SAVANNAH, Ga. () – A plan for sweeping upgrades and improvements in the City of Savannah will be heard by city council Thursday.
Wednesday night, the city held one final town hall to hear the publics’ thoughts on the Savannah GPS plan before it’s put to a vote.
“To achieve our grand vision, we need to break it down into manageable steps,” stated Savannah Mayor Van Johnson as he opened the event.
The Savannah GPS plan consists of six goals.
Goal One: increase public safety and our collective sense of security
“Our goal is clear: we want to reduce crime rates, both violent and property-related,” explained Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther. “We aim to consistently lower these numbers as a measure of our success. Equally important is ensuring our community feels secure and perceives themselves as safe.”
Objectives included in the first goal aim to curb violent crime before it happens and address it after the fact.
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“Our strategy to eliminate gun violence involves partnering with community groups,” outlined Savannah City Manager Jay Melder. “Additionally, we’ll work with federal agencies and local prosecutors to ensure successful legal outcomes.”
asked Mayor Van Johnson what successful prosecution looks like.
“I don’t think we prosecute as strongly as we can. That’s why the City of Savannah hired a federal prosecutor because some of these gun crimes can elevate to the level of being a federal crime, and we want to prosecute it that way. We’re going to continue to insist,” he said.
Goal Two: Invest in equitable community development and resilience
Objectives listed in the second goal of the plan include allocating funding for arts programs and incentivizing construction of more affordable housing in the city.
“They want to make sure that residents who love the arts that we are able to create our art, have a place to create our art, and make sure we are doing it fruitfully in the community, Akeem McMichael, a Savannah resident who went to Wednesday’s meeting to hear more about Savannah GPS said.
Goal Three: Expand economic access, opportunity, and vitality for all
One of the main objectives highlighted by the City Manager in goal three was improving access to public transit.
“Everybody doesn’t have a car. So, Savannah has to be accessible for everyone whether you’re walking or whether you’re driving,” Mayor Van Johnson said of the prospect.
Goal Four: Develop world class livable environments and infrastructure
Objectives mentioned in goal four had to do mainly with infrastructure upgrades to the city’s stormwater drains, roads and bridges.
Melder said the city is looking to invest specifically in infrastructure solutions that are environmentally friendly and will be able to withstand severe weather.
Goal Five: Improve quality of life by raising municipal service standards
With goal five, city leaders said they’re looking to offer enhanced customer service for residents.
“We wanted to be accessible to everyone through a variety of means. For those that walk into our buildings, but for those that might be hearing impaired or vision impaired or for those that might need to do it from a remote location,” Van Johnson said.
Goal Six: Always be a high-performing government
Goal six consists mainly of objectives related to spending public funds wisely.
