City of Toledo News
Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz 
It has been slightly more than three weeks since we started working on the initiatives I believe will allow Toledo to reach its full potential.

City employees have been hustling to fill potholes and also collect leaves that are still on the streets. I want to thank everyone for being patient as we catch up on the work that was hindered late last year because of the weather. We filled 2,174 potholes January 1-20. Last week, we concentrated on the Anthony Wayne Trail and city crews filled 1,137 potholes in a seven-day period.

Your city employees are working very hard to make Toledo a great and liveable city.

While we are working on potholes and leaves, we are also looking ahead. I had meetings this week with members of Toledo City Council, the Lucas County Commissioners, and our congressional delegation. Representatives from Metroparks Toledo, the Toledo Zoo, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, and other important agencies in our city, have been working with me this week on the blueprints my team and I laid out for the next several years.

Toledo's economy continues to grow. Our income tax collections - a key indicator of economic vitality – were up last year versus 2016.
We started the week with great job growth news. Credit Adjustments Inc. announced it would bring 500 new jobs to the city. They will be located at ProMedica Health 's Ebeid Institute near downtown. This is a big deal for the city of Toledo. These are 500 new jobs coming from outside our community and that is the best kind of economic development.
Also this week, the city closed on the sale of two buildings near the site of the former Southwyck Shopping Center as part of our ongoing strategy to continue revitalization in that portion of south Toledo. Two former Stautzenberger College buildings that were acquired by the city in 2015 from the Lucas County Land Bank were sold to Olympic Real Estate Group LLC. for $1. The buyer plans to redevelop the buildings into commercial office space for its sister company, Rahe & Company CPA’s LLC, an accounting and tax service, and it will consolidate three Toledo-area offices and its 42 employees in that location.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who made the weekend inauguration activities a huge success. After the two days were over, and I reflected on the weekend, I was truly amazed on how wonderful our community is. It started with an interfaith prayer service Saturday at Warren AME Church on Collingwood Boulevard. That was a moving experience for everyone in that amazing church. I also think everyone had a fantastic time at the inaugural ball later that evening at the Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel. More than 2,000 people attended the Family Fun Day Sunday at the main Toledo Lucas County Public Library downtown. That event included live entertainment, health screenings, and interactive booths with the Toledo Zoo, Children’s Theatre Workshop, Toledo Museum of Art, and others. Children were encouraged to add artistic touches to a mural that will soon be hung in our office downtown.

It is our city and it is our future. Thank you for everything you do to make Toledo an amazing city!
Economic Development
Construction permits continue to increase in Toledo, which is another sign of our growing economy.

In 2016, there were 453 plans processed through the city. That equals $323 million in job value.

In 2017, that jumped to 1,027 plans.

That's a whopping $786 million in job value.
Toledo
Police
Toledo is a safe city. Due to hardworking Toledo Police officers, 2017 showed a 17 percent decrease in total shootings since 2015 and a 9 percent decrease since 2016.
People shot were down 2 percent compared to 2016.
Toledo Police are working to the combat gun violence with a number of initiatives:

  • Thirty-eight new officers graduate on Feb. 2; two detectives will be added to vice narcotics; four detectives will be added Feb. 1 to the detective bureau; two sergeants will be added to the SWAT teams on Feb. 1, and another detective will be added to the Gang Task Force in March.
  • We are increasing overtime for marked and unmarked patrols. This weekend, there will be additional overtime for the operations and special operations divisions.
  • Through T-CIRV, the police department targets chronic and violent offenders, as well as the active gang members in the city. If a gang member commits a shooting, police look for any sort of illegal activity among others in the group or gang associated with the shooter.
  • We are continuing with the S.T.O.P program, which stands for Strategic Tactical Operational Policing. It combines crime data with community policing on a door-to-door level.
  • We continue to advocate to our Block Watch leaders - if you see something, say something.
  • We are working to develop the Not In My House program.
  • We continue to have Crime Stat meetings every three weeks.
  • We recently started bi-weekly intelligence briefings – every Monday and Friday– where crime analysts sit down with command and talk about what can be expected for the upcoming days. This includes reports from analysts' mining of social media.
  • More Community Policing. We will look for ways to increase outreach to schools and social service agencies.
  • The city of Toledo sued 24 opioid manufacturers and distributors in October, 2017 to hold them responsible, recover our costs, and change the ways in which they prescribe and advertise these drugs.
Toledo Police launched its first VLOG Thursday to help increase social media engagement with the public
Sewers and Drainage
WTOL Channel 11's Call for Action alerted us about the condition of a grate covering the entrance to a culvert on Goodwood Ave. and Linda Dr. Crews went to inspect and found that the grate was very beat up and needed to be replaced. The crew worked quickly to remove the old grate and have a newly-built one installed. The new grate was fabricated by the bridge section of Streets, Bridges, and Harbor. This was great work by city employees and cooperation between two city departments.
Public Utilities
Seventy-eight Nebraska and Holland-Sylvania area property owners no longer need to carry flood insurance now that the city has completed a $1.6 million Mayer Ditch project. It was funded with city storm water funds and a $500,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Being mapped out of the Special Flood Hazard Area into a lower flood risk zone does not guarantee you will never flood. It means that the risk of flooding has only been reduced. Contact your insurance agent or mortgage lender to learn more about your flood insurance options. You may also visit floodsmart.gov for additional information.
We're Hiring!
Click this link for the most current job postings in the city of Toledo.
Toledo in the News

Toledo is the 4th highest ranking city where residents report achieving their own American Dream, Site Selection Magazine

Mayor Kapszukiewicz took TARTA to and from work Tuesday. He plans to take public transportation to work at least once a week.

Toledo Early College High School students, who played victims during a mass casualty incident simulation Tuesday at the University of Toledo Scott Park campus

Toledo, Lucas County, and suburbs talk regional water Leaders from Toledo, Lucas County, Maumee, Perrysburg, Sylvania, Whitehouse, Fulton County, Monroe County, and the Northwestern Water and Sewer District have been meeting since May, 2017, with a consultant hired by the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce to help the parties form the Toledo Area Water Authority.

An 8-inch water main broke at Baronsmede and Guardian . It was quickly repaired and crews replaced the storm sewer. City employees were o ut late working and residents on that street were really patient.

Hundreds of new jobs are coming to the city. Credit Adjustments, Inc., an accounts receivable business in Defiance, will consolidate in Toledo.

Mayor Kapszukiewicz joined Toledo Matters during the free family fun day at the downtown library main branch to discuss his career before becoming mayor and his favorite Toledo hidden gems.
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