Our Community

The challenge for the Renton City Council going forward is managing how the city will provide services to the community in the face of economic shortfalls we are experiencing. We have already started to see the City of Renton starting to make cuts. Clearly further cuts and changes to services will need to occur. The City of Renton will have to make adjustments to the support and programs that it is able to provide in the future; the challenge will be striking the right balance so that we provide the right services within a realistic tax model. Key elements of programs that should occur between the city and the community are:

Safe Community - Safe City – One of the basic fundamental roles of government is to provide for the safety and security of our citizens. Priority of funding will increasingly need to be focused on our core Police, Fire, and Emergency Services.

Compassionate Social Services - The city needs to continue to provide core services to the most critically needy within our community. Providing basic needs, such as food and shelter to our low income residents, should be one of the key roles of government.

Critical Infrastructure - Local government has a fundamental role to ensure that the critical infrastructure of our city is maintained at acceptable levels. Road maintenance, snow clearing, sewers and water, are all basic services that the City of Renton needs to ensure that we provide to our citizens.

Our Vision

We are at a moment when there needs to be a fundamental re-evaluation of what services the City of Renton can provide. I believe as part of this discussion the Renton City Council needs to reassess what the long term vision of the city is and ensure that our strategies and economic plans are aligned to reach that vision. Renton is growing; currently we have a population of around 90,000 with a yearly budget of 240 million dollars. Renton is no longer the small bedroom community it once was and I believe in light of our new status we need to redefine what we want our city to look like in a decade.

Re-affirm our Vision – Renton is a great place to work and live. To continue in the right direction we need to plan and lay the right foundations for the city. What kind of retail stores to attract to Renton, the type of business and industries we encourage, and the type of new communities that we build, are all elements of what will define the future City of Renton. The vision can be what we make of it, but to be successful we need to ensure that all parts of the city government are aligned in that direction in the face of our future changing economic situation.

Shape a Positive Business Environment – The large number of vacant stores and business are a sign that we are becoming less economically viable to the business community. We need to determine what type of business environment we want to support within the city and focus our efforts and resources to best meet those needs.

Spend our Money Wisely - We need to continue to seek to be efficient in the manner in which we provide services to our community. The Renton City Council needs to reduce duplication and waste in our city budget. As a steward of our citizen’s money I will ensure that in these tough times we are as efficient as possible in the management of our city and that the services the city provides are focused towards a common, unified goal.