Mayor to reflect on Modesto’s past year, what’s ahead in state of city speech
Mayor Sue Zwahlen will deliver her second annual state of the city address Tuesday at Modesto Centre Plaza downtown.
The public can attend in person or watch on Zoom. (The meeting ID is 869 4597 0570 and the passcode 84326.) Centre Plaza’s doors open at 5 p.m. The mayor is expected to speak from 5:30 to 6 p.m.
Zwahlen will talk about what the city has done over the past year and its current efforts. Since her state of the city address last year, voters approved a 1% sales tax increase in the November election and the City Council has progressed on police reform through its Forward Together initiative.
City officials have said the tax increase counteracts years of budget cuts since the Great Recession and allows the city to provide more basic services. That includes more tree trimming, park maintenance, traffic enforcement and addressing homelessness.
Modesto is in the process of forming a Community Police Review Board and hiring an independent police auditor.
But the city faces challenges vexing many California cities, including a lack of jobs that pay a living wage and an affordable housing crisis.
Centre Plaza is at 1001 K St. The city says residents also can listen to the mayor live in one of more than two dozen languages through its Wordly interpretation tool. Go to www.modestogov.com/1691 to learn more.
This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 10:19 AM.
