PURPOSE OF CITY GOVERNMENT
I believe in service-based government of the people, by the people, and for the people; and I believe in limited government, especially at the State and Federal levels. That said, cities play a vital function to enhance our well-being, safety and quality of life. In general, cities have three main roles – providing services, exercising local control, and promoting a sense of community.
Services – Cities provide many services, including infrastructure, roads, parks, police, fire, etc. All of these are needed and critical for a thriving community. I am especially grateful for our police and fire workers and the incredible services they provide to keep us safe, and to be the “first responders” to the scariest of situations. Thank you to these great men and women!!!
Local Control – Local control is important in order to shape growth in a smart and visionary manner that preserves our heritage and values. That said, when we are doing our job on the City Council, there is an ever-present tension between local control, government overreach and constitutional rights of the City’s residents. Local control is more limited today because of recent legislative changes at the State level.
Community – Promoting a sense of community may be my favorite City function. I LOVE Peach Days and numerous other events that bring us together as a Community. I love our parks, our local theater, our rodeo grounds, and our recreation program. I love our churches, our schools, our farmer’s market, our heritage, our family-friendly flavor, and our inspiring sense of community and patriotism. I fully support City efforts to augment the small town feel of our City.
IMPORTANCE OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
When I first joined the City Council, I was struck by how much of what we do is reactionary rather than proactive. Most City Council members work full-time jobs and only have a few hours each week to prepare for City Council meetings. That limited time is spent scouring through hundreds of pages of materials, attending various board meetings, and researching the key issues on the agenda. In short, most of the available time and attention is focused on reacting to issues presented rather than thinking ahead to plan and act in a visionary manner.
One of the many things I have learned on the City Council is the importance of visionary leadership. We need to think big; long term. Development that is approved is here to stay, and, within legal limits, we need to shape the growth so our City remains/becomes what we want it to be. We need to appreciate the incredible beauty, recreational opportunities, and economic possibilities that surround us. As a City Council, we need to carefully examine things from many angles so we don’t embrace solutions that cause unanticipated problems.
I am grateful to our City staff who live in the trenches on a daily basis – they frequently have visionary insights, sage experience, and practical solutions for our City. We are also very blessed to have a very diligent Mayor, a mover and shaker, who puts in the time, asks tough questions, and leads with poise and profound love for our community.
SPENDING TAXPAYER MONEY
I believe that taxpayer money is sacred, and I am very conscientious about how City money is spent. One of the key duties of a City Council is to approve an annual budget and to approve City expenditures, big and small. I don’t take that duty lightly. Periodically, groups come to the City Council seeking donations, often for very benevolent purposes. Other times, the City Council is asked to approve actions costing the City large amounts of money to benefit a small handful of residents. While I am sympathetic to these various causes and often tempted to vote in favor of causes that tug at the heartstrings, I am generally reluctant to approve such requests because I don’t think it is a City’s job to allocate taxpayer money for charitable purposes or to give preferential treatment to a few people on the back of the taxpayer. Generosity is a quality that I admire deeply, but generosity with your taxpayer money is a whole different matter. I am very cognizant of my duties to the entire electorate, not just those (sometimes the vocal minority) who attend City meetings.
Prete for City Council 