City council sets its goals

The new Sisters City Council took office on January 10 and began implementing its goals for the coming year.

Early priorities included keeping the Sisters Recycle Center open seven days a week, moving management of the city's economic development manager position to Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) and expanding the city's enterprise zone to encompass more areas of the city. These objectives are underway.

The council met to set additional goals for 2013 in an all-day workshop on Saturday, January 19. "These goals are preliminary," noted City Manager Eileen Stein, "in recognition that many have a budgetary impact and therefore are still being researched."

The listed goals are:

• Ensure the smooth and timely completion of the Cascade Avenue improvement project.

• Ensure the smooth and timely annexation of the Sisters Airport property.

• Make public investment in parks and infrastructure to make Sisters a better place to live, to attract visitors, and ultimately new residents and businesses.

• Revise the city manager's performance review criteria to parallel city council goals and objectives for 2013.

• Tighten the city budget to balance without room tax revenue, creating an opportunity for additional investments in parks, infrastructure and promote economic development.

• Implement a City of Sisters Youth Initiative to engage the next generation in civic leadership and create tomorrow's community leaders.

• Increase the number of traded-sector companies and associated family-wage jobs in Sisters.

• Upgrade city utility rates to make them demand-based: water rates based on consumption and sewer rates based on system demand.

• Increase citizen involvement in city government from outside city limits.

• Ensure the city government is more integrated and supportive of community initiatives.

• Upgrade city technology to improve the city's web presence, showcase Sisters, improve public Internet access, link to other community websites, utilize social media, stream city council meetings, etc.

The council will continue discussing the goals in the context of the city budget in a budget strategy workshop scheduled for February 28 at 8 a.m. at city hall.