The Caribou city manager’s goals

    While the City Council is responsible for evaluating, amending, acting upon, and voting on proposed legislation and regulations for the city, the job of managing administrative operations and advising the Council members falls to their appointee and City Manager, Steven Buck. Recently, the Council met with Mr. Buck and subsequently agreed upon a set of goals meant to guide the city manager during the next year.
    Council members proposed the following set of goals for Mr. Buck who will:
• continue to strengthen Caribou’s position as a regional service center community.
• preserve the city’s overall position on Segment 4 leading up to and including construction.
• educate the public on the pending June election as it pertains to a Charter Commission.
• maintain due diligence over budget administration and minimize the impacts pending in the 2010 Municipal Budget.
• preserve the city’s position in the acquisition and re-use of the Loran C Station, Caribou and establish public-private partnership to expand regional economic development from the re-use.
    Mr. Buck has always maintained his own set of yearly goals and provided this list to the City Council. Many of these goals are ongoing while others are tied to upcoming projects for the city. Mr. Buck will:
• maintain and improve the fiscal position of the municipal operation.
• achieve greater economies of scale through efficiencies and regionalized services.
• restore the department of community development.
• expand non-property tax revenue,
• ensure smooth transitions within the organizational structure.
• develop a cost-effective way to implement GIS.
• take advantage of professional development opportunities.
    Progress on these goals will be measured informally through the update portion of each City Council meeting. A more formal review will be made by the Council with Mr. Buck at the end of the calendar year.
    Mr. Buck made progress toward his fiscal goal at the Feb. 22 workshop when he worked with the councilors present to address the serious budget deficits resulting from the cost shifts at the state and federal levels. The council is determined to provide services to Caribou’s citizens, and Mr. Buck has been working with the department heads to find savings. Everything suggested has been put on the table, but at this workshop, Mr. Buck was asked to identify alternate savings in order to maintain the outdoor pool in the budget as a vital part of our recreation program which mainly benefits the children of this community.
    The next budget meeting will be held in the Council Chambers on March 3, 2010.