UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Utica Mayor David Roefaro today released details regarding the city master plan which was a focus of his campaign. The city has hired a Saratoga consulting firm to come up with a plan identifying the city's weaknesses and recommending ways to fix them. Planners with the firm say they'll rely heavily on local people to pinpoint the city's strengths and weaknesses.

"We're very interested in all the local stakeholders' input, local businesses, we'll be meeting with neighborhood associations, we want to get as broad and extensive input as we can get into this project," says Rob Holzman of Saratoga Associates.

The group has already subcontracted with three local consulting firms. So--why bother hiring an outside firm?

"Because we bring an outside perspective; we can see things a little more clearly sometimes untainted by the political perspectives of what's happening in the region or the place," says Holzman.

It will be 12 to 14 months to complete the master plan. It will focus, at first, on three areas of the city: the brewery district, downtown and Cornhill.

Utica Mayor David Roefaro calls the master a plan a road map to the city's success.

"It's just like a blueprint on a house; if you want to build a house, you know, without the blueprints, how do you know how to build it?"