City Of Westlake: Watch The 2021 Westlake State Of The City Address

Press release from the City of Westlake:

May 19, 2021

The 2021 Westlake State of the City Address, sponsored by the West Shore Chamber of Commerce, is available for video-on-demand (VOD) viewing via the City's Community Access Channel on any web browser and on multiple streaming devices (Roku, FireTV and AppleTV). Cable subscribers will have two opportunities to tune in to watch the event footage each day at Noon and 6 p.m. through at least the end of May on the following channels:

• AT&T: Channel 99
• Time Warner: Channel 20
• WOW: Channel 21

Attendees from the local business community and various City departments commented on how thrilled they were to take part in the event, which did not take place last year due to the pandemic.

Mayor Dennis M. Clough was pleased to report that despite the pandemic the City saw virtually no decline in income tax revenue during 2020 despite earlier projections of a 20-to-30 percent decline. This allowed the City to continue on with all planned capital improvements and other budgeted projects.

Mayor Clough also highlighted the fact that, since 1986, the City has grown its General Fund balance from $969,000 to $52,759,800. He also noted that the City’s revenue far outpaces its expenses and that the City’s tax millage has also fallen from 12.90 mills to 9.52 mills in that time.

Although Westlake’s public-facing departments saw declines in activities due to the pandemic, Community Services showed plenty of ingenuity, hosting parking lot events, a myriad of virtual programs and initiated several outreach programs to help those who were struggling due to Covid-19. The department made 2,078 “Friendly Connections” phone calls and sent out 47,308 “Constant Contact” emails each week.

Despite a decline in memberships, the Recreation Department remained focused throughout 2020. The department was still able to host many of its cherished seasonal events, including the annual Summer Concerts Series, which will return for 2021, and completed renovations to its Fitness Center, gym floor and Roman Ballfield #3. The department also added four new baseball diamonds and a playground behind the Clague Playhouse and installed a new outdoor Titan Exercise Gym at the Recreation Center.

This press release was produced by the City of Westlake. The views expressed here are the author’s own.