MAYOR REA THE
BEST CHOICE ON NOVEMBER 6!
Serving as your Mayor has
been an incredible honor for me. Four years ago, I promised we would continue
the good work that Mayor Beutter started and together, with your help, build a
great hometown. My team and I have worked hard to fulfill that promise!
Rather than talk about
real issues, my opponent and his followers have chosen to take every opportunity
to personally attack me and my team for the good work we have done. The worst
part, the things they are telling you are simply not true, and they know that.
Most of them simply have a personal ax to grind with me. I guess we’ve come to
expect that in politics. I however want you to know
the truth:
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Mishawaka
has experienced four years of record new construction under my leadership!
2007 will go down as the largest construction year in our history!
Growth has happened in all sectors, Industrial, Residential, and Commercial.
This is good news for all, because as assessed value goes up, tax rates go
down.
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Neighborhoods are being revitalized under my leadership!
Our programs to rehabilitate homes; eliminate slum and blight; neighborhood
watch; code enforcement; street paving program; curb, sidewalk, and alley
program; Police Neighborhood Enforcement Team; our Neighborhood Fairs; and
the City Neighborhood Improvement Team are key to our revitalization
strategy and are making a real difference in Mishawaka Neighborhoods.
·
Your tax
dollars are being managed wisely and responsibly under my leadership!
It is the most important job I have. As an example of our work, the 2008 budget
will rise only 0.3%, one of the smallest increases of any governmental unit. We
are working to keep your City portion of the tax rate low. The 2007 civil city
tax rate is now lower than the rate in 2006 and 2005. In addition, we have made
the difficult decisions necessary to run this government and have positioned
Mishawaka to meet many of the financial challenges of our future.
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We are
running a more efficient city government under my leadership!
We have eliminated 50 positions, while maintaining the high level of
services you deserve and expect. We have made the personnel decisions that
we thought were best for the City. That’s what you hired me to do! Those
that are doing the job that we asked them to do are still with us. Those
that were not, are not. Managing personnel is an important part of managing
your tax dollars.
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We have
secured developers for Downtown
Mishawaka
Revitalization!
We’ve actively sought
investors for our downtown, and have secured two developers that now are
required per our agreement to invest millions of dollars in our downtown. We
have proposed the same agreements for both, whether Democrat or Republican,
campaign contributor or non-contributor. In addition, a system of checks and
balances is in place. A bi-partisan citizen commission ultimately makes the
final decision, not the Mayor. The Commission voted unanimous approval on
both developers. Now, we will see $21 Million of new private investment on
4.5 acres in the downtown and the property will begin generating tax dollars
for the first time since 1990. There are an additional 35 acres available
for future development. In all, we anticipate nearly $300 million in new
investment in our downtown area over the next few years.
I’m excited about all that
we have accomplished!
Our work though has only
started, and with
your help we will continue
the great progress
Mishawaka
has enjoyed these past
four years.
Paid
for and authorized by the Jeff Rea for Mayor Committee
P.O.
Box 861
Mishawaka, IN 46546-0861
(574)
255-5081
e-mail:
reaformayor@aol.com