Concord mayor pleased with city’s progress in 2022

CONCORD, CA (Dec. 7, 2022) — As 2022 comes to a close and I reflect on my year as mayor, I would like to take a moment to celebrate Concord’s successes this year.

Last January, I wanted to get back to basics, focusing on key city priorities: fiscal stability, public safety and repairing our roadways.

Getting through the pandemic certainly took longer than I expected, but I’m grateful that we eventually experienced an “opening up” and people began to feel more comfortable gathering for community events, such as our summer full of Music & Market concerts.

One of our major accomplishments this year was stabilizing our finances. My colleagues and I were able to reduce the city’s overall unfunded liabilities, increase funding for capital improvement projects and deferred maintenance, fund the return of nearly two dozen staff positions and dedicate an additional $2.4 million in one-time dollars to address homelessness.

I was particularly proud to serve on the ad hoc committee that developed recommendation for how to invest $19 million in one-time federal funding as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Following community outreach conducted earlier this year, we determined how to allocate the funds to support small businesses, nonprofits, the unhoused and city projects. More information about this is available at cityofconcord.org/ARPA.

Another major priority was public safety. Although our staffing level of sworn officers was low at the start of the year, we have begun to make great strides filling vacancies. Recruitment is a major focus; our human resources and police departments are using creative tools to recruit and retain staff.

This year, we introduced a community camera registry program to enable residents and businesses to provide security camera footage to police when they request it for an investigation. We also approved the purchase and installation of 65 automated license plate readers that proactively provide real-time alerts when stolen or wanted vehicles drive through the city.

Improving roads

Lastly, I would like to highlight our success in the area of roadway improvements and capital projects. Thanks to Concord voters’ approval of Measure V, this year my council colleagues and I approved the city’s most robust two-year capital improvement budget ever, with a $120 million investment over two years and the adoption of a five-year pavement improvement plan.

This means you’re going to see a lot more construction around town – in fact, you probably already have. I encourage you to be patient as you travel through the city.

One improvement that I’m really excited about is the Meadow Lane pavement project. Our residents use the Meadow/Market area as a main thoroughfare, and it’s in pretty bad shape.

Next spring, it will be repaved, and we’ll improve safety for all by installing high-visibility crosswalks, pedestrian flashing signs, speed signs, bike lanes and ADA curb ramps, and we’ll upgrade our traffic signals to improve the flow of traffic.

As a city and a council, we have a lot to be proud of, and we have much more to do.

It was my sincere pleasure to have served as your mayor this year. Thank you for your support. I wish you and yours a very happy holiday season.

Email questions and comments to Dominic.Aliano@cityofconcord.org