Upon being elected mayor, Ravalomanana prioritized sanitation, security and public administration in the capital city. Provided a budget of approximately 11 million US dollars to manage Antananarivo, Ravalomanana took initiative to secure additional funds. He established a bank account for public and business contributions to city improvement projects, raising over $700,000 in six months. He obtained funds from international donors to establish garbage collection and disposal systems, restore dilapidated infrastructure such as roads and marketplaces and replant public gardens. He received regular guidance and council from Kurt Schmoke, recently Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, with whom he had developed a friendship through his biannual business trips to the United States as CEO of Tiko. To improve sanitation conditions in the city, he constructed public latrines in densely populated or highly frequented areas. During his tenure, construction in the capital increased sharply, with twelve new supermarkets constructed in two years. Ravalomanana launched an initiative to install or repair street lights throughout the city to improve nighttime safety. He increased the number of police officers on the streets, leading to a drop in crime. His relationship with President Ratsiraka remained good through his early tenure as mayor, although his decision on 28 June 2001 to eliminate "red zones" – areas of the city where public assembly and protests were prohibited – provoked Ratsiraka's strong disapproval.