New Philadelphia mayor touts economic growth in state of city report
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (March 10, 2023) – Mayor Joel Day touted the city’s economic growth in 2022 in his annual state of the city report.
Day shared the report March 1 and spoke with WJER about it this week.
“The state of our city remains strong. We’re optimistic as we enter this new year. We’ll have our set of challenges, but we’re going to meet those challenges with the same grit and determination and compassion as we’ve shown in the past.”
He says multimillion dollar expansions at Battle Motors and Freeport Press highlighted a strong year for economic growth.
Day called 2022 a year of transition.
“Our business community has responded from the pandemic in a very positive way, and that’s really helped defray the cost of city services and enabled us to keep the quality of services we have here in New Philadelphia online.”
One of the biggest challenges the city faced in 2022 is the increasing number of emergency calls for drug and mental health issues. Day says the city is looking at adding two more police officers after a mid-year budget assessment, and will train a second K-9 officer this spring.
“We try to give them as much support as we can. We plan to do more in that regard.
“It’s a tough situation, but we are blessed in New Philadelphia with people in our police and fire departments who just have that commitment to help people and just make our community the best it can be.”
Day said finding employees – particularly seasonal ones – continued to be a challenge for the city, as it was for most employers in New Philadelphia.
Day listed several big projects he’s looking forward to in 2023, including the first zoning code update since 1987, a storm sewer project to reduce flooding around 4th and West High, and a new downtown strategic plan.