Leander City Council Place 2
MICHELLE STEPHENSON
"I LOVE Leander! Our City is full of big-hearted, neighborly citizens who have worked together to create an invitingly warm, close-knit community. One visits Leander and falls in love with its friendly people and easy going lifestyle. Simply put, it feels like HOME.
Leander has kept its intimacy despite a decade of significant growth. Nonetheless, being listed as the fastest growing city in the United States, we are on the verge of an even swifter increase in population. Leander has shown its preparedness for this growth and persists in working and planning to stay ahead of the surge. If citizens vote for those who encourage sound decisions in the development of the city, Leander will accomplish an expansion that will contribute to a better quality of life for everyone. Please keep this in mind when voting in the upcoming City Council elections. I believe I am the leader who can make educated and wise decisions which will benefit you, the citizen.
With 4 years on the Planning and Zoning Commission and 3 years on City Council, I have proven experience in making decisions to manage our growth. Most of the items that come before the City Council relate to planning, zoning, development and budgeting. I have the knowledge and understanding of our planning and zoning ordinances to qualify for this task, and I am fiscally conservative. That is not all.....economic development, continued reduction in property tax rates, infrastructure improvements, quality of life.....are all issues that affect the people of Leander and which I address below. Please join me as I bring valuable experience to the City Council to ensure Leander continues to grow not only in the right direction, but wisely, beautifully and responsibly."
LIST OF ISSUES
SAFETY
The number one priority for our city government is the safety of our citizens. This includes both our Police and Fire Departments. First, we must have enough personnel to handle the emergencies in our city, and with our fast growing population, it's a challenge keeping up! We also want highly qualified and motivated first responders. With this goal, we need to keep the pay competitive with the compensation other similar cities pay in Texas. I think we have accomplished this. We have number one teams starting from the top down with both our Police and Fire Departments. Rest assured, you are all being protected by well trained and well educated first responders. In addition to personnel, we must provide our Police and Fire personnel with the equipment they need, not only for your protection, but their's also. This is what we have achieved and will continue with this goal.
INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Another priority for our city is to provide adequate infrastructure for the community. It affects our activity and quality of life. If our roads cannot handle the additional traffic from an increase in population, the overcrowding on our roadways will lead to frustrated motorists. If we don't have the infrastructure in place to adequately serve enough water and maintain sufficient water pressure to our residents and businesses, the lack of satisfactory service of this vital utility will be devastating. Having enough fire stations, turning lanes at intersections to prevent backups, sidewalks for pedestrian safety........these are infrastructure improvements of which we must be sure to be ahead of the curve. Otherwise, it will lead to inconveniences and safety issues for the residents and businesses in Leander. You can see the roadway improvements and construction going on now. The Hero Way West improvement is now complete and it was a much needed widening of the road. Bagdad Road from Hero Way West to Glenn High school is currently being expanded and improved. There is a new fire station #1 and plans for fire station #5 is already underway. There's more improvements coming in the future!
RELIEF FOR HOMEOWNERS
Increases in property taxes are a problem for many when home values surge due to county wide home value assessment hikes. Fortunately, our City Council has worked to decrease the City’s rate charged per $100 of value. Since 2012, Leander has dropped the rate 9.22553 cents. That's a -13.8% drop! The only other taxing entity that comes even close to that is Williamson County with a -5.01% drop. We will remain very conscious of the tax burden on homeowners and we will continue to work together with city staff to lower the city tax rate to bring relief as much relief as we can.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
We must continue to attract businesses to the city in order for the homeowners to see more tax relief. A lot of the commercial development is tied to population. As our population increases, we will see more commercial development in the form of stores and restaurants. Yet, the BIG goal is to attract major employers – not just any employer though. One that will be a good neighbor as well as bring jobs and economic prosperity to our city. For this is where our city and residents will realize the greatest impact in economic growth and viability, AND see the greatest relief from the tax burden. I'm so proud to say we are accomplishing this. Leander is going to be the home of the Texas gold bullion depository, which will bring in between 100 - 300 good paying jobs! In addition, the ACC campus will be opening Fall 2018, and St. David's opened their emergency room in January 2018 with plans to build the hospital in the near future. These are major employers who will be great neighbors. They will be definite assets for our city and along with the needed jobs and revenue, will also spawn other support businesses with employment opportunities.
QUALITY OF LIFE
This pivots on the two A’s, Aesthetics and Activity.
Aesthetics: We need to ensure there is enough greenspace and parks in Leander, not only to beautify the landscape, but to provide for wholesome activities every thriving community needs. In my tenure on the Planning and Zoning Commission, I fully supported our commission’s recommendation to the City Council to adopt a new tree ordinance which ensured significant hardwood trees would not be clear cut in the development process. The council supported our recommendation and adopted the new ordinance. Also, the City Council and P&Z Commission worked together to update zoning ordinances to include more appealing architectural standards in new subdivisions and commercial properties. We've worked together to make Leander a beautiful place to come home to.
Activity: With ensuring green-space and parks for Leander, we must continue the pursuit of providing ball fields, parks, pedestrian trails and bike trails. Since 2015, we opened our new baseball fields, refurbished the soccer fields with artificial turf, purchased new land for parks, and constructed new trails and sidewalks. After completing so many of these goals, what's amazing is that we realize that we will still need more! Being the fastest growing city has its positives in being able to welcome new neighbors but it is a challenge trying to keep up with the growth! In the last bond election, the citizens showed us their priorities in supporting bonds where most of the money will go to Parks and Recreation for purchasing additional land and building these activity centers and parks. In addition to Parks and Recreation, activity in our community also extends to neighborhoods where safety is a great concern where there was a lack of enough sidewalks along busy streets and highways. Not having enough sidewalks limits the pedestrian's mobility and puts Leander citizens, young and old, in harms way. We have been busy making sure those who either need or want to walk or bike to different locations in the city, can do so safely. I think the most successful sidewalk to this day, is the new one constructed on the west side of Bagdad Road. Every time I drive down Bagdad, I see someone walking or riding a bike on it.
COMMUNITY
Maintain the close-knit feeling of our community, despite the growth, by ensuring all citizens,
1. Have a voice in government
2. Are part of the process
3. Are heard.
4. For those who can, volunteer and serve your community
Leander citizens must know that they count! I like to hear from the people of Leander. Please remain involved and give us your valuable input. Your voice and guidance does count when we are making decisions for the city. There are two sides to many of the items that come before us and we need to hear from both sides to make informed decisions. With the new video streaming of the City Council meetings and the archiving of those, you are able to be more informed and involved without having to attend all the meetings in person. This is a big step for our City! Please take advantage of this new technology by going here to live stream, https://www.leandertx.gov/video
Volunteering and serving your community can be as simple as bringing dinner to a sick neighbor or feeding their dog if they are out for a day, or it can be as complicated as devoting many hours to working on a voluntary board or commission in a governmental or private organization. Please remember that when we lose ourselves in service, we actually find ourselves! The benefits are a million-fold when everyone in our city knows they are important to the rest of us. I want Leander to be a place where everyone knows they matter!
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