At a time when there is such a broad disconnect between citizens and their government, something very special is happening here in Beaufort. I believe there is more trust and collaboration between the City of Beaufort and our residents than we have seen in many years.  Despite the financial meltdown, life goes on because we are all working together to keep our hometown one of the most special places in the world. Let me share some of what I see.  

Early Saturday morning before the Water Festival parade, I observed “the daily meeting” among City officials. Attending were our City’s Events Coordinator, Finance Director and Police Liaison, along with Water Festival organizers (Program Coordinator Bob Bible –next year’s Commodore– and his team) and representatives from City partners (The Greenery and Lanier Parking). As they reviewed issues from the previous day and tied up loose ends in the “plan for the day,” I saw government folks working seamlessly with volunteers for the community good. Alongside the adults was a high school student who spent the week working to achieve her “community service” credits for a school project.  Accordingly, it was no surprise that all of the streets around the parade route were clean and ready for parade viewers. I also knew that what appeared to be the last “float” in the parade was actually two men blowing debris in front of a privately operated street sweeper followed by a golf cart with trash containers collecting used cups, soft drink cans, candy wrappers and other trash from citizens as they were leaving the parade route.  “WOW” I thought, which led me to reflect on other demonstrable moments throughout the week. 

I pondered news stories of the week that highlighted long time Water Festival volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the past 55 years; I thought about how fortunate we are to have the committed and diligent volunteers of  the Fripp Island Water Rescue Squad (and others with whom they work) who help those in need:  I reflected on my meeting with Lantz Price who volunteered employees from Plums and Saltus to kick-start commercial recycling downtown. 

What could make a Mayor happier than seeing people coming together to make their hometown an even better place?   

Last week I read the story of a small town in California that closed its doors because officials  had mismanaged public funds, paid their staff exorbitant salaries, were financially ruined and had lost the public trust. Private contractors, to whom government was outsourced, were in charge. 

While I do not proscribe outsourcing all functions of city government, outsourcing decisions we have made over the past year are paying off and more than just financially.  Firstly, our Public Works Department can now focus on public works issues like maintaining the storm water system which they never got to because they were so focused on collecting garbage and maintaining parks.  Secondly, the City and our new partners have enlisted a willing public to help make improvements we perhaps never thought of and could otherwise not afford. Let me mention a few.

Volunteers, through neighborhood associations, with the help from City Police and Fire Departments, have — in less than a year – helped collect more than 310 tons of junk. This was refuse that was difficult to dispose of and included bulky items such as beds, bicycles, tires and batteries, paint, wood and furniture that was in the way, unsightly and presented a fire hazard to homeowners.   

Volunteers, again though neighborhood associations, worked several Saturdays with professionals from The Greenery to clean up and beautify selected spots within neighborhoods. 

Garden Club volunteers, inspired by an employee from “Buds and Blooms,” enlisted City staff  (Public Works and Parks Department) and from The Greenery to host an early Saturday morning seminar on best practices for lawn maintenance and explanations of the new flowers in the Park and how to cultivate and maintain garden flowers.

Collaboration between government and the citizens is one of my personal goals and it is working. Now is not the time to stop and rest on our laurels!  Rather it is a time to take these models further as we have more work to do. 

Because they do not have neighborhood associations to be the eyes, ears and helpers, some areas of the City are not getting the attention they deserve and need. Last week I heard from a Mossy Oaks resident who referred to her neighborhood as the “outer edge of Beaufort.”  Her rationale, which I understand, was that her street needed attention and the City was not paying attention. A visit to the area proved her right and a Public Works crew responded by the end of the next day.  Had she not called, the issue still might not have been addressed and she might have continued to believe she lived in an “outer neighborhood” rather than in  Beaufort’s largest neighborhood.

I suggested that the resident attend the monthly meeting between City staff and neighborhood leaders. She did and reported her surprise to see the healthy give and take and solutions coming from people like her and not just from city employees. Hopefully, she will come back next month and bring neighbors who will make this message resonate through Mossy Oaks so that others will begin to work with us. 

Please understand that “working with us” does not just mean filing complaints; rather it means recommending workable solutions and lending a hand when the challenge of neighborhood clean-up begins.

I do not mean to suggest that all problems can be addressed immediately or completely. Some are financially costly and complicated and will take time. But without the dialogue and solution hunting sessions, it is likely less will be done.

Aside from keeping neighborhoods clean, I believe there are other challenges where partnerships between the City and its residents are necessary. Building Southside Park, working more closely with our police officers and firefighters on toward even better security and more fire prevention, helping each other adapt to a new parking system, developing a form-based code that reflects the culture and physical forms of our community and continuing to press for an Auxiliary Land Field for the Joint Strike Fighter are but a few of the challenges that lie ahead. 

Let’s continue to talk about them. Let’s use the examples set by others and continue to collaborate to move our community forward. This is the best way to ensure Beaufort will remain the best hometown in the world.           

