AUBURN — Three new goals — plotting a vision for future development decisions, getting residents and citizens more involved and promoting community safety — could soon be on City Manager Clinton Deschene’s to-do list.
On Tuesday, councilors reviewed a proposed work plan for Deschene and the municipal staff for the coming year.
Deschene said the list of items in the plan he compiled will be used to help determine spending priorities as he and his staff develop a proposed budget in the coming weeks.
“It’s not like there’s one key thing here that changes everything else,” Deschene said. “It’s all part of a grander scheme: goal-setting, agendas, council meetings, work plans and the state budget. All of these things have an impact. But this makes it clear that there is a set of priorities the city needs to work on.”
Deschene compiled the work plan based on suggestions from individual councilors. He and councilors agreed to review the list and discuss it at their Feb. 25 workshop meeting.
The eight-item list includes projects that are under way, including opening a twin-rink ice arena this year, working toward a public vote on building a new high school and adopting a budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
It also calls for creating an economic development plan that is specifically geared toward Auburn.
“It does not mean Auburn only,” Deschene said. “It means looking at economic development from an Auburn perspective.”
Steps in that work plan would include reviewing past economic development successes and failures, including the city’s foreign trade zone, its industrial parks and transportation plans.
Another item calls for hosting neighborhood meetings around the city this summer to encourage residents to be more involved in city business and decisions.
Other items in the work plan are: encouraging safe work environments for city staff, developing a better orientation program for new city councilors and getting financial reports, labor negotiation updates and policy discussions to councilors in a more timely manner.
“There is no council commitment at this point or any indication that they liked or disliked any of them,” Deschene said.
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