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Mayor Mike Dinsmore lays out audits, infrastructure and workforce priorities as development moves forward in Alexander City
Summary
Mayor Mike Dinsmore told the Alexander City Council on May 4 that completing overdue audits, restoring central-city infrastructure and improving city staff competency are top priorities; he said audits are on a schedule to be ‘done and up to date by October’ and tied that work to accessing capital for ongoing development.
Mayor Mike Dinsmore told the Alexander City Council on May 4 that the city must finish overdue audits, restore aging central-city infrastructure and strengthen staffing and human-resources capacity to support an expanding pipeline of development.
“We’re on schedule to have the audits done and up to date by October,” Dinsmore said, adding that the work is a prerequisite to accessing capital and obtaining improved bond ratings. He urged council and staff to “stop looking in the past” and focus on action that will make services reliable for residents.
Dinsmore described a stretch of projects already moving forward in Alexander City and offered a conservative estimate of the amount of development he said is under way. He said the city had “ground’s being plowed up” and characterized the total as a multi‑million‑dollar pipeline; later in the meeting he described a conservative figure of about $40.5 million as the city’s estimate for active development projects.
The mayor tied the audit schedule to a multi‑step effort to improve the city’s borrowing profile, saying that following completion of the audits the city would begin the process toward a bond rating. If the audit timetable is met, he said, staff expect to move through the next steps toward rating improvement over the following year.
Dinsmore also urged immediate restoration of infrastructure systems in the central city, calling the condition of some systems a threat to services and to the city’s ability to attract further investment. He said the city was preparing to meet with partners to secure available funds and hoped to begin project work before fall.
Why it matters: completing audits and stabilizing finances can be a gateway to accessing capital and attracting private development; the mayor framed the effort as essential to turning planned projects into finished construction and to preserve services for residents.
What’s next: Dinsmore said staff will proceed with the audit schedule and pursue funding options; he asked council to prioritize projects that remove obstacles to development and to sustain investments in staff training and competency.
