advertised as back in the 1970s and 1980s, The Best Kept Secret in the Metroplex. Now, in my unbiased opinion, we’re just simply The Best in the Metroplex!
As we head into the holiday season, I know many of you are starting your shopping, so please remember to Shop Rockwall. It keeps your tax money at home and helps our great merchants.
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