BY STEPHANIE BRIEN
Journal Times | Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:00 am
RACINE - Regional cooperation and lower unemployment rates were high on the list of goals Mayor Gary Becker emphasized Tuesday evening in his State of the City address.
"The days when a strong back and willingness to work were enough to earn a middle class living are over," Becker said. "The jobs of today and the future require skills that our parents never could have imagined."
To bring new jobs to Racine, Becker said the city needs to make job training available and educate students.
District 11 Alderman Greg Helding was pleased with the speech.
"Every year the mayor sets the bar higher," Helding said. "I think that is good we have to keep challenging ourselves."
Becker recently met with all three finalists for Superintendent of the Racine Unified School District and was optimistic in the potential for future cooperation.
"I am confident we will have a willing partner in our schools to help get this message out," Becker said.
Becker also wants to institute a tuition reimbursement program for city workers.
The city will pay up to $500 per semester for those maintaining better than "C" average, Becker said.
"This is just one additional tool to enable our employees to continually improve their skills and value to the City," Becker said.
That money will come out of a human resources training account, Becker said after the speech. But details are not entirely clear.
The city is also working to make community centers a critical asset to neighborhoods.
"We want our centers to be resources for personal development as well as recreation programs," Becker said.
But city officials cannot do everything alone
"We must think beyond the limits of our City," Becker said. "The lines that separate us from Mount Pleasant and Caledonia can only exist on the map."
Becker is looking beyond just bordering communities and wants to work with all of South Eastern Wisconsin and Illinois governments.
"We need to understand that the Illinois state line means nothing," Becker said. "The benefits from Chicago's economy can positively impact us if we choose to understand that they are the engine that drives our region."
The commuter rail will play a big role in that.
"Now more than ever I am convinced it is vitally important to connecting the Chicago-Milwaukee region," Becker said. "While Racine will always have its own identity it grows ever more critical to strengthen the bonds between Milwaukee, and even more so to the economy of Chicago."
Becker is trying to become appointed to the legislative committee working on the issue.