Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno admits that it’s tough for a city to mount a major comeback effort in the middle of a recession. But that doesn’t mean he’s lowering his expectations for a community that has rebounded from the depths of control-board management but still has considerable work to do in areas ranging from public safety to education; economic development to marketing. As he begins his second term, Sarno says his biggest challenge is perception, or, to be more specific, how to change the perception most have of this community.

Domenic Sarno is passionate about his mission to remarket Springfield and improve its image.

“Let’s make it happen in Springfield,” said the mayor. “My attitude is that we can do it. The biggest challenge I have is perception. Perception and attitude equal reality, and I will continue to hammer away and remarket this city.”

As he begins his second term in office, Sarno has ambitious plans for the future. He acknowledges it is especially difficult to move forward in a recession, but says he has prioritized his goals and points to major milestones during his tenure as signs that Springfield is on its way to becoming what he calls a “21st-century city.”

“We have come a long way from 2003,” he said, referring to fiscal problems that resulted in wage freezes, enormous cuts in city services, fee increases, hundreds of layoffs (which included 78 police officers and 53 firefighters), and a resulting increase in crime.

Sarno was on the state-appointed Finance Control Board brought to the city in 2004 to restore fiscal stability, and he is proud of the turnaround that has occurred.

The board turned over the reins to elected officials six months ago, and Sarno said that, despite the recession, Springfield is poised to continue its rebound.

“Finances are the key to everything, whether you are running a household budget or a half-billion-dollar corporation, and the best is yet to come,” he said. “We just got finished with two grueling days in New York with Standard and Poor’s. They upgraded our bond rating to a Triple B status at a time when most other cities are being downgraded.”

The rating represents a full-level upgrade, which Sarno says will result in millions of dollars in savings. “They gave us a very stable outlook. Our budget was balanced this year, we had no layoffs, and we have $25 million in reserves,” he said. Moody’s also issued a positive finding, granting the city an “enhanced rating” that reflects the progress that has been made.

But Sarno says a lot remains to be done.

He plans to be frugal with spending, but says Springfield is on track paying off its loan obligations to the state and is using the interest proceeds from the borrowed money to fund scholarships to the city’s students.

He cites five priorities that will dominate his new term in office: public safety, job creation, education, neighborhood revitalization, and strong and effective financial management.

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at Sarno’s goals and the steps the city is taking to rebrand its image.

Sharper Image

Sarno says he has a hands-on management style. “It reverts back to when I was assistant to Mary Hurley 20 years ago,” he said, referring to his college years when he worked for the former mayor.

He compares his job to that of a general practitioner. “I need to know a little about everything, then I farm the work out to specialists,” he said.

But Sarno is not content staying in the background. He has taken a proactive stance in marketing the city to new businesses and putting a team in place that includes a new police commissioner, superintendent of schools, chief development officer, and what will be the city’s first chief administrative and financial officer. “We have made substantial progress on many fronts,” he said. “But there is much more that needs to be accomplished and many challenges we need to meet head-on.”

The first is public safety. Sarno is concerned not only with keeping residents safe and preventing the flight from Springfield of established homeowners, but also with the image the city presents to potential investors and developers. “We have to get the city over its negative perception,” he said. “Quality-of-life issues are very important.”

He has been working with Police Commissioner William Fitchet to create an Anti-Gang Task Force, reorganized the Street Crime Task Force “to deal with hot spots,” established the first-ever Quality of Life Flex Squad to address neighborhood complaints, ranging from broken windows to reports of drug dealing to overgrown grass, and launched an innovative Text-A-Tip initiative.

Springfield is also the first city in the Commonwealth to have a gang-resistance and education-training program in the middle schools. Its aim is to decrease gang activity and youth delinquency in the city.

“Our dedicated police officers need to wear two hats,” Sarno said, adding they not only have to enforce the law, but also have to be ambassadors to improve quality of life for residents.

“I have been up front tackling these challenges,” he said. “I will continue to be relentless on the public-safety front. The long-term key is to turn back the poverty rate and deal with social issues and ills.”

But citing statistics and accomplishments is not enough to help the city’s image. “It has to be a word-of-mouth campaign,” Sarno said.

He believes the city is often its own worst enemy, with naysayers focusing on the negative and not taking enough credit for the positive. “We are going on the offensive,” he said. Especially when it comes to bringing new business to the city.

Developing Story

Indeed, Sarno’s administration recently staged Springfield’s second Developer’s Conference to spur interest among investors in the city’s properties, which include some needing redevelopment, such as the former Chapman Valve site and the Indian Orchard riverfront, the State Street corridor, Zanetti School, and the long-dormant Union Station.

More than 250 people attended the conference, and Sarno said interest continues to grow.

