A PUBLICATION OF THE CITY OF HILLSBORO Volume IX Issue 2
Mayor’s Corner
My job as mayor sometimes takes me to other cities around our great nation. I always try to pick up the local paper when I am traveling to get a feel of the issues facing other communities. Too often, the Mayor Jerry Willey headlines are about misconduct of a city employee or department, drastic budget cuts or a disgraced public official. It gives me pause and makes me glad I live in Hillsboro. Through sound fiscal planning, we have been able to weather the hard economic times of the last two years and continue to deliver the high level of services our citizens expect. Only a small number of our staff went to a reduced work week for a little over one year because all our departments worked together to reduce the impact on a single department. We do not face drastic budget cuts because we are efficient and frugal. We are blessed to have corporate citizens who are involved in many aspects of making our city great. They adopt parks, help with clean-up projects, provide financial support for events, and participate in Hillsboro 2020 Vision activities. They don’t just do business in Hillsboro, they are part of our community. Through community policing, our police department forges partnerships to keep our city safe and a great place to live, work, and visit. Our police department staff and community partners work together to educate our citizens about crime prevention and ways to build safe neighborhoods. This progressive model of policing has proven to be a powerful tool in preventing crimes. The department maximizes conflict resolution and minimizes the need for force while keeping our community safe. Our fire department, the other arm of our public safety efforts, now meets a four minute travel time response to emergencies over 75% of the time. We See Mayor, Cont’d., page 7
April 2011
Green Hillsboro The city of Hillsboro “walks its talk” to borrow a popular cliché. Sustainability is not just a “buzz” word for the organization; it is becoming part of the city’s fabric influencing the way it does business. Our City Council has identified sustainability as a top priority and because sustainability is one of the council’s five goals, they have directed staff to “assess city operations to identify issues and opportunities and implement enhanced sustainable practices.” As part of that goal, the city adopted its first Sustainability Plan for internal operations in October, 2010. The plan established long term sustainability goals and priority projects for the next 20 years. GREEN BUILDING EFFORTS Our ITF (Inter Modal Transit Facility) provides 794 vehicle parking spaces and includes 13 stateof-the-art charging stations for electric vehicles. The ITF is also home to the region’s first bicycle commuter station, BikeStation Hillsboro, a secure facility complete with 40 hooks for bicycles, lockers, showers, restrooms and a bicycle service area. Our newest fire station, Cherry Lane, is designed to meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Standard for environmentally friendly design and construction. This new station requires less electricity and water to operate while providing a healthier work and living environment for the firefighters. A roof-mounted 21kW solar array produces electricity for the building, high-efficiency lighting and the use of City Sustainability, Cont’d. page 5 1