Issues
Where I stand on the issues…
As I have been knocking on doors in Kyle and speaking with you, my neighbors, the past few weeks, the following topics are on many people’s minds. I thought I would place my responses here for your consideration as you decide who will lead the City of Kyle in making policy decisions and setting its strategic direction.
Fiscal Responsibility and the Tax Rate
In our current economy, Kyle has managed to survive the national economic crisis, relatively well, but it is important to note that decisions about future capital projects will need to be planned so that we minimize the impact of tax increases for our citizens. Because of my concern for the impact that the tax rate has on Kyle’s citizens and families, I worked with Mayor Gonzalez and city staff to draft an ordinance and debt management policy for council consideration. This policy will set a threshold within which the city council would make decisions about the overall amount of debt we should carry, relative to city’s projected income each fiscal year.
Currently, the council has requested that staff bring forth information about the current percentage of debt, relative to the overall budget, in order to determine an appropriate cap, so that our initial policy is not adopted and we are already out of compliance with the policy. I believe that once passed, this will be a way for citizens to hold its elected officials accountable for making fiscally responsible decisions, helping to maintain an affordable tax rate, while not freezing taxes in the near future. It is still my intention to work with my fellow council members and city staff to find creative ways to fund projects, forge mutually beneficial partnerships and seeking grant funding, when possible.
Economic Development
Economic development is a priority of mine, as I chair the Economic Development and Tourism Committee. For a city our size, we have an above average number of active economic development projects. This is a great position for our city to be in and we need to continue to work through our economic development strategic plan, adopted by city council in 2007. While the budget for this department has increased minimally the staff has been able to work creatively toward meeting the short-term and long-term goals. You may view a copy of the plan at the following website: http://biz.cityofkyle.com/documents/kyle-plan.pdf We have made significant progress on 4 of the 5 short-term strategies and are actively pursuing ways to meet 2 of the 3 long-range strategies. I am very interested in pursuing opportunities to create public/private partnerships in the development of an industrial park so that we can infuse more job opportunities for our community. Additionally, the influx of health-related business is changing the landscape of our local economy and I expect this to become a strong factor in our vibrant, local economy.
As quoted from the strategic plan, “Kyle is well-situated to realize a vision as becoming the employment center for the Austin metropolitan region’s southern tier.” I would be happy to visit with you about our progress and where we still need to concentrate our efforts.
Austin Community College Annexation
An institution of higher education is one of the long-range strategic initiatives identified in the City of Kyle’s Economic Development Strategic Plan. City council recently passed a resolution in support of this project, advocating for the Northern Hays County location to be within the city limits of Kyle. Education is such a powerful asset for everyone, and the citizens of Kyle should expect that they have affordable and convenient access to higher education.
Planning for the Future
Kyle’s success will depend on having a clear plan for the future. I have always been an advocate of holding workshops for the council to have less structured discussions and really dissect issues related to forging a direction and/or policy for the city staff to implement. My focus in this area, as Mayor, would be to create a 15 to 20 year Capital Investment Program (versus the 5 year program we currently review each year), hold monthly workshops to review a variety of topics, including budget-related discussions, and set annual goals for the city manager and staff to use as they conduct the daily business of the city. Without clear goals, there is no “measuring stick” for city council to “grade” itself and city staff.
Community Engagement
Our city is filled with many citizens and families who are proud to live in Kyle. They want to preserve the charm of our history and plan progressively for the future. As a current city council member, I have held 3-4 Council Chats per year, offering an opportunity for citizens to receive updates about current projects, followed by an open Q&A forum. I will continue this commitment, as Mayor.
Additionally, I would like to continue meeting regularly with neighborhood representatives, as I have done previously. And, I believe we can review ways to create other opportunities to preserve our “small-town” feel with input from the residents of Kyle. Why should we have to celebrate important holidays outside of Kyle, when we should be able to come together as a community to celebrate our Veterns or MLK, Jr., for example?
Safety
The issue of safety has often been a topic of discussion for city council during my term of office. It has been a priority and I have supported various initiatives that have come before us, to ensure safety for our citizens. This includes initiatives, such as those that will keep children safe, as they travel to and from school, providing appropriate staffing of police officers throughout each shift to meet the community’s needs and traffic safety measures (e.g. striping for bicycle lanes, speed limits and one way signage, when needed).
