Newton Mayor Sets Out His Priorities for His Second Term

During his swearing in ceremony for his second term, Mayor Setti Warren said he plans to continue his efforts to make Newton financially stable, improve the city's infrastructure and provide help to those in need.

Warren was sworn in at the inauguration ceremony at City Hall on Wednesday along with member of the Board of Alderman and School Committee. In attendance Wednesday were U.S. Senator Ed Markey, Attorney General Martha Coakley and State Auditor Suzanne Bump.

In his speech, the mayor pointed to the efforts to make the city's finances more stable and sustainable, including implementing the city's first capital plan. He also wants to make Newton a good place to do business.

"We have expanded economic development to improve the quality of life and expand our tax base and made Newton more attractive for businesses and retail to stay and come here," Warren said. "Our administration is committed to result based budgeting and will continue to work tirelessly to improve city services so that we are as efficient and effective as possible and achieve the outcomes that we all strive for."

Warren added that the city has invested in public safety, education and infrastructure - which he called "the bedrock of our community."

"We will continue to make sure Newton is one of the safest places to live by continuing to build first class police and fire departments. We will use data and demographics to project and meet the needs of our residents in the next 20 to 30 years in the areas of housing, transportation, traffic patterns, accessibility, economic development, culture and the arts, recreation and city services," Warren said. "We will continue to ensure Newton has one of the best school systems in the nation by attracting and retaining the best educators we can."

Another accomplishment of his first term that Warren highlighted was the creation of the Veterans Center at American Legion Post 440 to serve the city's estimated 6,000 veterans.