First 90 Days
Top Ten Mayor Priorities

Our most pressing short-term Town issue is the recessionary economy and our Budget Deficit.* As Mayor I will work with the Town Council to address immediate needs and continue to plan for the future and find new revenue streams and cost-savings measures for our Town. The “Top Ten” priorities focus on providing leadership for the following:

• New Business/Economic Development
• Small Businesses
• Community
• Town Staff

Leadership for New Business/Economic Development

1. Assign the Mayor and one member of the Town Council to serve on the Gilbert Economic Development Advisory Board (GEDAB).
2. Maintain the past GEDAB meeting frequency of monthly meetings (the 2009 plan is to move to quarterly meetings).
3. Set a deadline of 90 days to prepare a Strategic Direction Plan for attracting sustainable medium-large business operations to Gilbert. This plan will be created, discussed and agreed to by (with input from local business leaders):

• The Town Council
• The Town Business Development Team
• GEDAB (which includes leaders of our Chamber of Commerce)

Leadership for Small Businesses

4. Invite retired and current business executives to join and participate in a "New Business Think Tank" to meet quarterly with the specific purpose of sharing ideas and networking together on how to attract new business to Gilbert (we will enlist members of the NB Think Tank to function as ambassadors for the Town with our efforts)
5. Invite at least two dozen small business owners including both members and non-members of the Chamber of Commerce and Gilbert Small Business Alliance (GSBA) to attend a “Small Business Summit.” Those who participate will meet with and present issues to me and the Town employees who are most responsible for the current culture.
6. Identify an Ombudsman contact for business owners to approach with questions, concerns, and ideas. (I understand from the GSBA that this will be especially helpful for business owners to have someone walk them through processes involved with the Town and that GSBA feels that this can be a volunteer position through their organization).

Community Leadership

7. Work with our Congress of Neighborhoods to identify specific Home Owner Association (HOA) and neighborhood leaders who can serve as a point of contact for their areas to share and receive information with designated Town representatives.
8. Create a new email distribution list for Town citizens who want to receive updates on issues and provide feedback on how the Town might resolve specific issues.

Town Staff Leadership

9. Meet with each Town department within 90 days to gain a detailed understanding of our intended services, issues, needs and plans.
10. Introduce myself to each Town employee (and while I may not remember every name, I will make an effort to do so).

*Town Deficit Leadership: By the time a new Mayor takes office in June 09, the Town 09-10 Budget will have been approved. I commend efforts by the Town Council to request citizen input. For the future, I would increase efforts to invite our citizens to provide feedback and make it easier to share their thinking (including enhanced worksheets to provide specific budget input that would be available on web sites, through Town newsletters, and possibly local newspapers).

Click here to download the detailed plan
" The Need For Leadership"

Click here to access the local business feedback form
" Gilbert Business Scorecard"