Mayor Gives State of the City Address

Mayor Tim Sbranti gave his State of the City address to a room of more than 100 Dublin residents Wednesday afternoon at the .

"By all accounts 2011 was a very successful year in the city of Dublin, an all-American year," said Mayor Sbranti, noting the honor Dublin received from the National Civic League as an All American City.

"But we all know you don't just get to that All American designation overnight, it just doesn't just happen," he added, noting the city's focus on innovative thinking.

During the 40-minute speech, Sbranti addressed topics that included economic development, downtown revitalization, communication between the city, businesses and residents, as well as the city's budget.

"I'm really proud of the fact that this past year we were able to balance our budget for the first time in three years without making any cuts to programs and services and without taking any money from our reserves and I think that's a huge accomplishment for us," he noted.

The topic of jobs came up and Sbranti noted the corporate center is virtually full leased.

"A few years ago 70 percent vacant, now over 90 percent occupied, so that's something that we can be proud of in terms of having high paying jobs coming into our city," he noted.

Sbranti discussed highlights of 2011 in the city, including the opening of , , , and new businesses, such as , , and . New restaurants in town included and restaurant, , to name just a few.

Sbranti commented that was a highlight and said that while the pizza at the restaurant is excellent, he admits his mom still makes better pizza than Fieri.

Looking ahead at the new year, Sbranti discussed the growth of Fallon Gateway, including the opening of . He also noted residential growth, the and the will be key topics this year.

Sbranti ended the speech by telling the crowd, "I am proud to say the state of Dublin is strong." He noted the city will celebrate its 30th anniversary throughout the year.

To view a portion of the State of the City address, click on the video. To watch a recent Mayor's Report discussing the highlights of 2011, click .