PUNTA GORDA — Mayor Bill Albers explained why the City Council hiked the city’s property tax rate 17 percent last year, and why it’s now considering building a $28 million reverse-osmosis water plant to soften its water, during a state of the city address to the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

Albers, however, also touted a plethora of improvements in the Punta Gorda area over the last several years. They include the conversion of the former Municipal Mobile Home Park into the Laishley event park and marina, the development of two downtown hotels and the Sunloft center, and such events as the 2012 disabled sailing world championship, the city’s 125th anniversary celebration, and the Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association’s 50th anniversary celebration, which culminated in the Harbor Happening event.