The Greek philosopher Plato nailed it, saying, “This city is what it is because our citizens are what they are.”
Each day, we get up and have a choice in how we show up. Our attitudes as community members shape and create the place we live, and I couldn’t be more proud of Durango.
We are a vocal and outspoken community, and resident engagement continues to impress me with people who care deeply for this beautiful place. Whether or not we as residents agree on certain topics, I believe there is a common thread that weaves this community’s fabric together: We all want the best for our family, friends and Durango overall.
Each week, Durango City Council is faced with a litany of items for discussion and ultimately decision. Topics range from creating housing opportunities to maintaining our infrastructure, and all the while we are paying laser-focused attention to our fluctuating sales tax numbers, which are critical to our decisions and necessary to balance our budget each year.
In order to stay focused among myriad items we are faced with for our community, council took time a few years ago to sit down together and hash out a clear set of overarching goals. Goals are the first step in the journey and help provide motivation and clarity. They allow us all to measure progress, which leads to accountability and obligations to take action. Whether it be personal or professional, goals provide a clear understanding of what you are striving to accomplish and are critical in helping achieve the highest potential.
We created this road map to help navigate the decisions that are before us each week. While we reference council goals and objectives with each agenda item, I wanted to share them in a comprehensive way to help provide a better understanding of the basis of our decisions and to allow for your further engagement to provide the best we all can for our community.
Goal 1: Promote community sustainability through economic, organizational and environmental resiliency.Examples of this goal include evaluating economic fluctuations and adopting a sustainable city budget each year. We have also refined city staff personnel regulations and developed organizational core values. Thanks to city residents who provided overwhelming voter support for your dedicated half-cent sales tax, we are able to continue to acquire open space parcels for trails, new playgrounds for our kids and parks for all of us to take in the natural beauty that surrounds us.
Goal 2: Foster civic engagement and democracy by encouraging resident and youth participation, open and transparent government and regional leadership.We have an active and vibrant Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission and an extraordinary number of resident volunteers who serve on our city boards and commissions, all helping to advise us through the public process.
In our leadership roles, Councilor Brookie serves as the president of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns, Mayor Pro-Tem White has served as the president of the Southwest Colorado Council of Governments and I am now immediate past president of the Colorado Municipal League. We all volunteer extra time to ensure our community’s voice is heard and are able to further advocate for our residents.
Goal 3: Demonstrate government performance through efficient, effective and innovative city operations.Durango’s residents recognized the need to address our aging infrastructure with our water and sewer treatment plants. We needed to raise rates that had long been passed over in order to provide for and maintain our critical infrastructure. We are continuing to appropriate what funds we have available for street repairs and other aging facilities.
You will have the opportunity this fall to continue to invest in your community, and I would encourage you to vote “yes” on all three of the local ballot initiatives for our roads (1A), our airport (1B) and our children’s education (3A). For a median-priced home of $400,000, a “yes” vote on all three equates to approximately $170 per year ($14 per month) on a property tax bill, and La Plata County would still remain in the very lowest tier of property tax assessments in the entire state. This is a minimal investment overall that does so much for the community.
Goal 4: Envision Durango’s sense of place by creating character districts, promoting responsible land-use planning and maintaining the community’s sense of identity.We are working on updates to our Land Use and Development Code for clarity and a higher level of customer service, and many of you have attended our character district meetings for North Main Avenue and Camino del Rio.
We are shaping our community together to continue to enhance all the best we have to offer. I urge you to vote and invest in yourselves by doing so. It’s your city, and your actions and positive choices will be reflected for years to come.
Christina Rinderle is the mayor of Durango, a position rotating among members of Durango City Council. She was re-elected in 2013 and will serve as mayor until April 2017, when she will be succeeded by now-Mayor Pro Tem Dick White. Reach her at ChristinaRinderle@DurangoGov.org.
