Commissioners Determine 2011 Goals

The Plymouth City Commission, at a special meeting Monday night, determined what its goals will be for 2011, and the result is a focus on five key areas the administration and the elected commission believe will benefit residents the most.

The goals include making sure the fire/public safety issue is resolved, that relations with the Downtown Development Authority continue to thrive, that a five year-budget is debated and secured to give officials, that the Daisy wall and other development goals are met, and that the city's liquor licensing polices are ironed out.

"We do this at the end of each year to make sure our staff, the administration and the commission is working toward common goals and addressing the same issues," said city manager Paul Sincock, who participated in the session with the city's six commissioners.

The goals were prioritized based on recommendations from the commissioners and Sincock.

Though commissioners chose not to rank the order of the goals, individual members believe some issues will be addressed sooner than others.

"I would like to see the public safety issue be the first priority," said commissioner Ron Loiselle, who said there should be a focus on hiring more officers than the department called for in case some of the officers do not make it through a rigorous probationary period.

"I would hate to see us in May having to begin the process [of hiring] all over again," he said. "I think we can find somewhere else in the budget to cut." 

Public safety

The next several weeks will likely focus on whether the city will create a stand-alone public safety department, or whether another partnership will be sought.

Mayor Dan Dwyer said he hasn't heard much from the public regarding the end of the city and township's agreement, but did say that would likely change.

"I expect to hear about this soon," he said.

During the year, the city commissioned a study that outlined the costs of having a public safety department. The plan would involve cross training police officers to be firefighters, and possibly adding staff.

Also, a garage located in the back of the building would serve as the fire department, but would require renovations.

The issue will likely be picked up in January because the fire department needs to be up and running when the joint agreement with the township expires on Dec. 31, 2011.

Budget projections

A multi-year budget would help the city better project areas that need attention, or possible cutbacks, before the situation reaches a crisis point, according to Sincock.

"It's something that would help us better analyze our resources," he said.

The five-year budget would account for state shared revenue projections, reduced property tax projections and reduced court revenue projections.

Downtown development, parking

The city hopes to resolve long-standing parking problems in the downtown area buy exploring and implement low-cost solutions. The parking issue is one that is not easily resolved because building a new structure would cost the city $5 million dollars, an expenditure the city cannot afford, Loiselle said.

"It doesn't cost much money to paint lines on the pavement," he said.

The commission also vowed to work closely with the DDA to continue to expand the area's business base and improve synergies between the two entities.

"There used to be a time when the city and the DDA didn't work together," DDA director Tony Bruscato said. "But it hasn't been a problem in a long time, and we'll continue to work well together."

An emphasis will be placed on streetscape improvements in 2011 that are currently under way. 

Daisy wall, liquor licensing

The long-term dispute over the Daisy wall should be solved in a way that will satisfy all stakeholders, according to the commission.

The planned development that would retain the wall was given an extension by the planning commission and affirmed by the commission Monday.

The city hopes to be able to maximize the effects of liquor licensing by placing a moratorium on the number of licenses granted in the city. Meetings have taken place for several months, and the committee examining the issue will not likely raise the number of licenses issued in the city.