THE CITY SAYS
City of Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange offered these insights on what is immediately behind and what is ahead for the capital city, touting the F-35 program as a major win.
“The decision to bring the F-35 to the 187th Fighter Wing was the culminating success of a great year in Montgomery and the River Region. Along with securing hundreds of jobs at Dannelly, we are confident this step will reap tremendous benefits in our initiative to grow our tech ecosystem,” he said. “Additionally, there is investment and development taking place in every corner of our city. We can all take pride in the growth occurring in downtown. A combination of local and outside developers is giving new energy to other areas as well; especially the West Fairview Avenue corridor, Five Points, Cottage Hill and Atlanta Highway.”
GREEN LIGHT
The City of Montgomery continues to invest in itself with construction at the Montgomery Zoo, the Museum of Fine Arts, a new Municipal Justice Complex, renovations at the Morgan Library Branch downtown and the paving of 100 street segments. It is also screening multiple inquiries from companies eager to set up shop in the high-tech recycling center that has been dormant for more than a year while legal issues were resolved. Upon identifying the best partner and setting the parameters of the operation, curbside recycling will likely resume in Montgomery later this year. This extends the life of our landfill and further adds to our “green city” status.
COUNTING THE COUNTY
Montgomery County made remarkable strides in 2017, and Chair of The Montgomery County Commission, Commissioner Elton Dean, pointed to a few highlights. “Taking a look at our unemployment rate alone brings great joy and pride. We went from a 5.9 percent unemployment rate to a mere 3.1 percent in just 365 days. As a county, we know the importance of good, high paying jobs, as well as the need to compensate good employees. We were able to give our deserving county employees all a raise in 2017,” he said. “It’s hard to say what I’m most proud of looking back, but I do believe landing the F-35 is certainly at the top. The brave men and women in uniform, both current and former military, are what ultimately made it happen. The legacy of the Red Tails will live on through the F-35, and Montgomery will continue to make history. In 2018, we will work to bring more quality jobs and focus on economic development. Education is also a primary target for the Montgomery County Commission because those students are our future, and they deserve the best education possible. There is no doubt in my mind we will make Montgomery County better than it has ever been.”
COUNTY
AD VALOREM TAX - $20.7 MILLION
SALES TAX REVENUE - $44.8 MILLION, up 1 percent from FY2016
FY2017 LODGING TAX REVENUE - $2.7 MILLION
CITY
SALES TAX - MORE THAN $103 MILLION
AD VALOREM TAX - MORE THAN $32 MILLION
LODGING TAX - MORE THAN $9 MILLION
THE NUMBERS FOR LAST YEAR IN BOTH MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY SHOW IT TO BE A PERIOD OF EXTREMELY POSITIVE GROWTH, and leaders of both entities are enthusiastic about continued progress through the rest of 2018.
The City was able to reach its goal of adding an additional $2 MILLION to its reserves fund, bringing the total to $25 million.
Tourism remains a strong economic performer in Montgomery, with visitors spending $1.4M ON AVERAGE DAILY.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
Montgomery County completed several construction and renovation projects in 2017 and has more on tap for this year.
2017:
- Renovation of sheriff’s dispatch center and offices
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Construction of county vehicle maintenance shop
2018:
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Proposed park on Old Selma Road
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Renovation and repair of downtown county facilities
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City-County acquisition and renovation of Perry Street parking deck
