The city of Syracuse must fight to eradicate a concentration of poverty by creating opportunities, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said during her seventh State of the City address Thursday night.

In front of a crowd at the Southwest Community Center, Miner dedicated her hour-long speech to economic development, investment in infrastructure and education.

“We must actively, thoughtfully and doggedly pursue the future we want for our city and the people who live here,” Miner said. “We must continually commit ourselves to the work of lifting up our community.”

Miner acknowledged in the address that Syracuse was the subject of studies last year regarding the growing rate of extreme poverty and its effects along the racial and ethnic lines.

Syracuse has the highest rates of poverty among blacks and Hispanics in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau data shows 34.6 percent of the population in Syracuse lived below the poverty level between 2009 and 2013.

“It has been sobering to absorb all the statistics that have come to light in 2015, but the truth is these numbers are a confirmation of what most of us have known all our lives,” Miner said. “Our community’s economic and social struggles are nothing new and were part of why many of us chose to engage in public life in the first place.”

Miner mentioned an order she issued last fall that increased the minimum wage for city workers to $15 an hour, saying investment of public dollars should support economic empowerment for those who work in the public service field.

On the issue of homelessness, Miner said the number of occupied shelter beds in Syracuse dropped from 600 a night to 380 during the first week of January. Miner said this happened because of the “housing first” model in which professional caseworkers re-house the homeless families with children into permanent housing.

Miner also said veteran homelessness in Syracuse reached “functional zero” status, meaning homeless veterans who are in need of shelter will have access to a support network to ensure permanent housing within 45 days.

On the subject of infrastructure, Miner said the city will pilot sensor technology in the downtown area in the spring to detect leaks and upload the information collected to a web-based system to identify problem locations.

“By detecting leaks before they become breaks, the city will spend less in materials and labor,” Miner said. “This represents a fundamental shift, from an almost entirely reactive approach, to a more proactive management standard.”

Miner added that the city will be using sensors to collect data on the bumpiness and roughness of roads. This data will be used to prioritize street repair.

Miner also said the high school dropout rate fell from 26 percent in 2008 to 16 percent this year, despite the Syracuse City School District meeting challenges such as the implementation of the Common Core, teacher evaluations and underfunding. The graduation rate in the Syracuse City School District is improving, Miner said.

Syracuse officials will hire 25 new police officers in March and 25 new firefighters in April, Miner said.

Additionally, Miner encouraged community members to review a report drafted by the citizen group Consensus that proposed the merging of the administration, the police department and the court system between the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

Published on January 31, 2016 at 10:48 pm

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