Annual retreat looks to the future
Rocklin, Calif.- The Rocklin City Council met on Saturday, June 6th for its day-long annual retreat. The retreat was held at William Jessup University in Rocklin and was open to the public. The main purpose of the retreat this year was to define the City’s long-term vision. At the conclusion of this retreat, the City Council agreed that the long-term vision is for Rocklin to continue to be an attractive place to live and a family community with an abundance of unique amenities.
The City would have a stable city government, well-maintained infrastructure, vibrant commercial areas, and low crime levels similar to those that exist today. The City Council agreed that they will continue to follow the City’s General Plan which includes a healthy balance of development and open space and that they would actively pursue growth in private businesses that create high-quality jobs and improve the tax base.
While the purpose of the retreat was to define the City Council”s long-term vision of the City, given the present economic climate, the City Council also spent time defining a work program for the next 12 months, which will concentrate on addressing the precipitous drop in revenues experienced by the City.
Core services
Staff was directed to prepare information which will enable the Council to evaluate City services and choose those that are core services necessary to achieve the long-term vision and those that are nice to have, but not essential. Based on that list, the City Council intends to identify further options for reducing costs, after carefully analyzing the pros and cons and ramifications of any further reduction in services. The Council recognized that if revenues continue to drop and the State of California mandates additional cuts to city revenues, the City must consider all options to deal with these shortages. The Council intends to focus on proactive economic development for the next couple of years, particularly emphasizing recruitment and preservation of businesses that generate sales tax revenue. In the longer term, the City wants to focus additional economic development efforts to activities that bring in employers and businesses that create high quality jobs and opportunities for additional spending locally.
Mayor Peter Hill was enthusiastic about the outcome of the retreat. The Mayor stated that the retreat gave the City Council the opportunity to focus discussions about the long term future of the City and the immediate action steps that are necessary to continue marching towards this goal. Attending the retreat were the Mayor and Councilmembers, the City Clerk, the City Manager, and all the department directors. The retreat was facilitated by Laura Mason-Smith, a consultant with Mason-Smith Success Strategies.
(21+ years strong)
Welcome to the brighter side!