Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Mayor addresses city issues

CLOVIS — In a six-person race, a plurality of Clovis voters selected Mike Morris on March 3, 2020, to be their next mayor.

By the time Morris was sworn in to become the third person to hold the elected office, the city and the world were just beginning the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morris addressed the city’s work during the pandemic, and many other subjects, during a state of the city address Wednesday at the Clovis-Carver Public Library.

The full text of Morris’ approximate 45-minute address is available at easternnewmexiconews.com.

Morris said the city was on the cusp of growth and prosperity like it has never seen before, and commended city employees and the Clovis city commission for their work throughout a difficult year.

“This year truly showed our resiliency and dedication,” Morris said.

Among the state of the city points addressed by Morris:

• Regarding local economic development, Morris said the city saw better-than-expected impacts on gross receipts taxes because travel restrictions kept shoppers local. That made it more important, Morris said, for the city to find ways to bring new retailers to Clovis and prevent the leakage of local dollars to Texas.

Part of that effort has led to a change in state law allowing municipalities of more than 35,000 people to use economic development dollars to incentivize retail. The law will be in effect July 1, but Clovis must receive voter approval to change its economic development policies in that manner.

• The Clovis Fire Department saw a 13.95% increase in fire calls, with 606 fire calls among its 10,462 calls for service.

• The Clovis Police Department answered 33,590 calls for service, up 0.75% from 2019, but statistics showed a 26% drop in index crimes.

• The animal control department, which is under CPD’s umbrella, responded to 4,074 calls for service. It took in 1,702 animals, with 237 adopted, 198 reclaimed, 73 protective custody release, 592 reduced and 602 euthanized. The city also issued 832 pet licenses for the year.

• The emergency management department, which serves Clovis and Curry County, provided 7,110 critical medical grade N-95 masks, 48,850 procedure masks, 3,720 KN-95 masks, 22,978 disposable gowns, 54,600 medical grade gloves, 132 gallons of hand sanitizer, 5,100 face shields and 2,600 cloth masks.

• Clovis Area Transit System ridership dropped to 43,016 trips in 2020, compared to 67,356 in 2019. The CATS system assisted the Curry Resident Senior Meals Association with delivery of hot meals with nearly 100 stops on most days.

Morris closed by thanking the residents of Clovis as well.

“Time and time again throughout the many twists and turns of the past 12 months,” Morris said, “I have been extremely grateful for the resilient High Plains spirit of Clovis’ residents which has continued to shine through. May that spirit of unity, comfort, hospitality and hope continue to strengthen our efforts as we continue to look forward with hope and joy to the future.”

 
 
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