STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

JANUARY 5, 2004

Since I will not be seeking another term as Mayor of Columbus, this will be my last State of the City address. In this address, as in those of the past, I will update you, the stockholders of Columbus, on what has been accomplished in 2003 and a look into the future.

The clerk's office, also known as the "heart of City Hall," not only handled their normal workload of recording minutes, resolutions, and ordinances, but also processed mounds of documents for the Hy-Vee and Super Wal-Mart projects. The lengthy process associated with the recall of two Airport Authority board members also added considerably more work to an already full plate. Like the Union Pacific, they handled it.

Our city has the lowest health insurance premiums for city employees in our comparison array which saves taxpayer dollars. We have also slipped down to the lowest paying city from a payroll basis which again is saving many taxpayer dollars, yet may lead to horrendous budget woes in the future. Only time will tell.

The Aquatic Center is once again undergoing major structural renovations as well as various cosmetics to the interior. While on the topic of swimming pools, the future of Pawnee Park pool is under evaluation at this time.

The Parks Department installed new playground equipment at Hanover Park, installed sidewalks around all parks that have curb and guttered streets, completed construction of the jumping areas for track in Pawnee Park and finished the lighting of the third ball field at Bradshaw Park.

This year the department will move their headquarters to the old street department building, renovate Airport Park, begin the East Pawnee Park Trail and lay out a new park in the Air Vista/Cherry Creek area. Without city sales tax almost all of the above projects would not have been possible and very little or no equipment would have been purchased.

City sales tax paid for the new pumper truck ordered by the Fire Department in 2003. Delivery was recently completed and the department is waiting for the balance of equipment essential to the operation of the truck. Two all-terrain vehicles were donated by a local business and will primarily be used for river rescues. One ATV can carry a defibrillator, and both are capable of pulling a rescue trailer that can hold a Stokes basket stretcher for transporting patients. Luckily, the ATV's were not needed for a river rescue this past year.

The Police Patrol Division operated between three and four officers below authorized strength for the year as two officers were activated for service in Iraq and another for deployment to Bosnia/Kosovo. With the resignation of another officer, much stress was placed on the patrol schedule, yet, there were very few complaints registered with the Police Department. My personal 'thank you' to the men and women in blue for stepping up to the challenge of keeping our citizens as safe as possible.

Safety is also prevalent in the Public Works areas as a security fence will encompass both the Waste Water Treatment facility and the Solid Waste Transfer Station as mandated by the Department of Homeland Security's Vulnerability Assessment Plan.

This department is also color coding the fire hydrants to identify flow capabilities and exchanging water meters on commercial/industrial users to utilize "radio-read" technology.

The Environmental Protection Agency 10th Street Superfund Site Remedial Action is due to be completed in March of 2004 and will give the city an additional capacity of 1,500 gallons per minute of drinking water. The $9 million Waste Water Treatment facility expansion is well underway with start-up to commence in August or September of this year.

In the Community Development area, the ordinances adopting the 2003 International Building Code and the 2003 International Residential Code were completed and became effective January 1, 2004. The department will be updating all handouts to reflect the changes of the new State Building Code. The city's Comprehensive Plan will be completed, reviewed, and adopted in the near future. This working document will guide development for many years to come.

The Engineering Department completed many projects during 2003 with most representing the fruits of the sales tax tree. Projects completed were the Central Maintenance Facility, West Drainage Basin project, construction of Wilderness Park Trail, construction of SID No. 168 also known as the Downtown Business Improvement District, $200,000 worth of street repairs, and installation of sidewalks along City Parks, Roselawn Cemetery, and other City facilities that have curb and guttered streets.

The North Arterial project right-of-way was appraised and design continues. The Nebraska Department of Roads, with the City's input, constructed the 8th Street and 33rd Avenue project, and SID No. 169 was created which will pave 38th Street from 18th to 48th Avenues.

This year the N-1 and N-2 Drainage Project will be bid and construction started, Pawnee Park Trail East will be bid, $200,000 of street repairs will be done, sidewalks in Frankfort Square will be replaced, and the Pawnee Park retaining wall will be reconstructed. A tip of the hat to this department for keeping up with the many projects of our vibrant city.

