Below are some areas that I would like to focus on in the next four years, should I be re-elected as your Council member. Some of these areas build on the work we've done together over the past eight years, while others are new steps to move us forward. I know that Roseville residents will also bring forward issues, ideas and concerns to shape the work we do. I welcome this input and am ready to hear from you as we build our future together. I will always seek out multiple points of information and feedback before making decisions, with the goal of doing what is best for the city as a whole.
Budget:
- For the 2021 budget my goal is to have something near a 0% increase in the tax levy for a median valued single family home. This will help families that have concerns about COVID-19 job loss or job reduction that has made personal budgets much more difficult.
- In the future, I will support budgets, as I have in the past, that balance making key investments desired by the community while watching the overall tax rate. Recent budgets have increased at essentially the rate of inflation to support ongoing operations and new investments; that balance continues to be my goal.
Community Development:
- In the area of community development, one of my biggest goals is to help the Rice and Larpenteur Alliance continue to thrive and make real change to improve lives in the area. I am a part of the ongoing work as both a resident and a Council member. This area has the highest concentration of poverty in our city. I am ready to help with needed investments in infrastructure as well as to support successful local businesses and safe housing.
- As we move through the economic challenges of COVID-19 I have supported two new programs the City Council is rolling out. Using our allocation of funding from the CARES Act we are helping support locally owned smaller businesses with a program tailored to compliment efforts by the County, State and Federal Government. We have a separate program designed to help people with rent and mortgage costs they cannot pay due to job losses from COVID-19. This program will help keep people safely in their homes preventing family disruption and homelessness.
- Another key goal is to continue to look for new ways to support our local businesses throughout the city so that they can survive and thrive into the future. We have developed a number of programs such as Grow Roseville and a relationship with Open to Business to help support our local companies by connecting them to City, County and State programs.
Environment and Infrastructure:
- I want to continue to pursue carbon-free energy sources such as solar to run our city operations. I would also like to help more residents find ways to add solar or other renewable energy sources to their homes.
- I would like to consider reducing or eliminating the use of single-use plastics and styrofoam in our city operations and city businesses. Other cities have done this in a phased and supportive way to help businesses make the switch. There are now many sources for low-cost alternatives.
- We need to continue to work on improving our infrastructure’s ability to handle major storm events and other natural disasters that are becoming more common. This work is under way but will require ongoing efforts with residents, the county, the state and our local watershed districts to address flooding issues and other consequences of major storm events.
Park and Recreation:
- I will encourage and support current efforts by our Parks and Recreation department to review program offerings and look for new events, sports and community entertainment that reflect the interests and cultures of our more diverse community.
- I will encourage and support ongoing efforts to restore and maintain our parkland, streams and lakes to protect our highly-valued natural resources and gathering spaces.
- I will support the continued expansion of our sidewalk and pathway system to provide more safe routes through the city and a healthy alternative to traveling in cars.
Public Safety:
- Our first goal must be community-based work to address systemic racism and ensure that our police department continues to expand positive policies and actions that build trust and safety for all. Please see my Equity page for much more on these efforts.
- We must also continue investments in fire personnel that respond to resident interests for fast call response times, professional service and close community connections.