ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis delivered his 19th annual State of the City Address Tuesday at City Hall.

A big part of his speech dealt with public safety. He says Part 1 crimes are down 21 percent, property crimes are down 15 percent, and robberies are down 51 percent in the city.

He there are still challenges primarily shoplifting, overdoses, and behavioral health calls.

He says he wants to find more ways all the cities in the region can work together on public safety issues so he is holding a public safety discussion on May 2nd at the airport fire station.

I want the public to say what they want to see when it comes to regional collaboration and public safety.  It's got to be a bottom-up approach for it to really work.

Kleis also announced the city will be asking the voters to approve a new fire station for south St. Cloud with a question on the ballot this November.

Earlier this year, the cities of St. Cloud and Waite Park signed an agreement where Waite Park pays St. Cloud for initial responses to fire calls.

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