Over the past year, I’ve shared thoughts about the City’s focus on better managing limited resources, getting more accomplished with less and increasing transparency in our City Council discussions and decision making. I believe we have learned valuable lessons while adjusting to the economic downturn. I also believe there are more opportunities for positive changes on the horizon.
I think 2010 will be noted as the year in which the City Council extended our hand toward intergovernmental collaboration and harmony among local governments.
The Town of Port Royal and The City of Beaufort have had a collaborative fire service for many years, with one Fire Chief and administrative staff instead of two, ensuring more tax dollars for preventing and fighting fires rather than simply managing a fire department. Furthermore, Beaufort and Port Royal collaborate on recycling which has proven to be more efficient than when we each went our own way. This is just the beginning.
Mayor Sam Murray and I recently signed Resolutions, passed by our respective Councils, directing staff to explore additional avenues for partnering. This “could” open the door to further collaboration on collecting garbage and yard debris, providing more predictable and efficient development services, business license administration, codes enforcement and possibly other services which cities and towns provide to their residents and businesses.
Furthermore Beaufort and Port Royal recently established an Urban Storm Water Management Policy Statement that complement’s Beaufort County’s new suburban and rural storm water policy.
Notwithstanding collaboration, Port Royal will always be Port Royal and Beaufort will always be Beaufort with our distinctive personalities and independent governance accountable to our respective citizenry. But, as we work toward meeting common interests, we can create more efficiency, less waste and even better service delivery.
Beaufort and Port Royal have engaged Beaufort County Council to achieve more seamless service delivery and efficiency throughout Northern Beaufort County. Adoption of the Northern Regional Plan last year set the stage for this to happen.
An early sign of success is that, unlike ten years ago when we passed our plans irrespective of each other’s interests, our comprehensive plans of 2010 complement each other with common elements, not the least of which is controlling sprawl, promoting infill development and smart growth and, where appropriate, unified development standards and ordinances.
Port Royal and Beaufort have benefitted from joint planning. Because it has worked so well so, want to expand this collaboration to include county planners. Accordingly, we invited County Council to appoint members to what we propose to call “The Beaufort – Port Royal Metropolitan Planning Commission.” By doing this we believe we can achieve consistency and predictability across jurisdictional boundaries and avoid the annexation wars of past years. While each community will ultimately have the final say as to what happens within its jurisdiction, the three governments working more closely will increase the possibilities of better coordination, less duplication and more efficient delivery of services.
As reported in last week’s news, the three governments are exploring, along with the Lowcountry Council of Governments with significant financial support from the Department of Defense, a process which will provide for the transfer of development rights to preserve air space for MCAS which may be a necessity in the future.
And finally, in an effort to achieve more predictable development standards, we are collaboratively exploring a unified development code whose implementation will ensure smarter growth, more efficient service delivery while protecting the property rights of landowners. The result would be a “form based” code. We will be hearing more about that this in the coming weeks.
I would be remiss if I led you to believe that these kinds of changes come easily. They require extensive discussion and adequate time for give and take among elected officials, staff and the public. Furthermore they are predicated upon acceptance that change and improvements are for the greater good and not simply mantles upon which politicians can become elected.
The process of renewed collaboration started before I became Mayor.
Former County Councilman Skeet Von Harten and his north of the Broad County Council Colleagues, along with my predecessor and Mayor Sam Murray, invested several years setting the stage for the Northern Regional Plan which was adopted shortly after I was elected. It is my honor and responsibility to work on the Northern Regional Plan Implementation Committee, side by side with City Councilman Mike Sutton, Mayor Murray, Port Royal Councilman Vernon DeLoach and Beaufort County Council members and chaired by our able leader Jim Hicks, to implement the plan and achieve the results our citizens deserve.