|
|||||||
|
|
Overview: Sustainability with AccountabilityFollow the money. Budget is policy.
Taxpayers should see public priorities reflected in the County budget. Words like 'unprecedented, game-changing and unforseen' are swirling about us. Nobody has the perfect answers, guarantees or magic formulas. It's hard, sometimes numbing, work to keep things going in bad times. Resilient policy moves us from reactive to innovative. It's pretty clear that the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners were reaching toward an abundant future when they described 7 Priority Areas over a decade ago. The County did pretty well for a while. We had enough money to do more than what was mandated. The picture looks different now. Raising the bar doesn't look possible, but we don't want to lower our expectations. Yet, our future depends on what we do as officials and as residents, in the present. Right now. Drawing on our experience and working together on solutions, makes our chances better to survive and to create an abundant future that we might have thought was out of reach. Resilient Policy
Resilient policy guides difficult decisions in times of crisis, and prepares us to deal with unforseen events. Resilient policy is the leavening for a full-loaf future. Core Responsibilities
By making sure that core responsibilities are sufficiently funded, Washtenaw County strengthens the civic infrastructure that effectively delivers critical services. Future Abundance
There is no use in simply scrambling for sarce resources in the presence of abundant creativity and imagination. Working together for livable communities, we will create sustainable abundance. Do you have plans?
Current economic pressures are hard on both individuals and their governments. Because our governments are constitutionally "of, by and for" the people, government is also a reflection of our own ups and downs. Good government is more than crisis management. Resilience gets us to success. Do you ever eat out? Do you drink water? Most County services aren't optional. Services like public health services, elections, records, licenses, revenue management, jails, policing, courts, restaurant inspections, emergency management and water quality are fundamental to the quality of life.
Sustainability: It's the good life. Washtenaw County residents have the creativity and imagination to respond positively to change. That's what justifies confidence in an abundant future that we create together.
Planning
Whatever it was, Washtenaw County no longer has an "Office of Strategic Planning". More and more, with every action, it is the Board of Commissioners who plan for sustainability. Not only do plans help advance our values, but they also prepare local governments to respond to both emergencies and opportunities for outside stimulus and enhancement funding. With up-to-date community-based plans at the ready, county government can bring in funds that make our tax dollars go farther. |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
