As the city prepares to undertake a budget cycle in the face of multi-million dollar shortfalls, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo outlined his plan on Sunday, Jan. 10 to maintain basic city services while sustaining community progress. Saffo’s comments came during his annual state of the city address previewed first during an afternoon brunch at the Country Club of Landfall.

"I must make certain that we provide the basic public services that people have come to expect," Saffo told a room full of Landfall residents. "We’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of challenges ahead...but our basic core services are something that I will not allow to lapse as the mayor of the city."

His 45-minute address, while it touched on past and present economic burdens, settled on an optimistic tone seemingly designed to infuse fresh confidence into the public’s opaque outlook on the future.

Wilmington, still reeling from last year’s cumbersome budget cycle, which felt the burden of an $8 million shortfall, is preparing to deal with yet another $5 million deficit approaching for FY 2010-2011.

City staff has already begun the process of examining cuts between 5-15 percent, Saffo said, although he did not elaborate on which areas of city government would endure the brunt.

Saffo did vow to maintain public safety, drainage, trash pick-up and transportation facilities, and cited numerous examples in which those services had undergone improvements.

"We’re going to be looking at a very difficult year this year," he said candidly, "but we’ll get through it just like we have the last two years in this tough economic situation that we find ourselves in because I believe the future of our community is always going to be bright."

Saffo hinged his address on successful projects recently undertaken or completed within the city limits, including transportation improvements and upgrades to city parks and recreational facilities.

Saffo also announced broader intentions to connect parks and recreation facilities around New Hanover County and Wilmington, and said relationships between the different government entities were crucial in completing that effort.

"The city of Wilmington can’t go at it alone, the county can’t go at it alone, our funds are limited and the issues that we all face are great and becoming larger," he said. "So I feel that the federal government, the state government and local governments have to work in tandem with each other."

Saffo acknowledged the strength that federal stimulus funding has infused into Wilmington’s economy and extended his gratitude toward the state for increasing tax incentives from 15 to 25 percent for filmmakers, an action that increased Wilmington’s competitiveness on the national stage and likely saved the local film industry.

Moreover, Saffo referenced his intentions to bring the public more into the fold of city government. For example, he said he recently asked city manager Sterling Cheatham to ensure that every new fire station built in Wilmington contain a room for the sole purpose of allowing public meetings.

In comments that tempered wary public sentiment over the recent economic malaise, Saffo made mention of Verizon and Corning Inc., two companies with operations in Wilmington that have been hiring new employees despite the downturn.

He also touched on the growth at Cape Fear Community College, the construction of General Electric’s uranium enrichment facility in Castle Hayne, and the environmentally friendly retrofitting of Progress Energy’s heavy pollutant-producing Sutton power plant.

The mayor will likely deliver a public address sometime later this month, said a city spokesperson, Malissa Talbert.