Mayor Kenneth T. Welch

St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch delivered his State of the City Address, highlighting accomplishments from 2025 and the city’s strength, resilience, and continued progress for the upcoming year.

In 2025, the city completed a total of 434 multifamily affordable and workforce units, 122 accessory dwelling units, and 24 affordable homes. St. Pete became the first city in Florida to adopt the “Yes in God’s Backyard” provision to expand affordable housing on underutilized faith-based property. The Mayor’s Future Ready Academy welcomed its fourth cohort, providing full-time pay, benefits, and certification at Pinellas Technical College, and the city invested $260,000 in the Childhood Homelessness Project.

The Mayor shared that total crime was down 16% in 2025, and St. Pete recorded its lowest number of homicides since 1967. The Community Support Hub served 573 residents with mental health issues; Rapid Resolution funding helped prevent evictions and displacement; and more than $1 million through the We Are St. Pete Fund supported hurricane recovery. The city advanced major flood mitigation and infrastructure hardening projects, improved mobility and public facilities, and processed more than 54,000 permits representing $1.44 billion in construction activity.

In 2026, Mayor Welch’s administration will continue modernizing the city’s technology platforms, advancing major enterprise projects, and preparing for a $600 million referendum to support sewer system upgrades, flood mitigation, and neighborhood improvements. The city will also continue administering the $160 million Sunrise St. Pete program and expand Housing Opportunities for All, with 238 workforce units and 571 affordable units currently under construction and many expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Watch the Mayor’s full remarks here.