Four years ago, while campaigning for the privilege to be Auburn's mayor, I made some bold predictions and promises. I said our future was “All About Energy” and I promised to initiate a series of steps and initiatives that would secure a future of job growth and prosperity for Auburn.

I will always cherish the opportunity given me by the voters of Auburn and I would like to briefly reiterate what we started and what's been done in four years. We have survived a barrage of negativity, distractions, obstruction and doubt to initiate a series of important projects. It is vital that key people in Auburn recognize these opportunities and take up the challenge to bring them to fruition.

This is not about me - it's about the future of our community and our children.

We founded a Municipal Utility Board and within its first nine months it conceived and presented a Public Power Referendum to the voters of Auburn. As a result of that resounding “Yes” vote, we have the opportunity to be a municipal power community - like the 52 other towns and villages in New York that enjoy the low rates and economic development advantages of public power. Cayuga County followed with its own “Yes” vote on public power and a joint effort of city and county is needed to accomplish what public ownership of power generation and distribution can bring to this community. This initiative must continue. John Montone is the right person to head the Utility Board and to carry that initiative forward, but he needs the support of Auburn voters and the city administration. Auburn deserves public power and John Montone knows how to deliver it.

We have seen many beautification and infrastructure improvements in our downtown and neighborhoods. That important work must continue if we are to have the attractive place to live we all deserve and want. I don't claim to have done all that's been done, only to have actively supported it and overseen its completion. We must continue the process to beautify our city. Michael Long has successfully brought many millions of dollars of federal and state grants to Auburn for this important task. He must be supported and allowed to continue his valuable work of seeking and securing grants.

We must continue to challenge city officials as to the value of their work and their decisions on behalf of the taxpayers of Auburn. As a result of my challenges to several officials, plenty of anger and resentment resulted -- and several resignations. The net result was the city that has not missed an important duty to its citizens and a substantial savings accrued to taxpayers - both in the resignations and reassignments. In the process we corrected some expensive poorly made decisions previously ignored or covered up.

Our landfill contracts, our sludge-burning costs and our fire department overtime policies were three of the most

expensive problems I addressed. The resulting stresses caused the resignations of a city manager, a Public Works director and a fire chief. I make no apologies for the challenges I brought or their decisions to resign. I would have preferred that the landfill contracts, the sludge-burning costs, water department mistakes and fire department costs had been handled in the interests of all Auburn's taxpayers. They weren't. It was necessary to bring those issues to a head and I will rest comfortably that I did the best that could be done to correct those problems, with little support.

Largely as a result of these and other important battles over fiscal decisions, the city is in much better financial condition than before I took office. A few facts that summarize our financial positions from 2003 to 2007 are:

2003 2007

General Fund Balance $2.6 million $3.4 million (+30 percent)

Solid Waste Fund Balance $1.2 (deficit) $1.0 million (+183 percent)

Total net assets $41.2 million $55.5 million (+34 percent)

Total number City Employees (FTEs) 326 294 (-10%)

(Source: City Treasurer's Office)

With fewer people, we accomplished what 10 percent more people somehow couldn't accomplish. We brought the city back from an impending financial collapse. I walk away very proud of this financial turnaround. Many other people helped accomplish this, but somebody had to be willing to take the grief and the political damage for some tough decisions. I have no regrets about those decisions. We have a very talented, dedicated and impartial city treasurer in Lisa Green and she will continue to “tell it like it is” financially, hopefully to people who are willing to listen.

The issue of fire department overtime pay continues. A previous city manager agreed to a contract that requires us to have 15 full-time firemen on duty at all times, a total full-time force of 72, and that contract allows firefighters to accrue thousands of hours in overtime pay. This is not necessary and it must be corrected! The chances for this to be corrected under the next mayor's administration are anyone's guess, but Auburn taxpayers do not have to stand by and accept this situation. The number of fires in Auburn and the available mutual aid from surrounding volunteer departments make overtime for 72 firefighters completely unnecessary. Nearby towns of similar size have fire department costs at a fraction of ours.

The issue of a gas purchase contract for the sludge-burning plant has been addressed and corrected. A previous contract was costing the city hundreds of thousands of extra dollars -- because of a gas purchase contract locked in at very high rates 2 years ago. A simple change to a variable-rate contract has corrected the problem. We will soon be using methane from our landfill and gas from a new digester in place of this expensive natural gas. These important projects were initiated by me with the help of some key people who volunteered large amounts of time and expertise -- in order to turn problems into opportunities. This new technology will save as much as $2 million per year in energy cost to the city. The digester project on display in City Hall is one of many projects researched, studied and initiated by people drawn to our city over the past 4 years because of all the publicity and passion displayed in Auburn about alternative energy and new green technologies. We must continue that momentum. The next city administration must state its intentions clearly on these initiatives.

Other initiatives include a wind turbine project, a solar-photovoltaic project and a biodiesel project, all brought by different people and at different stages of development for Auburn and Cayuga County. These projects must be allowed and encouraged to come to fruition over the next few years. We owe our children the opportunities these new technologies and projects bring. The combined potential of these projects is sufficient to both power the energy needs of our Community and to provide the employment opportunities our children need and deserve. The danger is that these projects will each face a series of nit-picking, harassing, anti-change, anti-development, doubt-mongering obstacles that will be sufficient to cause the projects to fail or to move elsewhere.

Well after I have left the mayor's office, these projects and others like them will either find a receptive, “never-tell-me-it-can't-be-done” attitude in City Hall -- or they will find a skeptical, non-supportive, petty and pessimistic attitude and culture that squanders the public's resources and time squabbling over who-gets-what-slice of a dwindling pie. We must expand the pie, and energy projects are the answer.

A famous scientist said: “No problem can be solved from within the mindset that created the problem.” Our greatest problem continues to be our collective mindset of doubt and skepticism. We must turn that mindset to important opportunities.

In the spirit of the season, I wish for my successor that he enjoy the coverage of a media that understands the truly important issues facing our community. I also wish for my successor that his term is free of any small-minded harassment by the police department, corporation counsel and city council, especially when no evidence exists of any misconduct on the part of the mayor or his supporters.

I hope and pray you will have high expectations of our next mayor but also give him a chance to deliver an agenda that is good for all of our community. It has been an honor to serve as your mayor and I wish you all God's blessings.