2010-2011 Budget and Annual City Manager Evaluation On March 22, at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, the City Manager will present to the City Council the first draft of his proposed budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011). Given the difficult financial circumstances of the general economy, the budget will face astere cuts. The City Staff continues to work diligently to limit the potential impact on personnel and services.
At the same meeting, the City Council will conduct its formal annual evaluation of the City Manager. Although permitted by state statute to conduct the evaluation in a closed (executive) session, the City Manager prefers to conduct the evaluation as part of the regular meeting. In addition to the Council's comments, the public is encouraged to provide comments related to the Manager's evaluation.
Departments - City Manager
|  | Water and Sewer Rates The City Council raised the water and sewer rates earlier this year. The effective date of the rate increase was officially March 1, but, since billing is done of the fifteenth of each month, residents will not see the effect of the rate increase until their April bill (which is for March usage). Several residents questioned whether the City could go to quarterly billing, but, in an effort to enable residents to adjust to the new rates, monthly billing will continue. If specific savings can be recognized through quarterly billing, the City staff may consider recommending quarterly billing for residential customers. If you have any questions about your water and sewer bill, please contact City Hall.
Departments - Public Works Department
| | 2010 Census Census forms should be arriving this month to your homes. Please take the time to complete the Census. Since this national count is only conducted once every ten years, it is critical that area residents get counted. The results from the Census are used for a variety of purposes, from assigning U.S. Congressional seats to funding numerous governmental programs. A more detailed explanation of the Census and a copy of the Census form can be found here.
| | City Council Agenda- Mar. 8 The City Council will conduct its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m., at City Hall. The agenda for the meeting can be found here. The Mayor will deliver his annual State of the City address at this meeting. The public is encouraged to attend.
| | Manager Musings- Mar. 5 On Wednesday, the City welcomed two Russian exchange students for a brief visit at City Hall. Mayor Fred "Mac" Forter presented Miss Elizavetha (Liza) Kuzavanova (left, age 13) and Maria (Mary) Fomkina (right, age 15) with an official welcoming proclamation. Council member David Martin (far left) also had the opportunity to visit with the two students. Liza and Mary are from Surgut, Russia, a city of approximately 300,000 in Siberia. The exchange is part of a new effort on behalf of the Lingua Foundation for the Arts and Humanties under the direction of Dr. Ludmila Zhuravleva. Students participate in a city-wide essay-writing contest, examining "America and Russia: Is a Dialogue of Cultures Possible?" The winners of the contest, in this case Liza and Mary, receive a trip to the United States. Dr. Zhuravleva wishes to develop a sister-school relationship with a Michigan school, encouraging students and teachers to visit Surgut as part of this cultural effort. I will also work with Dr. Zhuravleva, who sits on the Surgut City Council, to foster a sister-city relationship. It was a pleasure to meet such wonderful ambassadors from a distant and "mysterious" place such as Siberia. With visits such as this, our fascination and respect for each other will continue to grow. Thank you, Dr. Zhuravleva, for your efforts, and best wishes for safe travel home, Liza and Maria. Do svidanya!
Departments - City Manager
| | Manager Musings- Mar. 2Recently,the City Council revised the City's snow removal ordinance. As a result of the discussions at City Council meetings, I believe that more residents became aware of the need to clear their sidewalks. Students, postal carriers, residents unable to drive, and those who simply want to walk require clear and safe sidewalks.
The last two snowfalls in the final weeks of February offered the first opportunity to see how area residents would respond to the new ordinance. Actually, I do not believe that residents clear sidewalks due to the threat of enforcement, but rather because it is the responsible and right thing to do in a community such as ours. Nevertheless, sidewalks clearance was remarkable! Thank you to everyone in the community who promptly cleared the sidewalks. I posted a note on both this web site as well as the City's Facebook site encouraging anyone who needed assistance to contact me. I received one request, and when I asked for volunteers to help this resident, plenty of volunteers immediately offered and, as a result, the resident's sidewalk and driveway were cleared. This is how a "sense of place" or community is developed and nurtured.