But a lot remains to be accomplished. The city is working to get the vacant former Indian Motorcycle property and the Mason Square Fire Station redeveloped and back onto the tax rolls. And although a half-billion dollars in new investment has been committed over the past two years, it is not enough. “We need to attract another half-billion in investments over the next two years,” Sarno said.

Aggressive marketing of the Basketball Hall of Fame, the city’s colleges, and the riverfront are critical to preparing the city to exploit the return to economic growth when the recession ends, he said.

Sarno noted that his team is focused on bringing new conventions to the Hall of Fame, which result in foot traffic and increased business downtown. “The Hall of Fame enshrinement with Michael Jordan put us on the map, and so did the state Democratic Convention,” he said. “It’s a matter of perception and working to make things happen.”

Other successes include the F. W. Webb Co. signing an $1 million agreement to purchase 14.3 acres in the Springfield Memorial Industrial Park, which will bring new jobs to the area.

But forward movement takes persistence. “Springfield has not been immune to the fallout of the global economic recession, and an unprecedented credit crunch has made very worthy development projects very difficult to finance,” Sarno said.

Still, progress is being made, especially in the downtown area. “The $100 million data-center project at the old Technical High School is moving forward,” Sarno said, noting that construction is expected to begin soon, and the building is designed to become a national model for green technologies.

A small-business loan pool and Neighborhood Storefront Improvement Program, initiated a few months ago as a project of the newly created Develop Springfield Corp., made $1 million available in grant money in October to fund storefront improvements along the entire length of State and Main streets. Infrastructure improvements along the streets are also making the area more attractive.

Sarno is also enthusiastic about the Greater Springfield-UMass Amherst partnership, which, he says, will promote collaborations that lead to the revitalization of the economy. “We are very excited about this. The partnership will really help us with the Court Square development,” he said. “We need to make things happen, need to brand the city.”

He sees possibility in places that others shy away from, and points to the upscale 350 Grill on Worthington Street, which transformed a derelict building into a steakhouse, as proof that progress can and will be made.

“We have had our share of disappointments, but there is a lot of good in the city,” he said. “The problems didn’t happen overnight and won’t go away overnight. But I will continue to hammer away.”

Baystate Medical Center’s $250 million expansion is another major boon, and Sarno says “the new complex will further Baystate’s cachet and build Springfield’s brand identity.”

Farming Students

Businesses turn to the education front when deciding to relocate or establish themselves in a city, and education is among Sarno’s top three priorities. “It’s the farm system,” he said. “Businesses will look to see whether the talent is here.”

He is working closely with the School Department and the superintendent to formulate a three-year strategic plan. It involves parents, students, teachers, principals, neighborhood organizations, the faith community, and business owners, and contains seven key elements: academic achievement, safety, high-quality staffing, appropriate use of funding, parent and community partnerships, accountability, and communication.

He has also put together a workforce-development plan with the Regional Employment Board to focus on what businesses are looking for and where the city needs to go in terms of educating students.

“There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we are moving forward in the right direction,” Sarno said. “Education is the key to reversing the poverty rate and dealing with social issues and ills.”

Other areas of focus are the truancy rate and teen pregnancy. “I am quite confident that we are working with the School Committee to move in the right direction. We will find creative ways to bring things back to schools, such as sports,” he said, adding that a partnership with Hampden Bank is helping to fund soccer and basketball teams.

The city has also received $20 million from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to rehabilitate the city’s schools, which is an ongoing project.

Students are connected to their neighborhoods, and home ownership keeps people vested in the community, said the mayor, adding that the city has instituted a “Buy Springfield Now” program with conferences for prospective homebuyers. More than 50 families have become homeowners as a result.

Sarno said the South End showcases the city’s effort to make neighborhoods attractive, with plans to double the size of Emerson Wright Park, extensive streetscape improvements, and the rehabilitation of run-down properties.

The city has also teamed up with Gov. Deval Patrick and HAPHousing to host a series of foreclosure-prevention workshops.

Sarno believes the newly elected City Council and School Committee will improve quality of life in the city. “Neighborhoods will have a stronger voice in decisions that impact the lives of their residents, and our city government will be more inclusive and more responsive. They will bring different voices and more inclusion,” he said, pointing out that voters approved ward representation because they wanted better performance from government.

“And they want it now,” he said.

The city’s new single-stream recycling program will save money and help keep neighborhoods clean. “It’s not only good for the environment, it’s good for the budget,” Sarno said.

The city has also been aggressive about seeking funding for private projects. “We secured $3.5 million in Neighborhood Stabilization funds in August, and have applied for more than $40 million in funding for 2010,” he said.

Overall, Sarno said, the outlook is positive, and “together we can make it happen. If, at the end of my tenure, people said I did a good job bringing the city back, it would mean more to me than a million dollars.”

That time isn’t up, obviously, but if persistence counts, the renaissance Sarno envisions, and his idea of marketing the city as a place where people “make it happen,” have a good shot at success.