Redmond City Council's "30,000 foot level discussion"

Councilmember
Tom Flynn

Redmond City Council Focus Letter is traditionally written by their newest councilmember.  2012. 

Saturday, April 21st, 2012 turned out to be one those uncommon sunny 60-degree days that rain-weary residents hope to see on a spring weekend. As one of your City Councilmembers, I was sequestered in the annual council retreat with the Mayor, the rest of the council, and the city’s Directors. The aim of the meeting was to talk about the many needs of the city and to choose three of the highest priorities to focus on over the next two years.

As we sat in the sunlit meeting room, the discussion was aimed at the 30,000 foot level. This meant talking about exciting stuff like Vision—Objectives—Strategies. The group even discussed a SWOT analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats). This involved piles of colored markers, plenty of flip charts, and bottomless urns of coffee. Did I mention it was a sun filled day? At this point you hope that your city’s leadership team is filled with dedicated policy wonks.

I kid, but ... Read More >>
 this is important stuff for your community leaders to hash out.

With much gnashing of teeth and one or two arm wrestling matches, the group chose the following three objectives:

• Create a sustainable revenue stream to support operating and capital needs
• Create a sustainable, diverse, and vibrant economy
• Create greater community engagement and involvement  

The leadership group believed that each of these areas has room for improvement and was critical in achieving the city’s vision. The goal of the city’s leadership is to take these priorities and work them into the city’s Budgeting by Priorities process for the
2013-2014 biennium.

If you want to know in plain English just what these objectives mean, simply contact one of us on the council and we can perform the necessary translation.

As the meeting broke up, we headed home to enjoy the sunshine with our families. I learned that Chicago White Sox pitcher Phil Humber had pitched a perfect game against the Mariners at Safeco Field. Such perfection is rarely achieved in baseball. It is that same kind of high quality performance we strive for as your city’s leaders.