We're not quite clear of winter yet, so keep up the good work. Like you, I look forward to green grass and blue water soon.
Departments - City Manager
| | Intern Insights- Mar. 1Just an update on my internship and what's new. I've received my own personal project and I'm looking forward to it. Dale has given me the opportunity to organize an event for Flag Day on June 14th. I'm planning to get some local youths involved and allow them to express what our Country's flag means to them. It will be a fun-filled day and hopefully include food and music for those in attendance. Anyone looking to get involved with this event or help in any way can contact me at City Hall.
I also wanted to note that I attended the consolidation meeting on Tuesday and enjoyed every minute of it. I was glad to see that people came out an expressed their opinions and participated in the discussion. I was also proud to see that a couple of young adults voiced their concerns. With continued involvement, things can only get better for everyone.
-Matt Mariconi
Departments - City Manager
| | Manager Musings- Feb. 25Whew, finally a moment to catch my breath. It's been a busy week. Monday was typically busy as we prepared for the City Council meeting. Tuesday was spent preparing for the consolidation forum and Wednesday was spent re-counting the discussions of the forum to other officials, public, staff, and media that were not at the forum.
The feedback that I have received regarding the forum has been overwhelmingly positive: positive in the sense that we should continue the discussion to determine if any benefits would result from merging additional services, including governments. Residents are concerned about the cost of any such analysis or discussion. We'll have to find a way to continue with no cost to area taxpayers.
I want to thank everyone that took the opportunity to participate in the forum Tuesday evening. I thought the the crowd (approximately 250 people) was, for the most part, respectful and courteous. Most people were skeptical, as well they should be. We don't have any answers because we first wanted to hear your questions. Thank you for sharing your concerns that we will do our utmost to address should the discussion continue.
I welcome your comments on the forum. If you are interested in being part of any future discussions or dialogue, please also contact me at dmartin@cityofdavison.org.
Departments - City Manager
| | Manager Musings- Feb. 22With the heavy snowfall this morning, I left home earlier than usual. I stopped at a local coffee shop for a cup of coffee. The woman behind the counter made the comment that if the schools were closed, then everything should be closed. I told her that I worked for the City and that we couldn't close. In the worst of circumstances (and this snowfall does not rise to that level of severity), residents will expect city services to continue to operate. Roads need to be cleared, water still treated and pumped, police and fire still responsive, and office staff available. If a real emergency or disaster, city staff may have to provide these services with limited resources (power may be out, fuel may be in short supply, etc.) or while dealing with the same event on a personal level (is my family safe and well-provisioned?). Residents unquestionably expect critical city services to continue, and the staff is prepared to meet any challenges that would otherwise interrupt those services. We don't get snow days, and we're proud to assist and serve the residents on days like today.
Departments - City Manager
| | Manager Musings- Feb. 18So, have you opted to give up something for Lent? While the practice is not necessarily strong with my Presbyterian faith, I have often forsaken something during the Lenten season as a personal challenge. My biggest such challenge recently (not Lenten, though) was to give up chocolate, cookies, cakes, and similar sweets during December. It actually wasn't that difficult: with so much around, it was easy to be overwhelmed by everything and just walk away. It is usually pretty difficult for me to walk away from such goodies. I actually felt pretty good physically after that month, so I've opted to give up the same during Lent. I've added the extra challenge of giving up cheese. Man, do I love cheese. I'm giving up cheese just as a challenge to throw at my girls: they think I eat way too much cheese (they're probably right). Giving up a slice at a time as a snack should be pretty easy; the hard part is avoiding cheese in restaurants. It's in soups, salads, sandwiches, and pasta. It's going to be more difficult avoiding that cheese than the snack cheese. Oh well, it should make it more challenging (and it's probably better for me anyway). Good luck to you in overcoming whatever challenges you face during this season.
Departments - City Manager
| | January 25 Regular MeetingMinutes
| | January 18 Special MeetingMinutes
| | January 11 Regular MeetingMinutes
| | January 4 Special MeetingMinutes
| | December 14Minutes
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