Coss Pushes Bond in State of the City Address

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss used his sixth annual State of the City address to ask Santa Feans to embrace a general obligation bond aimed at improving the local economy.

The city is stable and healthy, but can’t afford to become complacent as it looks toward the future, Coss said.

“Now is the time to invest in Santa Fe because Santa Fe is worth it,” Coss declared Wednesday evening to a standing-room crowd at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

“We have a community vision for a prosperous future. We know what infrastructure we need and we have the opportunity to put people back to work on building that infrastructure,” he said. “The investments we make now will mean more jobs and opportunity in the future.”

One by one, the mayor extolled the benefits of the projects listed under the $30 million bond, including solar energy initiatives, broadband infrastructure and parks and trails improvements. If approved by the City Council, voters will be asked to fund the bond with a small property tax increase in the March 2012 general election.

Coss said the “Opportunity and Quality of Life Bond”- as he called it – will lay the foundation for enhancing Santa Fe’s economy and maintaining a high quality of life for city residents.

Wednesday’s rather festive event included several pre-speech dances by youngsters in the Baile Español dance group and treats by chefs in the city’s Senior Services Division.