Outgoing Florence Mayor Mickey Haddock
To the Citizens of Florence:
A s I close out my term as Mayor, I want to say what an honor it has been to serve you. It has by far been the most challenging job I have ever held, but at the same time, it has been the most rewarding. First, I want to thank my wife, Linda, and my family for their patience and strong support and encouragement during this time. Second, I want to thank the City Council for their cooperation and for the good rapport that we have shared. I believe we have made a positive impact and have set in motion several major projects that will continue to add to our already fabulous City. We have addressed smaller needs as well.
In looking back I was amazed at the progress we made…
We purchased property adjacent to the Police Department for them to expand their facility
Several Fire Stations have been upgraded and new generators were installed at every station
We purchased property on Royal Avenue next to the tennis courts and on the other side of the Royal Avenue Recreation Center parking lot which enabled us to add much-needed parking areas for Braly Stadium
We have made great improvements to the Memorial Grove to honor those who served
The Coffee Cemetery has been renovated which was accomplished with many, many volunteer hours especially by the Florence Historical Board members
We started the City Ambassador program where citizens could be certified as City Ambassadors to help promote the area
All drainage problems that we know of which were flooding into structures have been corrected
The new Hermitage Drive Bridge was completed in 2014
A new baseball pod was added to the Sportsplex
We were able to obtain ATRIP money for infrastructure
Wood Avenue has been resurfaced
East Tennessee Street Streetscape has been completed
The beautiful new Indian Mound Museum is almost finished
Business Licenses are now renewable online and Utility bills can also be paid online
The Electricity Department is moving toward being a service provider and has upgraded most of their facilities. They are also working on technology to allow citizens to be informed regarding power outages.
The Water Department has had more than $30 million worth of upgrades
We have converted our employee data base to a computerized program
We have established an employee wellness clinic called Care Here in an effort to offset the rising cost of our employee health insurance
I believe within the next 60-90 days we will have two major announcements for employment
The long-awaited ground-breaking for the new hospital was this week. This will certainly change Northwest Alabama for the better, and
We have laid the groundwork for our Bicentennial Celebration coming up in 2018.
In all of this, we were able to maintain a balanced budget for all four years. This could only be done through a joint effort of the City Council and especially with the strong cooperation of our Department Heads.
There is much more that we have been able to accomplish that has made the lives of our citizens better today than they were yesterday. According to our City Mission Statement – “The mission of our Florence City government is to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the City by:
continuing to improve the governmental services presently provided to the citizens; anticipating the requirements of the citizens in the area of municipal government; meeting those requirements in a timely manner and at the lowest possible cost; and making Florence, in every way, as attractive as possible to present and future citizens”
I am so very proud to be a citizen of Florence and will continue to be involved in City. It has been a great honor to serve you as Mayor!
Mayor Mickey Haddock
