Reading Mayor Eddie Moran gave his annual ‘State of the City’ address Friday afternoon downtown at the DoubleTree Hotel. Speaking on several topics throughout the 30 minute speech, Mayor Moran promoted the overall new direction his Administration’s has taken with the motto ‘Building A Better Reading Together”.
Mayor Moran acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic and the work of the Human Relations Commission launching the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The HRC and District Justices have provided rental assistance and eviction prevention to over 650 homes in the City of Reading.
In 2020, the City developed a local non-budgeted forgiveness loan program to assist small and medium-sized businesses, similar to the federal Payroll Protection Program.
The Mayor also highlighted new road projects including a street-paving program that will fully utilize more than $8M in Liquid Fuels Funds that have accumulated over the years.
Also I n 2021, Stantec will be partnering with the City to launch the Downtown Plus Strategic Plan. Guided by the Mayors administration, Stantec will work on downtown improvements for the next 10 years.
“Our City’s administration will continue to engage the Departments of Public Works, Community Development, and Police to ensure business owners and residents have a safe and clean working environment in the downtown area” said Mayor Eddie Moran.
In 2021, the City is slated to launch an improved website. With a new layout and design, it will be more user friendly, interactive, and compatible.
The Mayor also spoke about the 2020 Census and how it was a major turning point in the City’s history. Through the efforts of many community leaders and residents, we were able to have a significantly higher Census count than previous years.