Billy Keyserling                                  billyk@islc.net

 Fiscal Year 2010 Was A Very Good for the City of, Considering the Economic Downturn:  Accomplishing More with Less through More Efficient Management of Resources to Meet Community Needs
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The Following News Article was Reprinted from The Beaufort Tribune
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Beaufort boosts financial status while improving services 

Beaufort makes the most of its limited budgets, and still provides new and expanded services to residents, according to a recent city press release. Through strong financial management and City Council leadership, Beaufort found creative ways to provide exceptional services in 2009-2010 without extra money.

The Beaufort City Council recently approved its FY2011 budget and, in a look back at FY2010, City Manager Scott Dadson and his team showcased a detailed look at the City’s strong financial standing despite a national recession.

“Looking back, it was a pretty good year for us in the City, considering the economybeing the worst it’s been in 80 years. We saw our general fund grow by approximately $850,000 while doing amazing things to make Beaufort a better place to live,” Dadson said.

Among the encouraging signs: Building permits are up in 2010 compared to 2009, due in large part to better enforcement of permits for renovation work. “Business license fees are stable – which is better than seeing them decrease,” Dadson noted.

“The City’s financial position, which was solid at the start of the year, is even
stronger at year end,” said Mack Cook, Beaufort’s finance director. “The City’s reduced its debt by $2.2 million, including retiring several years early $675,000 in outstanding loans, which saves taxpayers a lot of debt service payments in future years.

“Without adding new debt, the City spent $524,000 for major stormwater improvement and added three police patrol cars for $78,000. The City’s ending operating cash balance remains virtually unchanged from the beginning of the year at $7.6 million,” Cook said.

Between now and December, the City will expend $3 million more than it takes in and starting the fiscal year with this cash position allows the City to maintain services without resorting to short-term borrowing, while keeping sufficient cash on hand should it be necessary to recover from a major storm.

“Much of what the City has been able to accomplish this past year started with the outsourcing of the residential solid waste and recycling,” Cook said. For FY2010 the City’s Solid Waste operation netted $103,000 in positive cash flow – even after the Solid Waste Fund repaid $178,000 in outstanding equipment loans and $55,000  in advances from the General fund. This compares to a loss in FY 2009 from Solid Waste operations of $77,000, Cook said.

“This reversal of fortunes allowed the City to redirect funding to enhancing the appearance of our neighborhood, sidewalks, curbs and streets while building a reserve for the replacement of the roll carts and recycling bins,” Cook said.

“The City wasn’t going to sit passively by as our citizens’ property values declined in this national recession. The City took action in improving how neighborhoods look, and in doing so hopefully helped maintain property values,” Cook said.

Expanded services – made possible partly by outsourcing work to the private sector – include those increased efforts to clean up the city and to maintain parks and open space. Also, the City brought in outside experts to review police and fire department practices.

“Over the past year, City staff, residents and volunteers collected more than 312 tons of debris from across the City, creating a more attractive community while  also improving fire safety by removing all that flammable material,” Dadson said.

The clean-up was possible through the dedication of several Neighborhood Associations, residents and volunteers, City staff and the efforts of Waste Pro, the company that provides garbage, trash and recycling collection.

In the past 10 months, Beaufort residents, City crews and volunteers removed 312 tons of “stuff” from residential properties in Beaufort, eliminating fuel for fires and cleaning up the City. To put that in perspective, 312 tons is equivalent to  about 42 elephants, or two blue whales, or eight fully-loaded tractor trailer rigs, or 24 fully-loaded dump trucks, or 312 VW Beetles.

The totals from nine neighborhood clean-ups include:
· 197 tons of trash including white goods, bulky waste, lumber, and metals
· 104 tons of trees limbs, shrubs, branches and yard debris
· 11 tons of paint, tires, combustible liquids and items never identified
· 23 vacant lots have been cleared of overgrown vegetation, improving public safety and reducing fire risk.

Under the City’s solid waste removal contract with Waste Pro, in effect since August 2009, the City has focused on four key areas to improve life for residents, to improve the looks of the City, and to improve fire safety issues: garbage, recycling, yard debris and bulk goods.

Pro-active, prevention-based efforts by the Beaufort Fire Department and Beaufort Police Department earned “best practice” kudos from a recent comprehensive study conducted in 2009-2010 by the International City/County Management Association for Beaufort.

Those effort help save lives and reduce loss of property, ICMA experts said. The reports addressed strengths of both departments as well as areas where improvementis needed.

“We brought ICMA and their experts in to take a close look at the services we provide in public safety, and to help us identify how we can make an already good thing better,” Dadson said. “The reports indicate we’ve made good progress but still have room to improve, and we now have a new roadmap for that improvement.”

A majority of law enforcement calls in Beaufort originated with police officers, according to the ICMA study.

“We have 76 percent of our call volume being officer initiated,” Dadson said earlier this year. “That’s a big part of our pro-active community policing effort. Our officers are on the street, they’re on the roads, they’re keeping an eye out for suspicious people and behavior, and that helps make Beaufort a safer place.”

Police Chief Matt Clancy earned a “best practice” commendation from ICMA for using “community resource teams” to shift police teams to focus on particular geographic areas when problems arise.
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To review the City’s 2010 Financial Overview,clip and paste  www.cityofbeaufort.org  and click on Finance Department.