Keeping extra busy with training, recruitments, and goal setting

It has been a busy few weeks here at the City:

Emergency Training
Many city staff, along with staff from SOU and the City of Medford, have been participating in a weekly training regarding the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS is the system put in place by the Federal Government to ensure local entities are able, as much as their resources allow, to handle emergencies.

In the NIMS training we have been learning about Incident Command leadership structure, required Federal forms, common terminology, and how to pre-plan (as much as it is ever possible) for the types of emergencies most likely to affect our city (such as; fire, flood, and earthquake.) In light of the tragedy currently happening in Haiti, the training has taken on an extra bit of timeliness for those of us participating.

IT Director
Last Thursday and Friday we interviewed the top five candidates for Information Technology Director. The general consensus amongst those who were involved was that the process was good, the candidates were excellent, and that no matter what the final decision is we will end up with a very good IT Director. We hope to announce the name of the new director in the next couple of weeks. A special thanks especially to everyone who participated in the process.

Goal Setting
Tomorrow, the City Council will have a special meeting regarding goal setting. They will review the current list of Council Goals and make any necessary modifications, additions or subtractions. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on the goals, vision and values during our August and September public feedback time. Your input has already proven to be very helpful to the Council as they entire into the annual goal setting process. For those who have not yet taken a peek at the responses from our community, they can all be found here.

Mayor's State of the City Speech

For those of you who were unable to attend Tuesday's City Council meeting, here is the written text of Mayor Stromberg's State of the City 2010 speech.

Thanks to RVTV, you may also view the speech by clicking on the January 5 council meeting video, found here.

2010 Preview

Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful start to the New Year. Here in the City Administration office, 2010 is already looking to be a busy year. We thought you'd like to have a peek at just a small hand-full of the projects we will be working on in the coming year:

IT Director. We are in the tail end of the recruitment process for hiring a new IT Director. On Thursday, January 14, 2010 we will be holding a Candidate Reception & Open House. The reception will be held from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers located at 1175 East Main Street. Keep your eye out here for more information about the candidates.

Economic Development. The economic development process officially kicked off in December and we expect it will continue for the rest of the year. In April or May we will begin the public outreach and input process based on the work started at the Committee level. The goal is to have projects and/or policies ready for approval and implementation, by the City government, the business community, and other key stakeholders, toward the end of the year.

2010 Census. The 2010 Census kicks off in March. Residents can expect to receive letters in early March notifying them that the census forms will arrive between March 15 and 17. For more information visit www.census.gov.

Social Media. Along with this blog, we are taking our first steps into the vibrant (and only slightly scary) world of social media. Look for us soon on Facebook and Twitter!

There are many other exciting topics, projects, and challenges we will be working this year, so keep your eyes on this blog or the City's website for more details!

Let the 2010 excitement begin!


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A quick reminder:

On Saturday, January 9th, the Ashland Boy Scouts, Troop 112, will be joining the Ashland Host Lion's Club in the annual Christmas Tree Recycle Day. Be sure to place your tree on the curb by Friday January 8th, and the scouts will pick up and shred it for use on City Parks and Recreation trails. Many thanks to the Boy Scouts and the Lion's Club for their hard work on this project, those of us who frequent the City trails appreciate the help in keeping them well maintained.