The library's check-out showed an increase over the previous year for the first time since the introduction of Internet into our community. The love affair that the public, particularly the teachers in our school systems, have had with the Internet may have cooled as students are once again seeking books to meet some of their classroom assignments. Related to check-outs, visits to the Library increased in fiscal year 2003 with 235,564 visits recorded as compared to 231,840 for the same period a year ago. Library Director Trautwein is beaming like a new father and is looking forward to this year.

The City Council adopted a $42,600,000 budget for the fiscal year which began October 1, 2003 and included a slight increase in the 2003 property tax asking which was 33.29 cents per $100 of valuation versus 32.78 cents the year before. The city's assessed valuation for 2003 was just under $867 million compared to slightly over $808 million in 2002 and $744 million in 2001. The growth of our city is apparent as the increased valuation is part of the proof.

As of September 30, 2003 the City of Columbus had over $25 million of utility revenue debt and just under $9 million of general obligation debt. Included in the utility revenue debt was $8.7 million for the expansion of the Waste Water Treatment facility at a true interest cost of 3.869 percent. Mr. Phil Lorenzen, one of the City's financial advisors said, "The sale of the bonds utilizing the tool of an internet auction and the timing of the sale, will, I firmly believe, be recorded in history as the lowest interest cost transaction completed by a Nebraska municipality for a long, long time."

In my opinion as a financial advisor, this sale WILL go down in history as the lowest true interest cost transaction EVER, only time will tell.

During fiscal 2003 the City of Columbus received $3,778,000 of local option sales tax compared to $4,209,000 the fiscal year before. The 2003 receipts were lower because of the mid-year discontinuance of the additional one-half cent city sales tax.

The monies were spent as follows:

- $359,300 on street resurfacing and reconstruction

- $146,000 on the North Arterial

- $27,000 on design of the 33rd Avenue widening between 24th and 27th Streets

- $15,700 on the proposed viaduct which, much to my dismay, was voted down

- $2,292,000 was spent from the drainage portion of the city sales tax for construction and design of various projects��the largest was the West Drainage Project.

A total of $1,708,500 was spent from the capital improvement portion of the city sales tax dollar as follows:

- $38,600 for computer software and hardware replacements

- $270,000 of the City's share of the Business Improvement District

- $16,000 on new audio and video equipment to televise the City Council meetings

- $15,300 for sidewalks

- $63,800 for police cruisers and ballistic vests for police officers

- $17,000 for heating system improvements at the Senior Center

- $262,000 for a new Fire Department pumper truck

- $480,500 was spent for heating and air conditioning improvements at the Library building

- $44,100 for ceiling light fixtures, carpet, and to finish the elevator replacement at the Library

- $72,000 was spent for Library materials

- $6,500 went for armor coating and sidewalks at Roselawn Cemetery

- $99,000 was spent to complete the relocation of the field events area to the north of Pawnee Park Stadium

- $30,700 on the Pawnee Park retaining wall project, the design of the Pawnee Park Trail East, sidewalks, and tree planting

- $39,000 was spent on the C.A.R.T. Trail to Wilderness Park

- $21,900 for neighborhood park improvements

- $109,100 for a pickup, mower, aerial truck, and remodeling for the Parks Department

- $81,900 was spent for a new fairway mower, a greens mower, a tractor, and other equipment for the golf courses

- $11,500 went for roof repairs, a candy machine, and a dry chlorinator at the swimming facilities

- $9,000 for a copy machine and larger printer for the Engineering Department

Once again your vote in May of 2002 to continue the one percent (1%) city sales tax was appreciated and will let elected officials complete a variety of much needed projects.

In closing, the positive comments I have received over my tenure concerning these State of the City addresses have truly been overwhelming and it is my hope the next mayor will continue the legacy.

It has been my goal to bring you, the stockholders of Columbus, RESPONSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, and REPUTABLE City government. I believe the attainment of this goal was achieved.