 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
Tonya has been a Mayor who Takes Action from the first day she took office.
Read below to find out how she has taken action for a Greater Garrett.
To better reach our residents I created a city Facebook page with frequent updates on city events and news, which has nearly 1,400 followers and regular updates posted by the Mayor's office, usually by the Mayor herself. We have also updated the city webpage, www.garrettindiana.us with the help of Garrett High School students. Having a modern website has been key in attracting new businesses and residents to our city.
One of the key parts of my Vision for a Greater Garrett when I ran in 2011 was to provide greater leadership for our city. I felt that our city deserved a Mayor who would be completely dedicated to our city, so I left my full time job and have served our city as a full time Mayor. I also felt it was important for our city departments to have the strong leadership they needed to be effective. So I took action and hired experienced leaders for some of our most vital departments- police chief, Keith Hefner, city planner Milton Otero, and Electric Supervisor David VanDerbosch, and Streets-Parks Supervisor Eric Mossberger.
Public safety has been a huge priority for me as your
Mayor. I have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure Garrett does not
lose its EMS services in Garrett. And thanks in part to great leadership in
our police department, in 2014 Garrett was listed at the 27th safest city in
Indiana. Further, The creation of the Keyser Township Fire Territory in
2013, the new additional funds will allow the city to meet the needs of our
volunteer fire department. We are replacing truck # 53 purchased in 1978
this year, which will assist our
I have also taken action on critical issues that my
predecessors would not, most recently in having a study done on our aging
City Hall Building. As soon as I became Mayor, my administration commissioned
a study of the building and rather than keeping the public in the dark about
the condition, we invited the community to be part of the discussion on the
future of our City Hall. I look forward to working with fellow citizens to
make a determination on the future of this historic building. State-of-the-Art Wastewater Treatment When our city was faced with possible $25,000 per day
in fines from the State because of the inaction of previous adminstrations,
we took action. My administration developed a plan and doubled our
wastewater treatment plant capacity which will eliminate bypasses and
accommodate our ever growing city. We did all that and still have some of
the lowest utility rates and in the area. Further, utility rates are now
reviewed annually under ordinance so that smaller adjustments may be made as
needed in the future, and to prevent large increases to the community.
Saving money has been a priority for me as your Mayor,
and I took action to save every nickel and dime to save taxpayers money.
From bigger steps like bringing fiber optics to Garrett that will save the
City of Garrett $2,000 per month over current contract, to other steps like
mandating that overtime work needs to be approved by supervisors, prohibiting
idling city vehicles, and me personally checking the city pool water to
ensure that overtime hours weren’t spent on this task. No savings is too
small or insignificant, and I will continue to take action to make sure city
funds are spent wisely and efficiently.
A Parks Department Garrett can be Proud of Upon taking office, I had a goal of an active parks department, our city pool has a modernized concession stand, extended hours & activities, and we have new parks programming, including the the Garrett Caboose Festival spotlighting our Railroad Heritage, The Summer Sixties Festival, sharing our wonderful parks and partnering with the Garrett American Legion to bring our community together, Fun Friday Day Camps, Jr. Lifeguard Training, Outdoor movies, Bucket List Series, Clean and Feed at Ocker Park, Santa Paws, Decorate our City Christmas Tree, Ocker Park.
I also saw the opportunities there were to pursue grants
for our community, we began pursuing grants to benefit the entire community.
Safe Routes to School Grants in the amount of $291,120.00 and $688,516.00
were awarded to the city, allowing us to improve sidewalks and ADA corner
ramps towards our goal of making Garrett a walking and biking friendly city.
We also received $75,000 in blight elimination funding that will allow us to
demolish 3 abandoned homes in Garrett and improve neighborhoods. One of the most important roles of a city is to provide safe transit for its citizens. Our snow removal policy is to begin clearing snow right away in order to stay on top of accumulation, following roads and alleys being plowed downtown sidewalks are then cleared late at night. I think you’ll agree that Garrett has some of the best roads after we get significant snowfall!
Our work is not nearly done, and I look forward to taking action for the citizens of Garrett in another term. A short list of my plans are:
|
 |
|
|||||||
 |
|
|||||||||
