January 17, 2010 - On January 12th, the council completed a governance workshop and confirmed the strategy for 2010. The priorities and key priorities are listed below:
5 Year Goals
Saturday, 16 January 2010 00:00
January 16, 2010 - The December building report is out for Ankeny and there is some good economic news in the report. In December 2009, there were 44 residential building permits pulled versus 11 in December 2008. Valuations of these permits went from roughly $2.8 million in 2008 to $9.6 million in 2009, which supported a gain for the year of nearly 20%, compared to 2008. This is encouraging in that it shows there is some light at the end of the economic tunnel. New commercial permit valuations were up 19% over 2008 as well, again, showing some economic signs of life.
While we are far from the significant run of new residential and commercial permit number of a few years past, these are positive signs for our community. Here's a link to the full report
Monday, 04 January 2010 15:49
January 4, 2010 - It's been an amazing year getting prepared for the possible opportunity of serving as an Ankeny City Councilman and the day is finally here. Wow. I can't believe that a little over a year ago I began the investigative process of determining if this was something that was right for me, my family and the citizens of Ankeny. As time went on, the more excited and committed I became about this challenge. Now it's time for action and I couldn't be happier to represent the citizens of Ankeny. Some of the immediate issues that we will need to address are city appointments. These are critical because they set the tone for how the city will interact with its' constituents. Additionally, we have a significant challenge of approving the strategic plan, balancing the operating budget and determining the level of capital improvements that we can afford. None of these are inconsequential and will require thorough examination and evaluation. It all starts tonight with my swearing in. Thanks to everyone for making this possible.Tuesday, 22 December 2009 02:48
December 22, 2009 - DMACC announced this weekend that they have received funding for a wind turbine to be placed on the Ankeny campus for educational purposes and power generation. This will supplement the classroom learning about sustainable resources of power and also provide much-needed hands-on experience for students.This is a great opportunity for DMACC. The downside: The tower will be 100' tall, easily making it the tallest structure in Ankeny. Current the metro Des Moines cities are working on a resolution to address the growing number of requests to install small scale wind turbines on personal property. This appears to be a classic case of NIMBY (Not in my back yard). Many people think wind turbines are great but keep them on the other side of town.
My question for the citizens of Ankeny: What do you think about this tower in your community? What is five businesses decided to install them? What about a backyard neighbor? This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I am a strong proponent of sustainable energy but this has me concerned.
December 9, 2009 - The city manager today annouced a wage freeze for all non-union employees. This was done in response to the challenging economic times that we are enduring. While there are some glimpses of light at the end of the economic tunnel, we still have many dark days ahead and must plan our budgets accordingly. The sacrifices that many of us in the private sector has been feeling will now be felt in the public sector as well. Here are a few key points:
The same offer has been made to our two unions, who are up for renewal. We have a great city staff and your efforts are appreciated by the council. Your willingness to share in the solution to our economic challenges is appreciated.
December 9, 2009 - We've recently begun the process of evaluating the Capital Improvements Program for 2010-2014 and it's quite a list of intiatives to be evaluated. There are millions attached to street projects, the 36th Street interchange, Prairie Trail development, parks, etc. The list seems endless. However, there is some good news about the approach the city manager has put forward. Given the economy, the city manager has trimmed the 5 year CIP budget by $14 million dollars. Unfortunately, that is not going to be enough to maintain our debt levy.
Here's the deal: The current debt levy is $3.49 for every $1,000 of taxable value. Between past committments and future desires, that is not enough revenue to pay for the capital projects. The city manager has outlined four options to resolve this, all with a projected increase in the tax rate. Some of the options include incremental increases each year. I call this the boiled frog approach and am not comfortable with this. Other options include taking the hit all at once. While less attractive personally, this does provide for a sense of stability to both residential and commercial tax payers. I'd like to look further though to see what we can do to minimize the increase or maintain the rate. I'll be reviewing the proposed CIP budget line-by-line and encourage your to do so as well. If you have thoguhts on the priorities, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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