With the title of the speech "Investing in Tucson," Mayor Jonathan Rothschild delivered his annual State of the City speech to business leaders and others in attendance yesterday at the Tucson Convention Center.
The address focused on successes in job growth, private investment, trade, tourism, annexation, and more. "Last year, the Tucson metro area added 8,900 jobs," Rothschild said. "Our job growth rate was 2.4 percent, in line with the average for the state."
City tax incentives helped spur $170.6 million in private capital investment, creating more than 2,500 jobs, he said.
On the subject of the City budget and the challenges ahead, Rothschild said "you cannot cut your way to prosperity. At some point, you have to invest, and that means looking at the revenue side of the equation." The Tucson City Council is considering whether to ask voters for a half-cent sales tax to help fund services. You can watch a video of the speech and read the transcript at the links below.
Video of State of the City speech: https://bit.ly/1UyUqBE
Speech transcript: https://bit.ly/21Dorpn