MANSFIELD — Mayor Jodie Perry plans to unveil her “State of the City” address in mid March during a livestream event the public will be invited to attend in person.
“It will be a livestream presentation (from City Council chambers) during an evening, but probably not on a council meeting night,” the mayor said Tuesday evening.
“We will open it up and invite the public to attend it,” the mayor said after City Council finished its meeting, adding the city has worked with DRM Productions of Mansfield to produce a video highlights package.
The city’s efforts to improve infrastructure during 2025 will be a highlight of the mayor’s remarks, including the launch of the $20.3 million Main Street Corridor Improvement Project, the B&O Trail connector project to Trimble Road, the start of the Water Main Initiative Project and many improvements in the city’s parks.
“We’ve also got things from both the police and fire department, as well,” Perry said. “The toughest thing was narrowing it down more than anything because no one wants to watch a 20-hour video.”
The mayor also said she will unveil the 2026 final budget at the March 3 council meeting. Lawmakers approved a temporary budget in December, but must finalize it by the end of March under state law.
“We do need to make a few cuts, so that’s what I am working through right now. Nothing catastrophic by any means, but we’re seeing some different things,” Perry said.
In January, city Finance Director Kelly Converse cautioned lawmakers the city could be “entering a period of economic cooling, rather than expansion.”
“Just to give you some year-end highlights financially … income taxes met 100 percent of our budget and expectations,” Converse said in January.
“However, they came in 2.4 percent lower than (2024),” she said.
“Because income tax is our largest revenue source and closely tied to employment levels and wage growth, even modest year-over-year softening is something we monitor carefully,” Converse said.
The mayor also said construction on the 18-month Main Street project, which paused during the cold winter months, will soon resume and is on schedule to meet an October completion date.
“They’ll be working on buttoning up the stuff between Sixth and Third streets, but then the larger part of the construction this year will take place between Third and First. There will be some lane closures and delays, but the biggest part of the dig was last year for the water mains,” she said.
