Rain, Rain Come My Way

Well, I said I would start my green-ness and here are the pictures to prove it. I'm no Bob Villa, let alone Bob the Builder, but I managed to construct a Rain Barrel out of both recycled and new material. First rainfall, it overflowed so it looks like step 2 of the project is to work on installing the overflow pipe to the old down spout.

Blogging Managers

Some months ago, I participated in an interview for an MPA research paper on local government managers that blog. The paper, written by Ryan Davidson of UNC Chapel Hill, is now available online via this link. I found it promising that my blog ranked 6th out of some 30-odd blogs based on the "reader engagement continuum" ranking system developed by Davidson for the paper.

Arbor Day Tree Planting

These pictures display how the combination of forward-thinking residents, college personnel, DPW staff and an array of shovel-bearing volunteers can turn a "regular" Arbor Day Tree Planting event into a community-wide celebration. What a wonderful event to be a part of! My wife and two young boys joined what looked like at least fifty "diggers" and "planters" in beautifying our community through the replanting of our urban forest. Fayette Street (which as Village Historian Jackie Morris eloquently discussed this morning, was originally named after the french diplomatLaFayette himself with a later dropping of the "La") was the site of our third annual planting. A total of 99 trees have been planted in vacant spots in the Village. Kudos to Margay Blackman and members of the Brockport Tree Board for their excellent efforts. Special thanks to Rick Lair who put on an impressive tutorial on the types of trees being planted and how to properly plant and secure a new tree.

Happy Earth Day

Also happy 60th to Jack Coyle!

Here's some links (to Earth Day info, not Jack Coyle)

Earth Day Wikipedia

Earth Day- US Government

International Earth Day

Green

Last night I got what I call "blost" or lost in the blogosphere. My subject: going green. I am not into trend-grabbing or hopping on bandwagons but the idea intrigued me and, honestly, purely from an economic standpoint. I thought - How can I save summer water costs by collecting rainwater? What is the ROI for PHV solar panel installations? Can I get rid of garbage costs entirely? (Answer- Not until wee Nicky is out of diapers). In any event, the lifestyle change began to interest me more than the dollar savings and I am starting to look at adjustments I can make in my daily activities and my "home operations" to become more green. Simple stuff like purchasing reusable grocery bags, replacing lightbulbs with CFLs, more conscientious recycling efforts, composting, etc. I know I am late to this game but better late than never.

Former Fire Chief Retires

Congratulations and Best Wishes to long-time Brockport employee and former Fire Chief Dan Zimmer on his retirement from the City of Rochester Office of Emergency Communications.

Click here for the press release.

National Libraries Week

From ICMA's Local Government Matters E-Newsletter

Local governments across the country benefit from the broad and diverse programming provided by public libraries. National Library Week, April 13-19, celebrates our country’s libraries and their librarians and offers us a reminder of the prominent role they play as the “go to” place for young and old alike. Libraries are the “third place” between home and school or home and work, offering cultural programs, Internet access, and other activities for all ages.

Libraries build communities by providing neighborhood stability and providing anchors and visitors to nearby shops and services. Libraries are connectors. As the role of libraries has evolved, they are contributing to community literacy, workforce development, and small business development by offering classes and programs to teach new skills.

During National Library Week, visit your public library and notice how its role has changed. Look for the indicators of a library providing the “third place,” building community, and contributing to workforce development. See the library as an agent of change, and take advantage of the expertise of the librarians in your community’s strategic planning activities.

Post Budget

Well, the dust is now settled on the budget approval process. We have a final budget. Tax bills will be mailed the first of June. So now what? Any municipal manager worth their salt will tell you that the budget process is never complete. For starters, we have a month and a half left in the current fiscal year, so we will be looking to stay within budgetary appropriations in departments and aim to be short of our projected expenses and above our estimated revenues. A lot to ask for but nevertheless reasonable goals. We'll continue to fight cost increases and look to maximize efficiencies (e.g., our recently negotiated 10% reduction in general liability costs). We will also begin fine-tuning our draft 5 Year Capital Improvement Program for Vehicles, Buildings and Equipment. I will then commence the lengthy process of developing a multi-year financial plan, modeled after successful plans in certain cities in NYS. This will alleviate end of year financial projection pressures and in my opinion, assist greatly with the budget development process.

I am looking forward to a year of financial planning, capital programming and efficiency-seeking initiatives.

Budget Documents; Press Releases

Final Budget (PDF) online here. Press Release on the Final budget here. Press release on Tree Board activities here.

Budget Passed

Final budget approved last night. Tax rate now $9.46/1000. Press release, final budget PDF and video of my budget presentation will be uploaded soon to both blog and village website.

Budget Meeting

Procrastinating over that spring cleaning work and want to get out of the house? Free at 4 pm today? Stop over at the Village Hall to hear a candid explanation of your Village Budget. We'll discuss tax rates, services, expenses, revenues, assessments, salaries, whatever you would like to talk about. It's a free-form, roundtable dicsussion on the 2008-09 tentative budget document and you're invited to attend.

Letter to the Editor

Great LTE, lifted from today's D&C:

Main St. decay's deep implications
The March 23 article "Village stores struggling" was a welcome reminder of the costs that big boxes and retail sprawl have on Main Streets and locally owned businesses. I'm sure many of us feel a sense of loss at the closing of these businesses. Missing from the article, however, was a consideration of just how great an economic loss this represents. The value of Main Streets is not simply the authentic alternative they provide to chain stores or the nostalgic longing that they satisfy. Money spent in local businesses is more likely to stay in the community, to pay local workers and suppliers, earn interest in local banks, pay for local advertising, be counted by local accountants and support local charities. This "local premium" pays significant dividends not paid by chain businesses.

Local businesses deserve our patronage. They also deserve the support of lawmakers. Zoning to limit store sizes and discourage sprawl, limits on subsidies to retailers, and efforts to ensure that developers bear the costs they impose on infrastructure are a good place to start.

—BILL LOFQUIST
GENESEO, LIVINGSTON COUNTY