Anderson council, city staff members pick next budget priorities

making choices:
City council members and department heads mark their favorite priority projects.

Anderson's five city council members and at least that many department supervisors took turns selecting their 12 top choices among 37 projects nominated for budgeting and council approval during the city's 2010-2012 budget cycle.

They did so by affixing adhesive-backed circles of colored paper alongside the project titles listed randomly on six large sheets of chart paper fastened to the walls beside and behind the council's dais.

Once the voting hubbub died down, it was plain to see which projects were obvious favorites.

In a first-place tie with 10 votes each, adding a maintenance worker to the Parks and Recreation staff and code enforcement/neighborhood improvement with special emphasis placed on cleaning up the following properties - California Gift Shop, City Grill, McMillan Hardware, Homebuilder Supply, Bruno and the former Bank of America/Sheriff's substation - drew the most votes.

Second priority status, with nine votes each, went to expanding the police department facility as well as construction of a community gymnasium in partnership with one or more of the local school districts.

Third place, also a tie with eight votes each, was shared by automating the city's water meter reading process as well as providing city water to The Vineyards at Anderson, a subdivision south of town that could have as many as 5,500 up-scale houses built in the hills behind Wal-Mart on Rhonda Road.

A three-way tie for fourth place honors go to projects to exit the Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA) consortium in order to create Anderson's own mass transit system, provide public improvements to Freeman Street and construct phases II and III of the Anderson River Park amphitheater improvements.

Fifth-place priority was placed, according to the preliminary round of voting, on two projects: providing city water and sewer facilities to the Bellevue-Ox Yoke area and updating the Public Works Department's portion of the city's municipal code.

Five projects drew an equal number of votes for consideration in sixth place. They include: adding back laid off staff members when economic conditions improve, moving the community Christmas tree to Fire Station No. 1, attracting new businesses to the downtown core area of North Street and East Center Street, approving a specific development plan for The Vineyards at Anderson subdivision and, finally, beefing up enforcement and collection of fines for violating planning and municipal codes.

When appropriate budgets are developed for each item chosen, the council will then decide more formally a timetable for each item deemed a priority, City Manager Scott Morgan indicated.