If you’ve followed me on Council, you are probably familiar with the back of my notebook. I’ve referred to it several times, often holding it up when I do. On the back there is a list of my priorities, rank-ordered. These guidelines are an important part of my decision making.
When the Council is considering whether to spend money on something, or initiate a new program, my decision is usually guided by this checklist. A fundamental question, before I get to that list, is whether it is something we “need” as opposed to something we “want.” In our current austerity mode, with a zero growth budget as the goal, this is an important analysis. This is where otherwise worthy projects may not make the grade, in my opinion anyway.
To qualify as a “need,” and to get my vote, the item must also fall within one of my priorities, particularly when it is competing with other projects for funding – which brings us to the back of the notebook.
The list is preceded with the note: Citizen Survey: Small town atmosphere. Citizen surveys in Rowlett over the past ten years or so clearly show, by an overwhelming majority, an emphasis and high priority on small town atmosphere. This is a guiding principle for me, representing an objective report on the vision expressed by the majority of citizens. This is, after all, their City.
1. In reaching for the goal of a sustainable community representing that vision, my list leads off with PUBLIC SAFETY. The subheadings are: Safety, both real and perceived; Doesn’t require the latest and greatest equipment; Does require motivated, well trained, professional public safety officers; and Not a profit center. Very simply, if citizens don’t feel safe in their community, nothing else matters. It doesn’t make any difference how pleasing the city is to the eye or how many conveniences we have or what our tax rate is.
2. INFRASTRUCTURE. This is, very simply, a basic government function. The subheading is Budget for continuous maintenance.
3. CITY STAFF. Every service delivered by the City to the citizens is created by, procured by, administered by, and monitored by an employee of the City. The quality of our service to the citizens is directly related to the quality of our staff. Subheadings are: Take care of your people and they’ll take care of you; Service oriented – must like their job to do it well; Asking fewer to do more in hard times; and Retention: need continuity for the future. These are basic leadership principles.
4. PARKS, GREENSPACE & STREETSCAPES. While some folks would not rank these quite so highly in tough times, they are actually very important. They contribute to the sense of place that makes a community sustainable. And, as I’ve noted in other posts, quality of place is right at the top of the checklist for economic developers. Businesses want to locate where they and their employees will enjoy working and living – thus the single sub-heading: Important for economic development.
The balance of my little guide, not rank ordered:
- Quality of Place – livable community (Citizen Survey).
- Patience – must wait until it becomes a seller’s market.
- “Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality.” G. Santayana. (You didn’t think I had all of those quotes memorized did you?)
- Importance of downtown – form based codes?
- Regularly update Comprehensive Plan, Zoning.
This is the priority list that I’ve followed for the last three years. It has helped me immensely, allowed me to stay focused on what is important and necessary to achieve our vision.
Application of this is subjective, of course, because the proponent of an expense is probably convinced that it is very needed. There can also be some difference of opinion on council about that as well. As noted by a local poster who reviewed the votes on Council for the past three years, I haven’t always agreed about what constituted a “need”:
“If you look at my post of split decisions, you will notice that [Chad McEntee] happens to be running against the MOST CONSERVATIVE council member on council. If you look back past the split decisions Chris Kilgore has MORE No votes for spending than any other sitting member of council. MAYOR INCLUDED. Seems like he should have done some research first … .”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Feel free to check out my checklist the next time you’re at a Council meeting. I’m always pleased to show it off. I also entertain suggestions for additions, revisions, but it has changed very little in three years. But try me anyway.
