By Staff
During its planning session last week, Washington’s City Council adopted a list of city-wide priorities for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
It’s an impressive list. It’s an aggressive list. It’s a list of priorities that can be met.
The list of city-wide priorities includes some but not all of priorities each city department identified as objectives that each department wants to accomplish. The following items are on the list of city-wide objectives:
Each of those priorities, if accomplished, will result in an improved quality of life for Washington residents and city employees.
A new police station would mean police officers would be better able to perform their duties, on and off the streets. That would help make the city safer. A new police station would allow the police department to take on community policing initiatives and provide space for community outreach programs.
A new police station would help the department meet accepted accreditation standards. The existing police station went into service in 1975.
Sewer improvements on the east side of the city would enable the city to help address health and environmental concerns. Those improvements would also help the city better provide sewer service to the northern and eastern areas of the city.
At their meeting last week, council members and the mayor chose replacing temporary restrooms and boater facilities as one of the top two goals they want to accomplish during the next two fiscal years. Giving that priority top status is a good idea.
The “temporary” restrooms and boater facilities at the west end of Stewart Parkway have been there since 2003.
If nothing else, those restrooms and facilities are an eyesore and constant maintenance burden, according to city officials. Council members, particularly Councilman Archie Jennings, believes the city must address that issue as soon as possible.
To help pay for many of these priority projects, the city is aggressively seeking funding sources such as grants and low-interest loans. Other funding resources may include issuing bonds and direct allocations from state and/or federal governments.
The council, mayor and other city officials talked a good game last week. What happens in the next two fiscal years will show whether or not they turned that talk into action.