Monterey Mayor delivers state of the city address to business leaders.

With prominent views of the bay and downtown Monterey, Mayor Clyde Roberson and City Manager Mike McCarthy gave state of the city addresses from Monterey Marriott’s scenic Ferrante Room. The roughly 50 people in attendance largely consisted of city business leaders at an event hosted by the Monterey Commercial Property Owners Association.

“Neighborhoods, the city, businesses and the hospitality industry are working together better today than ever before,” Roberson says.

The mayor touted the $50 million conference center renovation funded by hotel taxes, the Neighborhood Improvement Program which puts tourist-generated dollars into community projects and Measure P, where residents voted for a one cent sales tax to improve infrastructure, as examples of various stakeholders working together.

Roberson also praised the city’s small town feel. While the city attracts two million visitors annually and has 4,000 hotel rooms and 20,000 restaurant seats, Roberson says, residents still know their neighbors.

Roberson also emphasized the city’s fiscally conservative approach, saying while the police force is almost fully staffed, overall staffing levels in the city have not increased over the past four years.

McCarthy echoed the city’s fiscal conservatism in his speech, saying the city has a $1.6 million surplus after two consecutive record years of tourism revenue. But the excess in budget will be set aside in a “rainy day fund.”

Trying to show the good intentions of the city's many stakeholders Roberson asks, “who wants to ruin Monterey? No one.”