Milpitas mayor spotlights housing, city budget in State of the City address

Milpitas has seen its fair share of increase over the past year from green lighting new housing projects and welcoming tech companies to spearheading city-wide eco-friendly initiatives These are all events that will change the city for the better Mayor Carmen Montano noted during Thursday night s State of the City Address You are the heartbeat of Milpitas Montano commented addressing an audience of residents and local dignitaries at Milpitas City Hall Together we are shaping a smarter greener safer and more connected city for everyone In her speech Montano also spotlighted the city s up-to-date efforts to cut a five year deficit by federal funding that will be used to update local streets and intersections and ongoing plans to add more housing and businesses in the city Addressing the city s finances Montano announced the council in recent times adopted its budget for the - fiscal year For years Milpitas anticipated a million budget deficit to take place over the next five years The city opted to cut back on annual spending from its operating budget mostly by removing vacant staff positions to shrink the deficit to million This budget focuses on information where they are mostly needed Montano declared Montano expressed appreciation for million worth of federal grants that will be used to improve local intersections and school zones The city plans to update traffic signals upgrade intersections near schools and create safer walking and biking routes for students Milpitas in the past few days distributed a inhabitants draft of its long-awaited Gateway-Main Street Specific Plan which details the city s vision for land use mobility improvements constituents spaces and infrastructure updates in the downtown area Milpitas is in the midst of adding new housing units to the area Multiple companies also have settled into the city year including electric car manufacturer Rivian Montano touted a new city-backed effort to promote the use of electric strength In April the city launched Go Electric Milpitas a campaign which offers residents monetary incentives for replacing their gas or electric resistance stovetops heating air conditioning and water pumps with power efficient ones The city is offering in add-on rebates on top of the pre-existing provided through Silicon Valley Clean Potential a masses agency that provides clean electricity for residents across the South Bay Together we are not just navigating this day s challenges Montano announced We are actively building the future of Milpitas