Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

We spent some time reflecting during the holidays on what we accomplished during the first year in office. We ended 2018 with a $3.6 million budget surplus, a nearly 10 percent reduction in overall crime, a net gain of 25 Toledo police officers, and we approved creation of a regional water system - just to name a few. The Blade wrote a story on our first year in office.

That is a lot for our residents, employees, and city council to be proud of. We are moving in the right direction and Toledo is in a better place than it has been in a long time. Our economy continues to grow and our job numbers reflect that.

We still have a long way to go and we won't stop in 2019. We will have some exciting announcements this year that will continue to push our community toward success.
Economic Development
Toledo ranked third in the nation in 2017 for economic development among mid-sized cities with projects $1 million or more in investment, 20 or more jobs, or 20,000 or more square feet of new space.

In 2018, 889 new jobs were created and 248 jobs were actively retained in Toledo. Over the past five years, 56 companies have committed to 4,791 new jobs. Add to that another 2,000 new jobs with projects announced in northern Wood County.

Toledo Building Inspection received a record number of commercial construction permit applications for a third consecutive year.

Toledo’s Brownfield Program was nationally recognized in 2018 for 20 years of excellence. From 2015 through 2018, the city of Toledo used a $500,000 assessment grant to leverage $5 million in acquisition, $1.5 million in cleanup, and $26.5 million in investment.

Small business loans were made to eight companies including college recruiting, property management, manufacturing, health care, retail, and office commercial. Property tax abatement applications were filed for more than $30 million in improvement for five properties.

The following companies made job announcements in 2018:
  • Credit Adjustments, Inc, - finance
  • TPAM (Topia Production America) - automotive prototyping
  • Home Town Foods, former Smuckers, - food processor
  • Consolidated Electrical Distributors – electrical warehousing and distribution
  • Maumee Valley Movers – moving company
  • Toyota Material Handling - forklift supplier
  • Faurecia –automotive parts manufacturing
  • VM Systems - HVAC contractor
  • Rayfield & Associates - manufacturers of food grade metal cans
  • Rahe & Company CPA’s LLC - tax accounting firm
  • Doyle Shamrock – plastic injection molding
  • Clearly Canadian – beverage bottler
  • Dental Center of NW Ohio – health care provider
  • Hyggelight – candle manufacturing
  • Beets and Blush – organic cosmetic manufacturer

Major projects were announced in the Toledo region:
  • First Solar – solar panel manufacturer
  • Pilkington – plate glass manufacturer
  • Amazon – product distribution
Looking ahead to 2019, a new Community Development Block Grant-funded program, the Business Improvement Grant, will be available for building improvements. Toledo's business development division will be administrating the CIP-funded District Improvement Program for city council.
Leaves
Collecting leaves from city streets is an important service, but it can be a challenging one. Factors like weather, equipment, and manpower greatly affect how quickly piles are removed.

We have collected 47,530 cubic yards of leaves to date. That is about 57 percent of the total of 83,000 cubic yards we expect to collect this season. 

Sign up for leaf collection text alerts at: http://entry.inspironlogistics.com/toledo_oh/wens.cfm?ep_id=

Mark Your Calendars
The Toledo Symphony Orchestra
Nordic Air - 8 p.m., Jan. 11-12, 2019 . Back by popular demand from the pivotal program that brought together Alain Trudel and the TSO, Grammy-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich returns to the Peristyle stage to perform Sibelius’ breathtaking Violin Concerto inspired by the icy landscape of Northern Europe. Augustin Hadelich's appearance is made possible through a generous gift from Bob and Sue Savage. More here .
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Unity Celebration
Everyone is encouraged to join the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and legacy: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., Monday, Jan. 21 at the The University of Toledo's John F. Savage Arena.

The city of Toledo supports the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability to fully participate in this program/event, please contact ADA Administrator, Joan Easler, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, city of Toledo at 419-245-1059.
Toledo Lucas County Public Library 
Join the Toledo Lucas County Public Library and Friends of the Library for the first book sale of the year at FOL Book Center, 1301 N Reynolds Rd. (Reynolds Road and Dorr Street). Shop for a new novel, CD, magazine, and many more items at discounted prices.

Jan. 24, 25, 26 - Thursday, 4 - 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Proceeds benefit Friends of the Library and help support Library programs such as the Children's Summer Reading Challenge and Authors! Authors!

For a full list of book sale dates visit www.toledolibrary.org/booksales
By The Numbers
( 2018 totals )
61,605 potholes filled
45,980 cubic yards of leaves collected
366 water main breaks repaired
1.57 million feet of sanitary sewers cleaned
2,616 illegal signs removed
2,142 trees trimmed
8,843 vehicles towed
6,421 fire runs
53,207 EMS runs
10,338 building inspections completed
5,318 contractor licenses issued
7,023,141 pounds of debris removed with street sweepers
Toledo In The News

Kapszukiewicz reflects on first year as mayor On the wall opposite the mayor’s desk hangs a dry-erase board filled with goals and initiatives written in colorful marker. It’s a glimpse into his persistent anxiety about wanting to do more and to do it faster. “I already feel like we’re running out of time,” he said.

Toledo Fire & Rescue Class 292 shows off probationary training Keevin London is one of 29 people to successfully graduate the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department's training academy in Class 292. "It's great man, being out here serving the community, seeing what we can do, improving people's lives, I love it." While London has some military experience, all of the new firefighters have a different type of background. "People that have experience with volunteer departments, other people that have zero experience with anything fire related. Some people have never been on a ladder before. The challenges vary a great deal with different people," said Training Lt. Rob Swartz.

Mega-deals, new Jeep truck marked Toledo's year in business An extraordinary amount of wheeling and dealing fueled a spate of mega-deals in the northwest Ohio business area in 2018. Several well-known companies —  ProMedica, Welltower, HCR ManorCare ,  The Andersons , and  Marathon Petroleum  — all were involved in billion-dollar deals this past year that made huge headlines and easily pushed them into the list of the top 10 business stories for 2018.But while mega-deals dominated the headlines in 2018, other events, while not having huge monetary amounts, were significant business stories in their own right.  Jeep launched new products .  Amazon could soon be coming to Rossford .  Even candy made headlines in 2018 .

Is anything more Toledo than Tony Packo's? Generations of Toledoans know  Tony Packo's  chili sauce, a secret family recipe, and Hungarian “hot dog.” However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the family restaurant birthed the national sensation: the hot dog bun autograph.
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