When Mayor Paul Choate learned he had won the General Election in November of 2022, he immediately thanked El Dorado voters "for the confidence you have placed in me."
Choate then pledged to work with "everyone" to help improve the city, saying, "We have a wonderful opportunity in front of us and make no mistake, I understand that for El Dorado to grow, the entire city must prosper."
Choate reiterated his thanks and his pledge to voters when he delivered his State of the City Address on March 9 and made his intentions as mayor even clearer.
"As you all know, the purpose of this address is to inform you as to where we are and the direction I believe we need to be moving forward," he told the audience during the third regular El Dorado City Council meeting of the year.
The mayor also expressed his appreciation to the city council before getting into the meat of his address.
City finances
With an operating budget of $25 million for 2023, the city is starting the year on firm financial footing, Choate said.
Since Jan. 1, Choate and his staff have worked diligently to reconcile delinquent bills that were left over from the previous mayoral administration (2019-2022).
Some of the past due accounts date back to 2021.
To date, City Hall staffers have helped to bring nearly $2 million in delinquent accounts up to date and recovered approximately $800,000 in "undeposited" checks and cash from desk drawers while sorting through invoices, files and stacks of mail in offices that formerly housed the city collector and treasurer.
Between Feb. 9 and March 8, the city's debits totaled nearly $1.4 million, with $82,171 worth of invoices from 2022.
Choate said the city's accounts payables were caught up and collections posted by the end of February.
The new team he assembled is made up of existing, new and former city employees who are working together to reconcile the city's outstanding invoices, with help from El Dorado City Council Member and Finance Committee chairman Vance Williamson.
Two former City Hall staff members agreed to come out of retirement to assist with the issue, one on a temporary basis and the other as a volunteer who will eventually be hired as contract laborer, Choate said.
The mayor has also rearranged some positions and offices in City Hall.
A new position, payroll administrator, handles payroll and personnel matters and joins the accounts payable clerk, city collector, the mayor's executive secretary and the city clerk, which is an elected position.
City Clerk Heather McVay now occupies the space that formerly housed the Department of Public Works on the ground floor of City Hall. City Collector Julie Murray is next door in the old code enforcement/city inspector's office and Shonta Bean, payroll administrator, is set up in the former city treasurer's office.
In 2022, the DPW moved from City Hall to its new location next to the El Dorado Water Utilities' office on North Washington Avenue.
The accounts payable clerk's office is located in the space where the city collector previously sat, the second door on the left from the rear entrance of City Hall.
Former accounts payable clerk Sharon Tucker retired in 2020 and came back on a temporary basis to assist with reconciling the city's bills, per a request from Choate. Tucker and Chris Stinson, the city's new accounts payable clerk, occupy the former city collector's space.
New signs have been posted to direct visitors to the respective offices on the ground floor of City Hall.
While discussing the city's finances during his State of the City Address, Choate also reported that the city's reserve coffers are healthy at nearly $40 million.
"Our reserves are where they should be, strong enough to weather a natural disaster or an unexpected downturn," said Choate. "This stable position comes from years of the city council making wise decisions on proper budgeting and spending."
However, he cautioned that much like the rest of America, the city is contending with inflation.
The work has begun
Work has already begun this year to overlay city streets, with the city tapping into $5 million that was set aside in 2020 for street repairs in addition to the city's annual street budget, which averages $1.3 million per year.
The $5 million came from the El Dorado Works tax, a one-cent city sales tax initiative that is dedicated to economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
The money was to have been split in half for 2020 and 2021 and divided pro rata among the city's four wards, with $1.5 million allotted for each ward.
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting delays and rising costs of labor and materials partly slowed the city's annual re-pavement program. Unpaid bills to the contractor also contributed to the issue.
"We haven't tapped into that $5 million that hard," Choate said.
Some of the funds, approximately $910,000, went to improvements to Fifth Street that were completed in 2021.
The project was spearheaded by Choate, who, as a city council member at the time, represented Ward 4, where Fifth Street is located.
The work entailed the addition of a northbound turn lane from College onto Fifth; widening sections of Fifth Street; the installation of new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and street lights; and removing a concrete street that was underneath the asphalt on the section of Fifth between Ouachita and North West avenues.
Choate said that with rising prices for materials and labor, the remaining balance of the $5 million will only cover about 80% of the street repairs that were originally intended.
More than 36 streets, spread among all four wards of the city, have been targeted for repairs in 2023.
Crews started the year in Ward 1 with Monroe and Buchanan streets and are moving southward, with plans of heading to Alpha and Omega avenues in Ward 3 next.
"We've been able to overlay several streets this year. The decision amongst the council was to share those resources equally," the mayor said.
The El Dorado Works Board, who administers the El Dorado Works tax, and the city council have already approved funding for another one of Choate's campaign promises: securing public access to free Wi-Fi.
The anticipated cost of the project is $260,619 and the work will spread to five city parks -- Mattocks, Mitchell, Old City, Mellor and Mitchell --, downtown El Dorado and the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex.
The aim of the project is to establish a public Wi-Fi network in underserved communities, Choate said, noting that students who live in neighborhoods surrounding the designated areas will be able to use the service to do homework.
Choate said the equipment has been ordered and he hopes the work is completed by the end of the summer.
Ongoing efforts to replace the city's two aged wastewater treatment plants are also high on the mayor's list of priorities.
The north and south WWTPs were built in the 1970s and in his State of the City Address, Choate noted that the plants were designed to last for 20 to 25 years.
The plants are deteriorating and the federal government has mandated upgrades. The latest cost estimates are $10 - $15 million and Choate said the city does not have the cash on hand to cover the project.
The city is researching available funding sources, including grants, and Choate said he has reached out to U.S. Sen. John Boozman and Rep. Bruce Westerman for assistance.
City officials and the El Dorado Water Utilities have said they are working to make sure the project will not result in a large increase, or, if possible, any increase to taxpayers in the form of taxes or wastewater rates.
In 2021 and 2022, the city received a total of $2.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill that was signed into law by Congress in March of 2021.
City officials set aside the majority of the funding to assist with the multi-million-dollar WWTP project.
As part of his mayoral campaign, Choate also pledged to work with the community to make El Dorado safe for all families -- a plan that goes hand in hand with some of the concerns that were raised during a forum that was held Feb. 23 for residents of Ward 3.
The forum was hosted by Ward 3 council members Willie McGhee and George Calloway Jr.
McGhee said crime in Ward 3 neighborhoods was one of several issues that residents cited.
"Many of us can sit on our back porches or patios and hear gunshots," McGhee said.
Choate, who also attended the forum, replied, "That was an exciting meeting and I think we can make some improvements, sir."
Less than three months into his first term, Choate said the prior four years spent as a city council member -- he served two terms on the city council -- provided him with valuable insight into city government operations and the city's needs, challenges and opportunities.
He assured audience members that he is up to the challenge of guiding the city from the mayor's post.
"As I took office, I know there would be a learning curve and I am climbing it," CHoate said. "As we go forward, I see our city poised for growth and prosperity but it is going to take hard work to get there and I know we are capable of making it happen."