LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Mayor Frank Scott Junior gave his State of the City speech Monday night.
Not only was this the first in-person State of the City since the beginning of the pandemic, but it's also one that comes as the city continues to deal with an uptick in violent crime.
"We have endured, but despite all of this the state of our city remains strong," said Mayor Scott Jr.
The mayor started his speech with Little Rock's growth. The city has reached over 200,000 residents and gained more than 4,000 jobs.
Despite more people coming to live in the city, Little Rock has also experienced record-high crime in the past couple years. The mayor said he wants to increase police recruitment with pay raises and more community officers.
He also wants to improve safety in our neighborhoods with better lighting and park initiatives and will ask the board for more funds to continue crime prevention efforts for the next two years.
"It's not solely domestic violence, it's not solely gangs and drugs, but there's a new term that we are finding out about called the 'acquaintance violence.' We are seeing it conveys hopelessness in our young people. So it is on us to provide and promote hope," said Mayor Scott Jr.
The mayor introduced a new housing initiative to help our homeless population in the city. This year, he plans to purchase land for a micro home village.
"We're committing our housing department to create opportunities to develop at least 100 units within the next three years, including affordable single-family housing and rental units," he said.
And to continue his education efforts, the mayor announced the expansion of community schools in the Little Rock School District. Mabelvale Elementary and Mabelvale Middle Schools will open for the 2022-2023 school year.
"These schools will also offer services that will strengthen families and communities, prevent child maltreatment, and transform the academic and social lives of students and the neighborhoods around them," he said.
He also gave an update on 'LITfest' -- his idea to bring back a live music and vendor event. He says the inaugural festival will happen this summer.