Florence Mayor Bobby Irons
FLORENCE – When Mayor Bobby Irons wraps up his second and final term next week, he leaves behind a legacy of progress, coupled with an overwhelming support by his constituents. Mayor Irons has expressed to The Quad-Cities Daily numerous times that he feels extremely lucky to have been elected to this office in the City which he loves.
This week, Mayor Irons sent a letter to the Citizens of Florence, and we are reprinting it here:
OPEN LETTER
TO THE CITIZENS OF FLORENCE
FROM MAYOR BOBBY IRONS
Serving as Mayor of the City of Florence for two terms has been the most rewarding and satisfying experience of my entire career. It has been an honor to represent the good people of this wonderful City. Thank you for electing me to serve as your Mayor in 2004 with a 75% majority vote of the people of Florence, and again in 2008 with 76% majority vote.
During my campaign, I made a commitment to represent ALL of the people of this City and my number one goal was to bring manufacturing jobs and new retail and commercial development to this community. I immediately established the One-Stop Shop program to streamline City procedures to encourage new and existing business development. This has been proven successful as evidenced by the new investments in manufacturing jobs and the new retail and commercial developments that we have experienced.
Much has been achieved over the past eight years through the cooperation and unity among the four cities and two counties in the Shoals. By working together as a team, we were able to create one of the best economic development programs in Alabama and the benefits have been very rewarding. The Shoals area has been praised by Governor Robert Bentley, the Alabama Department of Commerce, and former Governor Riley as an example of how economic development programs should function.
Another important goal I pledged to our citizens was to bring accountability and credibility to our City. As my family and I and our election team members knocked on every door in the City of Florence, we were told again and again by the citizens that they wanted integrity in our government. I worked diligently to have an open and honest government which allowed every citizen to be heard and to have an opportunity to present their input. For accountability, I delegated authority to our City managers and held them responsible for their operation. We established regular departmental staff meetings, prepared budgets with their input, and initiated measurements of budget performance. This has been helpful in managing and controlling operating costs. I believe that elected officials should not spend more than they receive in revenues, which I have practiced during my tenure as Mayor.
In the first year of my administration, departments were reorganized in order to reduce operating costs. I consolidated several management positions, eliminated unnecessary jobs, and decreased fuel cost by reducing the number of City vehicles driven home by employees. The total annual cost savings for this effort was more than one million dollars per year, giving the City a total savings of seven million dollars since 2005 which was beneficial as we faced the worst recession this nation has experienced since the Great Depression. And, by living within our budgets, an additional three million dollars in reserves was generated in the City’s General Fund.
During this challenging time, the City of Florence was very fortunate when compared to other cities. While many reduced their workforce by 20% to 30%, Florence continued to operate with full employment and full service. With the help of our professional and experienced Departmental Managers and our excellent employees, we have been good stewards of our citizens’ tax dollars. At the end of our fiscal year September 30, 2012, I am pleased to report that the City is in sound financial condition.
I am proud of these accomplishments and I want to thank the citizens of Florence for placing their confidence in me. I also want to thank my wife, Sarah, my family, and the dedicated citizens who campaigned for me and provided support and encouragement during my terms. It has been a great journey and I believe we have left Florence a better place to live, work, and raise our families.
Our best years are ahead of us. It will take strong leadership and a united effort to reach the new heights that we are capable of achieving, and I wish the new administration much success in taking our City to that level.
Sarah and I pray that God will continue to bless our City and look down on us with favor and prosperity in the years ahead.
My sincere thanks to you, the citizens of Florence, for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Mayor…
Bobby E. Irons
Mayor
