For Immediate Release

Back to Littleton Press Room

City Council Adopts Series of Operating Agreements for 2012-2013

The Littleton City Council formally adopted its Vision and Goals, Protocols and Standards of Conduct, and Legislative Rules for 2012-2013 at its meeting January 17. The council also undertook four hours of Public Official Legal and Liability Training January 10 led by Acting City Attorney Kirsten Crawford and Tami Tanoue, in-house general counsel for the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency.

Combined, the four courses titled City Council University, included more than 20 hours of discussion developed by City Manager Michael Penny. “With a new city council seated in November, it’s important that council members begin their terms with a framework for how they will operate over the next two years. The feedback I heard from council members is that they thought the sessions were informative and the discussion productive. I’m excited to move the staff forward to implement these goals.”

The Public Official Legal and Liability Training included topics such as: the Home Rule Charter, Open Meeting Requirements, Executive Sessions, Electronic Communications, Ethics, Quasi-Judicial Hearings, and Ex Parte Contacts.

The adopted Vision Statement: To preserve a family-oriented and economically vibrant community that encourages citizen involvement, respects diversity, values community character, and enhances the quality of life of Littleton residents and visitors.

The Goals and Objectives are:

1. Assure a financially-sound city government
   Objectives: Develop a budget process that provides the ability to evaluate costs/benefits along with program prioritization; deliver innovative, cost-efficient municipal services; and research and pursue alternative revenue sources.
     
2. Provide a safe community to live, work and play
   Objectives: Provide a comprehensive evaluation of city service that meets the needs of the community; provide police protection, code enforcement, and other services that meet the needs of the community with a specific focus on the northeast neighborhood; provide fire protection and emergency medical services that meet the needs of the community and the city’s fire partners; focus on vehicular, bike, and pedestrian safety and accessibility improvement opportunities; improve the city’s ability to respond to emergencies; update the city’s Emergency Operations Plan; partner with other governmental and non-governmental agencies to maximize effectiveness in providing a safe community.
     
3. Develop and maintain the public infrastructure
   Objectives: Provide and maintain a high-quality public infrastructure that addresses the needs of residents, visitors, and businesses; develop an asset management plan to identify maintenance and capital investment needs of the public infrastructure; develop a Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant long-range plan.
     
4. Preserve and cultivate a quality community
   Objectives: Actions and decisions should follow a comprehensive review of all impacts and benefits, including the aggregate impact on the community’s property values; evaluate diversity, density, and quality of community housing stock and options for improvement; continue to update the 1981 Comprehensive Plan; evaluate ways to maintain Littleton as a community in which families wish to live and address the needs of the elderly; initiate a review and update of the city’s development and zoning codes to ensure ability to implement community goals; improve focus on immigration issues; encourage an appreciation of life-long learning, history, art, culture, and literacy through the library, museum, and community partners; enhance the quality of the city’s parks, trails, and open space system to increase the public’s use and enjoyment of them; develop a policy statement that addresses the trade-offs between preservation of open space and commercial development; maintain and enhance public art.
     
5. Pursue a balanced and sustainable local economy
   Objectives: Grow jobs and sales tax revenue by providing strategic assistance to Littleton businesses; take a proactive approach to recruiting businesses, retaining existing businesses, and assisting businesses wishing to expand; work with community partners to increase the number of events which draw citizens and visitors as well as focus on improving the quality of existing events; promote policies and practices which sustain the environment.
     
6. Promote environmental sustainability
   Objectives: Identify long-term cost-effective sustainable energy efficiencies for city operations, develop solid waste reduction targets, develop and implement an environmental stewardship and sustainability plan, take actions which are mindful of environmental impacts.
     
7. Foster community involvement, communication and trust
   Objectives: Ensure the city values, and is focused on, providing the highest level of service delivery with unwavering integrity and ethics; encourage continuous improvement by evaluating innovative ways to improve service delivery, and explore educated risks in the development of alternatives; explore options for improving citizen education about and involvement in their community; foster community spirit; evaluate ways to support local education organizations to maintain a high quality of educational opportunities within Littleton; improve ways to disseminate information to citizens (e.g., utilize technology to provide greater and more timely access to governmental information), develop a plan for a youth in government initiative to involve and educate youth and young adults about local government.