Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo is destined to serve another four-year term through 2026 as no one stepped forward to challenge the mayor in the Nov. 8 municipal election.
The only thing now is for the incumbent to receive a few votes to make his election official.
Palazzolo, in his 18th year of service, said it’s a new feeling since he’s never run unopposed. And it’s a stark contrast to the suburb’s mayoral election of 2018, where Palazzolo edged then-alderman John Barzizza by 120 votes in a intense showdown.
Palazzolo served 2½ terms as alderman before winning the suburb’s top elected position in 2014, replacing Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy, who retired.
“My step count has gone from 20,000 to 15,000,” he joked of not having to campaign as hard for his third term as mayor.
He doesn’t have a clear answer as to why he didn’t draw opposition this time. He’s confident in the working relationship of the current aldermen. From 2014 until 2018, the board members would often engage in testy exchanges. Three new aldermen were elected in 2020 changing the tone of the city’s legislative body. The board is having vision sessions, discussing various ideas while trying to address residents’ concerns.
“The city’s had a pretty good run the last 30 years plus,” he said, crediting his predecessors Goldsworthy and former mayor Charles Salvaggio.
Over the last two years, the mayor has stressed what he calls “The Core Four” — public education, public infrastructure, public safety and parks. Capital improvements focus on those areas, and those priorities won’t change as he envisions his next term.
In the last two years, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and Board of Education have held dinner meetings to look for ways to work together while supporting the suburb’s youngest residents.
“We will continue partnering with great balance with our school district friends,” he said. “They are going to have some grand ideas for Houston Levee Park.”
The district acquired Houston Levee Park through a complicated land exchange in early 2020. The school district is finalizing their Houston High master plan and Houston Levee Park has potential to become athletic fields for the suburban system’s lone high school.
The city has seen retirements of some key leaders recently. City Administrator Jason Huisman was promoted to his role, but Palazzolo says succession planning, a pillar of the city’s business plan, is part of the suburb’s success. He praised Huisman’s determination to continually challenge staff to improve. Parks, fire, police and engineering have also seen promotions from within to higher positions.
There are large projects Palazzolo looks forward to continuing. The city will look for partnerships and state funding as it pursues an athletic complex in the southeastern portion of the suburb. Palazzolo also hopes for completion of the Greenway, although he notes that could take a decade.
In the next five years, he believes there is opportunity to add a police precinct to the existing eight.
“Not because we have a problem, but because we have to stay ahead of coverage and service,” he said. “Our residents are not shy about investing in public safety.”
Under Palazzolo, the police department has added three patrol districts, and GPD has received new tools such as a drone and body cameras.
The mayor looks forward to the city finishing its master stormwater plan to focus on flood-prone areas. The city is seeing the 100-year storm events often. In June 2019, a number of homes flooded putting a focus on drainage.
“You always manage stormwater. You can’t fix it permanently,” he said.
While Germantown touts its quality of life, it also looks for ways to continue improvement. He said the city always looks at cost-efficient services. He said the long-time employees the city retains help new employees learn the work ethic expected.
“I don’t see silos,” he said. “I see people working together without reservation. That should give citizens a rod of comfort. … We’re not perfect, but we strive to get as close to that as possible.”