Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo spoke last night at City Hall downtown to deliver his State of the City Address.
The speech highlighted the city’s accomplishments over the past year, including the 125 events hosted at the new convention center, which attracted more than 65,000 participants.
Saffo also discussed the 19 new businesses that set up shop last year. Along with praising the city’s growth, Saffo called for the creation of an incentive program for small businesses, which would be an extension of the program in place for large corporations.
During his speech, Saffo said that across the country, small businesses generate the majority of jobs and he wants to do more to attract them on the local level.
Other topics of discussion included a drop in downtown crime with the city’s violent crime rate at its lowest since 1998. Saffo ended the night by talking about how he’s seen ordinary citizens make significant contributions to the community like the group that’s raising private funds for a Miracle League baseball field at Olsen Park so that children with disabilities can play ball.
Read Mayor Saffo's speech.
Read the city’s progress report on recent and upcoming projects.
