Mayor Gary Carey touts 'acceleration' in 2025 State of the City, highlights public safety, bridge work and jobs

Mayor Gary Carey used the City of Walker’s 2025 State of the City interview to describe the community’s current moment as one of “acceleration,” pointing to falling major-crime rates, a large bridge replacement project and rapid job growth near the city’s industrial areas.

Carey, speaking on the Made in Walker podcast hosted by Nicole DeDonato, said the city has seen a 22% drop in major crimes such as burglaries, larceny and aggravated assaults over the last two years and credited proactive engagement by police and fire with that decline. “They've dropped, like, 22% over the last 2 years,” Carey said. He added that officers and firefighters “do so much together,” and that the departments’ neighborhood outreach improves community trust and public safety.

Why it matters: Walker is managing both population and commercial growth while trying to preserve public-safety gains and finish several large infrastructure projects. Those decisions will shape commuting, economic recruitment and near-term budget needs.

Carey described a major bridge replacement along Walker Avenue as the single biggest near-term impact residents will feel. He said roughly 16,000 jobs sit within a two-mile radius of the project and that the old, two-lane structure had outlived its usefulness and posed safety concerns. The project also includes a nonmotorized trail that, Carey said, will let more people “be in a safe spot off to the side” rather than in the road.

On finance, Carey said Walker is “an income tax city” and that municipal income tax provides the majority of the city’s revenue. “That accounts for 65% of our revenue,” he said. He contrasted that with property tax, which he said makes up about 9% of city revenue. Carey said the city has little long-term debt aside from a recent library bond and that keeping long-term liabilities low helps pay for future public-safety and facility needs.

Carey also outlined near-term public-safety facility costs tied to a shift toward a fuller fire-department staffing model. He said the city will need gender-separated living quarters and improved bunkhouse amenities to recruit and retain firefighters and that those investments are part of planning for a more full‑time fire department.

On staffing and programs, Carey said the city added a second community engagement officer to split north/south coverage and named the officers involved. He said the city has launched a youth academy for high-school juniors and seniors and a NextGen program aimed at younger adults interested in civic service. “We'd rather try and get people in committees learning how to...what does good policy look like,” Carey said.

Carey noted two prospective long-range projects. First, widening Wilson (the corridor Carey identified as a major congestion and safety pain point) will likely require state and federal funding and could be a decade-plus effort. Second, an aquarium project under consideration for South Walker is in early due diligence; Carey said it is a possible site but added there are “no guarantees at all” and that the review could take one to two years.

Carey framed his remarks around a short-term push to start projects before a coming turnover in elected officials next year, saying staff and elected leaders want to “leave it better than what we started with.” The interview lasted about 20 minutes and focused on economic development, public safety, infrastructure and youth engagement.

Quotes in this article are drawn from Carey’s remarks on the Made in Walker podcast, hosted by Nicole DeDonato.