ANNAPOLIS, MD – Last night, Governor O’Malley invited mayors from across Maryland to kick off the Maryland Mayor’s Association’s Legislative Conference at Government House in Annapolis. More than 50 municipal executives joined the Governor for a reception in the Governor’s residence to highlight better choices for stronger Maryland communities.
“We’ve faced some pretty tough times over the last seven years. Together, we’ve made the choice to move our State forward, not back,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “In spite of of these challenges, our mayors have stepped up and pitched in, partnering on a number of initiatives with our agencies and ensuring that our State is stronger than it was before the recession.”
“Maryland is a great state because of the work we do together to strengthen our communities and expand opportunity,” said Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. “We’ve made great progress, but our success would not have been possible without the partnership and hard work of our Mayors leading at the local level. Whether it’s supporting local businesses or ensuring residents have access to public services, Mayors in cities and towns across our state make Maryland a better place to live, work and raise a family.”
Over the last seven years, the O’Malley-Brown administration has worked in partnership with mayors on numerous projects in local jurisdictions all over the State. The Community Legacy program has provided nearly $17 million in funds for over 200 projects in municipalities. Additionally, the State’s Main Street program has facilitated the creation of nearly 1,200 new businesses and 4,190 new jobs in 26 cities and towns across Maryland.
“On behalf of the MMA, I would like to thank Governor O’Malley for once again hosting our yearly reception at the Government House. This event affords the Mayors of our great State the opportunity to voice our concerns to the Governor and lobby for ourselves and our municipalities here in Annapolis. We appreciate the Governor providing us the venue to do so,” said Mayor Randy McClement of Frederick.
“The O’Malley-Brown administration has supported progressive smart growth strategies over the last seven years. For Capitol Heights this has meant the acceleration of our TOD strategy utilizing Community Legacy funds. We are proud to announce the Town is in the process of selecting a developer for a mixed-use, sustainable development at the Capitol Heights Metro station. Governor O’Malley has been a tremendous partner in our overall revitalization efforts,” added Mayor Kito James of Capitol Heights.
The O’Malley-Brown Administration continues to foster partnerships with municipal law enforcement agencies to drive down violent crime. Working together, state and local law enforcement agencies have driven down violent crime to 30-year lows. The FY15 budget includes an increase of $16 million in funding for transportation for municipalities and an additional $68 million in police aid. The Governor’s Safe Streets initiative has driven drive down crime by promoting community partnerships, strategic action and investments in needed equipment for law enforcement personnel.
“Under the leadership of Governor O’Malley, the Safe Streets initiative, and $1.2 million in investment, the City of Salisbury has seen an almost 50 percent drop in violent crime over the last seven years. Without the commitment of the Governor, and his willingness to see this through, our strong partnership to fight crime would be non-existent, and we would not see the successes that we have seen to date,” said Mayor Jim Ireton of Salisbury.
The Governor’s FY15 budget builds on seven years of record investments in education to the tune of $6.1 billion since FY2008. Also, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has bolstered efforts to reduce the number of temporary learning shacks around the State, investing $2.7 billion in school construction funding over the last seven years. These better choices have led to better results, propelling Maryland to the head of the class in national school rankings and AP scores, while also sparking historic graduation rates for Maryland high schoolers.
Cumberland Mayor Brian K. Grim added, “Governor O’Malley is a model leader for working together with local government to make necessary projects come to fruition. If not for our Governor, Cumberland would still be struggling to band-aid together the oldest functioning high school in Maryland. But thanks to the Governor, funding is in place and our community is building a new, state-of-the-art educational facility in Cumberland. That speaks to Martin O’Malley’s dedication to education and it speaks to his desire to work with local leaders to solve problems.”
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