As readers of this blog well-know by now, your MesaZona blogger is not a person who accepts things at face-value. Therefore, that's the reason for insertion of the animated .gif that opens this post. Let's just call it a healthy informed skepticism based on past practices of city officials while most members of the public here in Mesa tend to tune-out when it's time to either know or find out what their elected government is doing or planning to do . . .
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We're not quite ready to feel a need to become 'watch-dogs'.
However, when few residents or citizens here in Mesa have historically not been involved or not engaged - or more importantly not informed - in what both elected and salaried city officials are doing, there's a gap and a big hole in representative democracy.
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Here's a rundown of the agenda for a Special Mesa City Council Strategic Planning Session that was held at 07:30 a.m. last Wednesday on Valentine's Day - not exactly the best time for the public to have an opportunity to attend on a mid-week working day.
Since this special planning session was held outside of the usual City Council Chambers location, it could be expected that the proceedings were not either live-streamed in real-time or recorded for later broadcast by city-owned Mesa Channel 11 or uploaded to YouTube.
We won't have a public record of the special strategic planning session until 3 business days after February 14th. Since city offices are closed on Fridays, and it's a holiday tomorrow for Presidents' Day, the most likely day to see the official minutes (or a video) won't be provided until almost a week afterwards.
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1 Mayor's welcome, introductions, and purpose of the Strategic Planning Session
2 Presentations and discussions relating to City operations:
> Item 2-a 19-0158
Hear a presentation and discuss the City’s forecast highlights including Mesa’s financial and economic trends.
Hear a presentation and discuss the City’s forecast highlights including Mesa’s financial and economic trends.
> Item 2-b 19-0159
Hear a presentation and discuss current national, regional, and local trends affecting the City including demographics and census information and the City Departments’ key initiatives and projects
Hear a presentation and discuss current national, regional, and local trends affecting the City including demographics and census information and the City Departments’ key initiatives and projects
3 Presentations and discussions relating to the City Council Strategic Priorities:
> Item 3-a 19-0160
Hear a presentation and discuss the categories of the existing City Council Strategic Priorities (Community Safety, Transforming Neighborhoods, Placemaking, Skilled and Talented Workforce, and Sustainable Economy.)
Hear a presentation and discuss the categories of the existing City Council Strategic Priorities (Community Safety, Transforming Neighborhoods, Placemaking, Skilled and Talented Workforce, and Sustainable Economy.)
> Item 3-b 19-0161
Participate in a facilitated discussion by the Council with the purpose of establishing a shared vision and direction relating to the City Council Strategic Priorities
Participate in a facilitated discussion by the Council with the purpose of establishing a shared vision and direction relating to the City Council Strategic Priorities
4 Closing remarks and discussion on the next steps relating to the City Council
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Item 2 Financial Highlights
[8 pages]
BRIAN A. RITSCHEL, MANAGEMENT & BUDGET DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Item 3 National-Regional-Local Awareness [13 pages]
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Interesting to note that City Manager Chris Brady chose to use a survey and estimates.
One of the bullet-points is highlighted for what appears to be questionable.
Another bullet-point for Median Household Income citywide might be broken down by either City Council districts, zip codes or census tracts to provide more clarity for the disparities throughout the city on unequal distribution of incomes.
_________________________________________________________________________________Item 3 National-Regional-Local Awareness [13 pages]
CHRIS BRADY, CITY MANAGER
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Interesting to note that City Manager Chris Brady chose to use a survey and estimates.
One of the bullet-points is highlighted for what appears to be questionable.
Another bullet-point for Median Household Income citywide might be broken down by either City Council districts, zip codes or census tracts to provide more clarity for the disparities throughout the city on unequal distribution of incomes.
American Community Survey 5-yr. estimates (Census 2020)
• Mesa Population (2019): 496,401
• Median Household Income: $52,155
• Persons in poverty, percent: 15.8%
• Educational Attainment, percentage high school graduate or higher: 87.7%
• Median Housing Value: $187,900
• Total Housing Units: 206,406
• Percent households w/broadband internet subscription 80.6%
PLEASE NOTE:
All of the above content is directly from http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
MEETING DETAILS:
| Meeting Name: | City Council Strategic Planning Session | Agenda status: | Final |
| Meeting date/time: | 2/14/2019 7:30 AM | Minutes status: | Draft |
| Meeting location: | Benedictine University - Community Room 225 East Main Street Mesa, AZ 85201 | ||
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