Novi Mayor Channels 'Mr. Rogers' at State of the City Address

Novi Mayor Bob Gatt informed and entertained at the Novi State of the City Address with lessons from a household name: "Mr. Rogers."

The event kicked off Thursday morning at the Suburban Collection Showplace with a video featuring several city officials and Gatt as Mr. Rogers.

>>See some of the footage in the video above.

"In the words of Mr. Rogers, it is a beautiful day in this neighborhood," he said.

Novi progressed in several areas in 2013, Gatt said, including:

Finances

• Last year, Novi was the only city in the state to reduce taxes to 10.2 mills.
• The overall revenue from taxable values is expected to grow in 2014 for the second consecutive year.

Business

• Novi was selected by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to participate in its Redevelopment Ready Communities Program that certifies and supports communities to become competitive in today's economy. 
• Novi welcomed several new businesses and celebrated the expansion of others in 2013:

• Hyatt Place Hotel
• Danlaw, Inc.
• Critical Signal Technologies
• The Cheesecake Factory
• Club Pilates of Michigan
• Blaze Pizza
• Qdoba Mexican Grill

Diversity

• Through partnership with the Novi Community School District, on Saturdays more than 800 students attend the Japanese School of Detroit in Novi. 
• The city has international partnerships with the Japanese Business Society of Detroit, the Consulate General of Japan, the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, the German American Chamber of Commerce and Swedish American Chamber of Commerce. 

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