Mayor's plan hits transportation issues, energized downtown Tampa

By Pam Griner Leavy © 2003 American City Business Journals Inc - Published: Apr 15, 2003

Mayor Pam Iorio on Tuesday called for city of Tampa and Hillsborough County cooperation to get a tax referendum on the 2004 ballot to raise money for addressing transportation shortcomings.

The mayor said that properly paved and wider roads, pedestrian footpaths and bicycle lanes, and even a light rail system, will come at a cost. And the city and county leaders need to find out how much residents are willing to pay.

"If you approve this much, this is what we can do with it," is the message area residents need to get from the city and county leaders, Iorio said.

She also said that a thorough review of city business could result in privatization of some city services, during her speech to area business leaders at a Power Breakfast presented by the Business Journal Serving Greater Tampa Bay and sponsored By TECO Energy Inc.

Iorio talked about a Renaissance for the city achieved through competitiveness, use of best practices, benchmarks and emphasis on the cultural arts -- and accountability to residents.

While Iorio said that she meant no disrespect to the previous administration and current workers in city hall, she called for ethical behavior by city officials and employees, citing "millions" of wasted taxpayer dollars through wrongdoing by some previous officials.

"We control the process," Iorio said. "We set the tone to be the very best in what we do. When we waste money in government we do less. I want to do more."

She called for private businesses to support financially city initiatives such as neighborhood and park improvements in cases where those would cost less that $25,000.

These included small but important upgrades such as new or additional restrooms, paved parking lots and park benches. While preaching a message from the author of "The Rise of the Creative Class," Richard Florida, Iorio called for Tampa to be "a city of the arts" that attracts daytime and evening visitors to riverwalk cafes and a thriving arts and cultural district downtown.

Florida addressed more than 500 business, arts and civics leaders in Tampa in April 11 and had a private meeting with Iorio.

"It's not only good for the soul of our community, it's also good for economic development," she said. "We do invest more in sports than we do in the cultural arts. And that's going to change."

She cited a money-losing and confusing downtown Tampa parking system as a deterrent to that. Parking meter users often don't know if meters are for two, six or 12 hours, and museums and businesses complain about tickets issued to patrons and customers, she said.

"You can't have that if you are going to be a vibrant city that wants to attract people to its downtown," said Iorio.