Aurora mayor reviews public safety, engagement in State of the City talk
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin praised the city’s police, fire and other emergency departments on Wednesday during a State of the City speech that focused on public safety and public engagement.
“The state of public safety is strong and is becoming more formidable every year,” he said during the speech at Purpose City Church in Aurora.
He spoke about planning to have 265 firefighters in 2025, up from 219 in 2022, and about plans to relocate and replace several fire stations. That includes moving its headquarters into a station to be built on Indian Trail Road on the same site as the police department, creating a “first responders campus.”
He showed the new 911 dispatch center that opened earlier this year and how the police are increasing traffic stops and tickets in response to results from customer-service surveys of people who have called 911 for service.
He said the police department is fully staffed with 326 sworn officers, but he wants to add more.
Wednesday’s event is one of four State of the City speeches Irvin is giving this year. The first, about business, was March 23. The next will be about education and workforce development, and the fourth will be about innovation.
Irvin talked about city officials’ efforts to connect with the community, especially through its many advisory councils and commissions.
He said the city is seeking a census recount with the establishment of a “Facing Our Census” campaign. Irvin maintains that the 2020 Census, which showed Aurora losing 17,000 people, was inaccurate.
“We know that’s not the case,” he said, saying it has resulted in Aurora receiving less federal money in population-based disbursements.
Irvin also discussed how the subscription meal-kit business Hello Fresh, which has a production facility in Aurora, has been giving away food. Donations have been made to two Aurora charity food pantries, and Hello Fresh gave away 4,000 meals on June 21 as part of its national campaign to fight childhood hunger.
He did not mention problems reported by neighbors of Hello Fresh, which operates in a building that backs up to a residential neighborhood. Neighbors have complained about smells from the facility, air pollution in their homes from diesel exhaust from trucks idling, and light pollution.
And wrapping up his speech, Irvin announced plans for a concert in September at RiverEdge Park that will celebrate the 40th anniversary of house music ‒ “the music of my youth,” the 54-year-old mayor said. It will be headlined by Farley “Jackmaster” Funk, King of House Music.