State of the City address touts improved city services during pandemic

Norwalk Mayor Jennifer Perez delivers the State of the City address to Norwalk officials on Oct. 22. The address included updates on the city’s effort to reduce crime, help businesses and manage the COVID-19 pandemic. (City of Norwalk photo)

NORWALK – Mayor Jennifer Perez led address on Oct. 22, and showed how Norwalk maintained and improved its community services during the pandemic. Perez and other city officials explained the city’s improvements in infrastructure, law enforcement, homelessness, public safety, assisting local businesses and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Executive director of the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, Caren Spilsbury, described the struggles local businesses face during the pandemic, and what challenges businesses meet as they reopen.

“Small business trends are going downward. CNBC ranked all the states in different ways, and while California is ranked number one for access to capital, we are ranked 47 for the cost of actually doing business in our state,” said Spilsbury.

Spilsbury added she is working to fix the issue by addressing the anti-business legislation in the state government.

“The Gateway Chambers Alliance works with our elected officials in Sacramento to put new business legislation through, and unfortunately so many laws hinder our business,” said Spilsbury.

She continued to say that grants and funding can assist businesses in need, most notably the American Rescue Plan.

Norwalk was given $28 million through the plan to bring relief to struggling entities in the community. The city also assisted 60 businesses with half a million dollars through the Business Loan Program.

Norwalk Sheriff’s Department Captain, James Tatreau, explained how Norwalk has improved traffic enforcement and reduced crime.

“We added personnel to enforce traffic safety laws, with one of the bigger additions being a motorcycle sergeant,” said the sheriff’s captain.

Tatreau displayed a graph detailing the crime rate in the city before the pandemic in 2019.

“In 2019, we had an over 35-year crime low in the city. In 2021, crime in Norwalk is down 12%,” he said. “In LA County, only four sheriff’s stations have seen a reduction in crime, and nobody has seen a bigger reduction than Norwalk Station.”

Public Safety Lieutenant and acting Emergency Manager for Norwalk, Eric Wosick, took a moment to describe the effort to help every eligible person receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We’ve been working with multiple agencies to distribute the vaccine, primarily our local hospitals like Coast Plaza. Then we transitioned to our site at the Arts and Sports complex,” said Wosick.

The Lieutenant stated the complex is open Tuesday - Sunday, from 11am - 6pm, to provide people with the vaccine.

“The city of Norwalk has remained committed to maintaining the same level of services to the community that it did prior to the pandemic and has taken steps to improve on these services,” said Mayor Perez. “The city is heading in the right direction, and we are looking forward to the future with new and exciting projects and developments.”