Kautz Offers Hope During 'State of the City'

In her 17th state of the city address Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said she is optimistic about Burnsville's fortunes even if times are tough.

"It's certainly is no secret that the last four years have been hard on businesses, workers, and families," Kautz said. "And local government has not been immune to this nationally shared pain."

The last four years have been the most difficult of Kautz's 17 years in office. During the nadir of the recession, the city cut millions from its budget. The council laid off 20 full time positions permanently and reduced services across all areas. Nevertheless, in her speech on Thursday Kautz suggested that the city had turned a corner.

"I don't see defeated faces. I don't see community leaders resigned to as depleted quality of life, and I don't see educators who feel our school problems are too big to overcome," Kautz said. "I don't see our elected leaders passing the buck on making hard choices and I certainly don't see parents who are resigned to passing on a quality of life that is very inferior to their own."

"Let me tell you what I do see here in Burnsville and why I am as optimistic as I have ever been about the direction where we are heading," Kautz continued. "You see in Burnsville we stay focused and steady as she goes we have focused on what's important and that's jobs and our business success."

Kautz said the local economy had held its own through the darkest times. From 2009 to 2011, over 150 opened up in Burnsville. Though a fair number of existing businesses closed, Burnsville has experioenced overall net growth, she said.

To see the speech in its entirety, click here.