Where did this summer go? It seems like it goes by faster and faster every year! Nonetheless, it has been an exciting summer full of centennial-related and other events. Kudos to the Centennial Commission, its chair Liz Schweitzer and events staff who’ve made this milestone year so enjoyable for the community. Thanks also go out to DPW staff who kept the city looking beautiful despite record high temperatures and very little rain at the beginning of the summer.

I’d also like to highlight the outstanding efforts of the Police Department for their work during Welcome Week. By strategically working with other law enforcement agencies, both plainclothes and uniformed officers were able to minimize negative consequences of Welcome Week. A special thanks goes to Chief Tom Wibert who worked with the CRC and volunteers to assemble and distribute information packets to students in record time!

With the return of students and the onset of fall, City Council has resumed its weekly meeting schedule and the pace has really picked up – you can almost feel it in the air. As we kick off this busy season I’d like to share with you highlights of a strategic planning retreat that was held on Wednesday, September 12. Titled “Creating Greatness” the purpose of the session was to gather feedback from the 65 participants in order to shape a vision for the city and the internal organization. Participants included directors, managers and frontline staff, both union and non-union. Seating was assigned so that there was a mix of staff from different department and different levels of the organization. We spent time affirming our mission: “Quality Services for a Quality Community” and brainstorming a vision for the city for the year 2012. We also began to identify Strategic Priorities for the City Council’s consideration. The next step in carrying this initiative forward is to discuss it with all interested city employees at the All City Staff Meeting scheduled to take place on October 23rd.

And last thing, I’m sure the legislative standstill on the budget hasn’t escaped anyone’s attention – democrats and republicans can’t seem to reach across the aisle while even the UAW and GM can come to a tentative agreement in the wee hours of the morning! As far as we’re concerned the word is that statutory revenue sharing (the discretionary funding that is allocated by the legislature) has been frozen for FY 2008 at current levels. While this holds us harmless, it does not reflect the increased costs that we incur doing business (like a COLA). We have also been told that Fire Protection Grant Funding has been cut drastically but hold out hope that this is just a bargaining strategy between the two houses of the legislature. I must say, however, that Rep. Mark Meadows and Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, continue to be passionate on behalf of critical funding for our community.

I look forward to meeting with you on the 23rd!