Making government more efficient is a year-round job
School is back in session. Temperatures are falling ... a little. Football is in the air. And the Urban County Council is back to work after a brief summer break.
After weeks of work on the city budget, which involved a lot of long meetings, late nights and intense negotiations, it will be nice to get back to the day-to-day business of making city government work efficiently and effectively.
Going into the budget process, my goals were to preserve public safety and the delivery of basic services as our top priorities. Faced with a projected shortfall of over $25 million and all of the pressures to fund various projects and programs, I knew that it wouldn't be easy to keep our focus on basic needs.
In the end, we produced a budget that required some sacrifices. However, I think the finished product meets the goal I set at the beginning of making sure we didn't lose sight of our primary responsibility to make the community clean and safe for families and children.
Getting a budget passed is only one part of that process, and it is tougher in a difficult economy. Fiscal responsibility and accountability is an all-day, every-day task. Figuring out ways to make government work better, addressing real human needs and problems without simply throwing money at them, requires discipline and a commitment to constantly find ways to do more with less.
I have always liked the philosophy that integrity is how you behave when no one is looking. It's the same for government. The real work starts when the television lights are turned off and the newspaper headlines are focused on other things.
As chair of the council's Planning and Zoning Committee and a member of the Budget Committee, the Public Safety/Public Works Committee and the Environmental Quality Committee, I carry that philosophy with me in all that I do as your council representative.
Sonnet Cove demolition and renovation making progress
For those of you not traveling on Lakeshore past Henry Clay High School regularly, I would like to update you on the rehabilitation and demolition work going on in the greater Laketower area. The Sonnet Cove apartments were all sold to a new owner earlier this year and currently all of the buildings overlooking the water are being taken down by the same crew that did the Lexington Mall demolition earlier this year.
While a new development plan isn't complete there as of yet, the emerging view of the water from the street is quite special. The buildings from Seton Road up to Manor Drive are undergoing extensive and complete renovation. The current roof style will be replaced with more of an overhanging "prarie-esque" style along with all new interiors and appointments. That's the short update for now. Great things are afoot and I will pass along more details here soon, but take a drive down that way to see how it's all changing.
Summer parties and fall festivals
Having a lot of active neighborhood associations means having a lot of great opportunities for fellowship and fun. Summer picnics are making way for fall festivals, and everyone of them is a celebration of what makes the 5th Council District a special place in which to live.