2024 State of The City: From City of Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy

January 31, 2024

Hello There, Hollywood Residents. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to present the State of the City Address to the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, an invitation that the chamber extends to Hollywood's mayor at the start of each new year.

In this year's address, I highlighted the many ways we are working to achieve our city’s mission: "To provide a thriving community, where quality living and the opportunity for success is made available to all."

These are exciting times for Hollywood. We have a stronger and structurally balanced annual budget, and through that, we are continuing to usher in major improvements for our city's neighborhoods, parks, roadways, public safety, infrastructure, stormwater management, environmental resiliency, housing affordability and much more.

To learn more, you can watch the complete State of the City at the video link: https://youtu.be/WE3C8TZ1Eqk?si=FoKuESEBm2cZ26Xo

My discussion begins with a report on our city’s financial health, which is a critical component to the quality of life that a city can provide for its residents. For 2024, I was happy to report that through our continuing commitment to sound financial administration and governance that is future-oriented, our Operating Budget for 2024 is at a record $779 Million Dollars and it is again structurally balanced.

Our citywide taxable property values are now at a record $23.2 Billion Dollars, which is up a very strong 11% over last year, and up 75% since I was elected in 2016. And together with our commitment to maintaining recommended levels of reserves, higher bond ratings and controlling expenses, we are on track to see our city flourish and able to reinvest back into our community, without burdening residents with higher taxes.

We’ll see significant improvements to our parks with new playgrounds, fields, lighting, pathways, computers, fitness equipment, pickleball courts and basketball courts, dog parks and more.

For our Water and Wastewater Utilities infrastructure, we are in the midst of massive injection well projects that will end the disposal of treated wastewater into the ocean. We’ll continue neighborhood watermain replacements and expanding the sewer system where we can, and we’ll continue upgrading our stormwater system to improve our city’s drainage given it no longer delivers an adequate level of service for a community experiencing changing climate conditions. Lots of work is needed in this area.

We have many roadway resurfacing, streetlighting and sidewalk improvement projects ahead. Our voter approved General Obligation Bond projects are also progressing. We’ll break ground on the new Police Headquarters this year, beginning construction of tidal flooding mitigation and sea walls, renewed city golf courses, neighborhood traffic calming, planting more trees and new landscaping, beautification and much more.

These are exciting times for Hollywood. We will be entering our city's centennial year in 2025, celebrating 100 years of Hollywood in better financial health, with a future for Hollywood that is physically safer, operationally better, environmentally greener and more sustainable, commercially stronger, visually more appealing, residentially more desirable and historically prouder.

Together, we will continue to do great things.

Best to everyone in the New Year,

Mayor Josh Levy