The
Mayor oversees all of the departments and coordinates their
functions so that the community receives all of the services
that they require. The Mayor has an Administrative Assistant who
is a great help in looking after the needs of our City.
The
Mayor prepares the annual budget by interviewing all of the
department heads. This way, they know what is expected of them
for the coming year. I spend a lot of time talking and visiting
with our citizens when complaints come in and I like to tour the
City at least once a week to look for problems and/or to make
sure that Council policy is being carried out by our
departments.
I
usually get to the office around 7:00 AM and stay until 5:00 PM.
We keep the office open during the noon hour, which gives our
citizens an opportunity to contact us. I have an open door
policy. You do not need an appointment to see me. All calls to
our office are handled. Almost all of them are handled
immediately and if not, we seek information on calls and return
them, if at all possible, before we leave for the day. We do not
view complaint calls as a nuisance, but rather an opportunity to
improve the services that we provide.
My
background is that I am a graduate of high school and of a trade
apprenticeship program. Shortly after the apprenticeship, I
started my own business and retained ownership of it for 38
years and when I left it, 35 people were employed there and they
still are today.
In
1980, I was elected to the City Council and served 4 years.
Then, in 1993, I was elected Mayor to fill a vacancy for one
year. I was elected to the Council in 1996 and served two years.
I lost the election to be Mayor, but was elected one year later
to the Council to fill a vacancy. In 2001 I was elected Mayor
and my term will be up at the end of 2005.
I
maintain a very busy schedule and attend many meetings after
hours and on weekends. I try to be available to our citizens at
all times, if possible, and find that this builds a good
relationship with our citizens as well as helping me to know
what is happening in our City.
