Morning Coffee with the Mayor: 9:00am, March 31st - Midway Mall

NEXT MORNING COFFEE WITH THE MAYOR: Thursday, March 31, 2016 - 9:00-10:00am in Midway Mall food court.

Thanks to everyone who attended my first Community Conversation last week at Northwood Junior High School.  We had a tremendous turnout and there was a lot of great dialogue between residents and City staff.  There are three more scheduled for this year, but in the meantime, please also join me for my monthly MORNING COFFEE WITH THE MAYOR, held the last Thursday of each month from 9:00am-10:00am in the Midway Mall food court.  It will be a much less formal setting, and I encourage any and all residents to join me for a cup of coffee and to discuss whatever is on their mind.

MAYOR'S NIGHT IN also continues in Elyria City Hall, now on the first Monday of every month, from 5:30-6:30pm in the Third Floor Conference room of Elyria City Hall. 

Go here for a complete schedule of upcoming community meetings.  This is your city, let your voice be heard!

Elyria Compost Facility: Open April 1, 2016

The Elyria Regional Compost Facility run by Barnes Nursery and located at 45 Chestnut Street will once again be open for business on April 1, 2016.  Please see flyer below for more information or visit the Sanitation Department website for more information on proper disposal of items within the City of Elyria.

Community Conversation with Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda

ELYRIANS… PLEASE JOIN

MAYOR HOLLY BRINDA & STAFF FOR

A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

Thursday, March 24

7:00 – 8:30pm

Northwood Middle School

700 Gulf Road – Elyria, Ohio 44035

Please join the Mayor, her senior staff and department heads for a casual evening of information designed to inform and provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions and share thoughts about how working together, we can move Elyria forward.  Light refreshments will be provided.

Please mark your calendars for additional Community Conversations on June 23 at West Park Recreation Center, September 22 at South Park Recreation Center, and December 15 at East Park Recreation Center.  All events will run from 7:00 – 8:30pm.

While reservations are not required, it would help us plan for seating and refreshments if you would please call the Mayor’s Office to confirm your attendance at 326-1402.

Elyria Doing Its Part, But City Needs Residents’ Support

What has the City of Elyria done to earn my support for Issue 6?  With all the cost-saving measures you’ve put in place as Mayor, why is the City of Elyria still struggling to provide basic city services?  These are the questions I am asked most often, so I wanted to take a moment to share with you how we arrived at this point, what we have done, and what we still need to do to improve our situation.  When I took office in January of 2012, I knew finances would be the biggest challenge, so we became very proactive in cutting costs, creating efficiencies, growing the tax base and leveraging federal and state grant funds.

We initiated a Voluntary Performance Audit through the State that has helped yield, so far, over $2.3 million in cost-savings.  With the cooperation of our employees and City Council we have managed to save money by (1) reducing 50 positions, including 32 fulltime positions; (2) consolidating departments, (3) rebidding vendor contracts, (4) increasing employee contributions to healthcare, (5) reducing longevity for new hires, (6) negotiating pay freezes, (7) reducing non-emergency cars and cell phones, (8) reducing absenteeism, (9) focusing on safety and wellness to reduce sick leave and other associated costs, (10) joining energy cooperatives, and more.  And please note, in the interest of safety, we have not reduced the number of police officers.  In fact, we have expanded the Narcotics and Neighborhood Impact Unit to help fight drug-related crime.  The fire department has been reduced by 10 front-line firefighters to 60 from 70 – just enough to keep three fire stations open to serve 21 square miles. 

Homeless Shelter Open, March 2-4, 2016

First United Presbyterian Church, located at 200 East Avenue (across from the Chronicle), will be operating a basic shelter from Wednesday, March 2, 2016 through Friday, March 4, 2016, available each day from 7:00pm to 7:00am.  Patrons must arrive between 7:00pm and 9:00pm and use the side door by the parking lot.

Please continue to check www.cityofelyria.org for the location and dates of future warming/homeless shelters through the year.