DOWNEY — Downey Mayor Mario Trujillo took center stage at the Rio Hondo Event Center on Wednesday, giving an update of Downey’s accomplishments over the last year to a full house of city business owners, leaders, volunteers, and officials.

At the yearly event, hosted by the Downey Chamber of Commerce, Trujillo was outspokenly positive about the city’s current standing.

“Downey is safe. Downey is thriving; we’re doing well. We could always use more funds,” said Trujillo.

Trujillo also offered praise to his council colleagues.

“You see my council colleagues, whether we disagree, I will tell you this: this council works hard. This council is committed, this council is passionate about what we are doing for this city,” said Trujillo.

The address was given differently this year, with Trujillo opting to give his updates via a pre-recorded video.

During Trujillo’s term as mayor, the city was able to fill all the holes in its administrative leadership, while also producing its twelfth consecutive balanced budget.

As part of Fiscal Year 2024/25, the city appropriated $284 million in funds, including an over $130 million general fund budget against revenues exceeding $132 million. The majority was spent on public safety.

The city also secured over $17 million in grants, Trujillo said.

Downey has seen several new businesses come to the city, including Avenue Pizzeria, Sephora, Nothing Bunt Cakes, Silverlake Ramen, and a new Chick fil A. Other projects, including Sprouts and Shake Shack, continue to be in development.

The city has also partnered with City Net for homeless outreach, and now has two designated case mangers who work to help transition those experiencing homelessness into housing and connecting them to resources.

Most recently, the city took a huge step towards the upcoming Columbia Memorial Space Center expansion, moving the space shuttle mock up Inspiration out of storage and to its temporary restoration site last week.

Trujillo said that Downey has a reputation.

“Downey has a certain reputation, a certain je ne sais quoi about it,” said Trujillo. “I want to assure you that we realize how important Downey is to you as it is to us.”

There were several special guests in attendance, including Senator Bob Archuleta, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, and Congressman Robert Garcia.

Garcia commended Downey and its leadership.

“The one thing as a former mayor that is very clear is that Downey is a very well-run city,” said Garcia. “You have excellent public service officials; you have excellent public safety leadership. You have a community that’s engaged. You obviously have a business community that cares about its residents, and you have people that love being in Downey, love living here to enjoy all the great food, opportunities, nightlife, restaurants, all the things you have.”