It's January, and time to state goals for the coming year. This I shall do---later. First, however, I need to account for last year's goals.
I articulated my 2007 goals last
January, then reported progress in
June. Here's where they stand today:
1.
Support the Mayor's outlined objectives: Secondary irrigation is well underway and the sensitive lands ordinance was adopted. Transportation initiatives, downtown revitalization, and broadband transitioning are still in progress.
2.
Become a Tree City, USA. The requirements were met and the application submitted. See my blog entries
here,
here, and
here.
3.
Upgrade the Arts Council by-laws. New by-laws were adopted in August and a governing board was appointed in November. More
here,
here, and
here.
4.
Establish a partnership with The Music School to stabilize Concerts in the Park. This was a successful partnership. May the 2008 series be equally successful.
5.
Inventory the library's holdings. Here I did not succeed. The Library's Collection Development Policy, adopted in 2007, contains this statement:
As the American Fork community grows rapidly, the ability to assess and meet the informational and recreational reading needs of the community is critical to providing the quality library services and collections that are expected by our citizens.
I had envisioned an assessment tool to allow us to list, for each decade of the Dewey decimal system, the strengths and weaknesses of our collection. The librarians, however, have persuaded me that library science does not include such precise measurement techniques. How exactly do we establish what the core collection should be for, say, Dewey decimal number 730, plastic arts?
When at first you don't succeed, reevaluate. With or without an assessment tool, two essential facts remain: Our collection is significantly outdated, and our collection budget figures at one-third to one-half that of comparable libraries. Needless to say, a new goal for addressing the problem will appear on my list for 2008.
6.
Establish strong public communications policies and procedures. January's water bill included a redesign of the newsletter that I can live with. Next up: the City Web site.
7.
Create a mission statement for Economic Development. Done. See post
here.
8.
Install and repair sidewalks in the Shelley School Area. See post,
here. This is
still under design. The wheels of government, especially federal government, turn much too slowly for my liking.
9.
Finally finish the parks bond by installing curb and gutter at Art Dye. This is still not finished, and I'm fit to be tied. Why such delays, you ask? The short answer is: Red tape. This one goes back on the list for 2008.
10.
Do all the above with no tax increases. Yes, we made it through 2007 with no tax increases. I dislike paying my taxes as much as anybody -- but we're not likely to make more progress on arts, parks, or the library without raising dedicated revenues for these causes. This is why the Council is considering asking the voters in 2008 for a RAP tax or a library tax. Or some combination of both. For further information, read Caleb Warnock's article in Friday's
Daily Herald.