Minority hiring, extending water and sewer service, and city expansion are ambitions for city officials.
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published July 30, 2003
DADE CITY - Acknowledging serious financial problems, city commissioners on Tuesday refused to give up and instead considered an ambitious course for the future.
Commissioners agreed the budget must be dealt with first - something they plan to tackle at a workshop meeting Thursday - but the city can't retreat, Mayor Scott Black said.
In their first goal-setting session with new City Manager Harold Sample and City Attorney Karla Owens, commissioners considered expanding water and sewer service, hiring more minorities, extending city boundaries, luring new business and making city government more responsive to residents.
Black said the board will have to recover from its problems first, but the city isn't alone in its fiscal troubles, and the future isn't bleak.
"The buck does stop here. There is no doubt there have been some things in the past that we could have done differently," he said. "But this is a cyclical thing. I'm convinced. This is something that's going to turn around."
And not everything needs to cost money. Some things, Black said, can simply involve changing attitudes and focusing on customer service or being responsive to requests from potential developers.
Commissioner Eunice Penix said another priority needs to be bringing more minorities into the city's work force.
"I don't know what percentage it is (now)," she said. "But it's way down compared to other cities."
Adding minority representation would open City Hall to more residents, she said.
"The sleeping giant in the city now is the Latino population," Black agreed.
Commissioner Hutch Brock said the city needs to see where it stands on financial matters, a situation that has the board scrambling to find new sources of revenue and savings before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The level of services should be evaluated, and commissioners need to review all the real estate the city holds and decide what the future holds for each parcel. In addition to City Hall, the city owns a fire station, police station, the old Tampa Electric Co. regional office, and the regional Department of Children and Families building on State Road 52.
Brock also said the city must stay involved in groundwater pumping issues in east Pasco, consider joining Pasco County government buying plans for large items, and push ahead with quality of life issues such as the YMCA and a downtown walking and biking trail.
Black said the city should work to change attitudes and create an expectation of excellence, not only among city employees but among residents.
Sample said he would organize the goals and suggestions offered Tuesday and ask commissioners to prioritize them for the new administration.
