Over the past three plus years, our administration and City Council have taken a much deeper look at how our City operates. We've looked at our finances, our personnel practices, our infrastructure, our policies, our records, and the way we make decisions.
What we've learned is that many of the challenges facing our City today did not suddenly appear. Some have been developing for years. Some for decades.
We are simply the leadership team that reached the point where many of those decisions could no longer be postponed.
And that's an important distinction. This isn't about looking backward and assigning blame. It's about looking honestly at where we are today. Because if we refuse to acknowledge how we got here, we have very little chance of making sure we don't end up in the same place again.
Over the next several weeks, I want to share some of what we've discovered and, more importantly, what we've been doing about it.
We'll talk about the City's budget process and why we changed the way we develop our annual budget.
We'll talk about personnel practices, accountability, employee evaluations, job descriptions, and the work we've done to bring our policies into compliance with current laws and standards.
We'll talk about infrastructure— our water system, wastewater system, roads, drainage, and the consequences of years of deferred investment.
We'll talk about planning, including our GIS system and our new Capital Improvement Plan, because responsible government isn't just about solving today's emergency. It's about knowing what is coming next.
Some of this work is visible. Much of it isn't.
There is no ribbon cutting for a completely rewritten employee handbook. There isn't much excitement surrounding a new system for mapping underground water lines. A fiveyear capital improvement plan isn't something most people will notice driving down Main Street.
But those things matter.
They are the foundation of a City that is better organized, better informed, and better prepared to make responsible decisions.
And sometimes responsible leadership means making a decision today that is harder than doing nothing - but much easier for the people who come after us.
I've told our staff that my position is temporary. And whether that means two years, six years, or many years from now is ultimately up to the voters. But whenever my time as Mayor ends, my responsibility is the same: Leave this City in better condition than I found it.
I don't want the next mayor to inherit the same problems I inherited.
I want that person to inherit better records, better policies, better financial planning, better infrastructure information, and a City that is better prepared to face whatever comes next.
My goal isn't simply to serve as Mayor. My goal is to make this job easier for the person who serves after me. That, to me, is what stewardship looks like.
And that's why, over the next several weeks, I'm going to tell you about some of the changes we've made - and why they were necessary.