I was woken this morning by a text from a dear friend alerting me to a Facebook post about the ladies room at the Farmer's Market being out of toilet paper. True to form, I responded to the post and made a phone call to get it taken care of; but being Mayor is much more than replying on Facebook and more than informing the community of upcoming road closures.
When I was on City Council for 11 years, our job was to set policy. As Mayor, I moved from that legislative role, to an executive role. In our strong mayor form of government, the Mayor is the CEO of the city: a $12M city with over 50 full time employees and over 12,070 residents.
In our strong mayor form of government, I am not just the face of the city. I am responsible for the general welfare of the city. City staff members ultimately report to me. I direct the administrative structure, have the responsibility (I hate the word "Power") to hire and fire personnel, appoint individuals to our various advisory commissions (council confirms the appointments), prepare the annual budget along side the staff, and oversee daily operations. I preside over council meetings, serve as the policy leader for the community, providing policy information and recommendations to the council, and ensure that that city ordinances and state laws are enforced.
As the face of the City, I do represent Liberty Lake in meetings and presentations to other governmental units, businesses, community groups, and on all of the boards and commissions of which I am a member (for a list, please see the home page of this website).
And last, but certainly NOT least, I work with residents of the community in receiving comments and complaints and seeking appropriate responses, in conjunction with the City Administrator and, if needed, the council.
Please read my previous blogs and the rest of this website to learn more about the things we are doing at City Hall to ensure smooth and efficient operations to provide the best services possible at the lowest cost to our residents.
Of course, you can always call me to chat or to set up a time to meet! 513-519-8720