St. Clair Shores Mayor Delivers First State of the City Address

St. Clair Shores Mayor Kip Walby spoke Thursday at his first State of the City address at the Senior Center for Active Adults. 

Walby said the city put a considerable amount of money in the bank after it paid all of its bills, retirees and pension expenses earned by city employees, according to The Macomb Daily. 

Walby was elected as mayor in 2011 and served on city council for 12 years before that. He is also a member of one of St. Clair Shores' oldest families. 

He said, to an audience of fellow council members, residents, business owners and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, that the city has $15 million in the bank, according to the article.

Walby said the city has made numerous changes like laying off half of its assessing department and now having two workers serve the public, the article said.

He also said the city has reviewed and approved more than a dozen new construction projects and is looking to revitalize areas including 12 Mile and Little Mack, Harper and Nine Mile Road and Nine Mile Road and Jefferson Avenue, according to The Macomb Daily.

Walby said the city will also try to increase daily inspections of property for blight and ordinance violations to get people to take care of their property so that neighborhoods don’t become blighted, the article said.

Other topics he spoke about, according to the article:

• The city’s repair of the water tank on 10 Mile Road, just west of Harper Avenue, for $1.7 million. He said city residents are enjoying a savings of $350,000 annually.
• The city has hired nine new firefighter-medics to keep overtime down.
• There will be six openings in the police department before the end of the year.
• The old 40th District Court building is being demolished and a new courthouse is being built.
• 2013 goals include hiring a city manager and working to pass the police and fire millage.

SCSTV filmed the entire State of the City address and will air it on the Media Center of the city's website.