City of Meridian Blogs

by Mayor Tammy

Each year, the City of Meridian prepares and implements an annual budget, accounting for how it will use its financial resources to best provide for the needs of Meridian’s citizens. As part of this collaborative process, I recently joined the City Council, Finance Department, and department heads in a two-day thorough and systematic review of the proposed 2013 budget. This was a critical step for the city departments as they outlined their needs in the coming year in order to continue to provide the residents of Meridian with the services they have grown to expect.

More than just a bundle of spreadsheets, the City’s budget serves many vital purposes. It is a policy document, an operations guide, a financial plan, and a communication device.  And because we value transparency in all that we do, we also use the budget to inform and educate you – our most important stakeholders – about the City’s structure, achievements, challenges, and direction.

Fortunately, Meridian is faring remarkably well during a tough economy. That remains true today because of the fiscally conservative, disciplined spending philosophy of “living within our means” that has served us well in the past and will carry us into the future. Through this process the last few years we have been and remain realistic about what we can afford, focusing funding on our core priorities, and saving for tomorrow’s needs.

The 2013 budget will keep the city on the right financial track.  We will continue to connect our community with pathways providing the public with needed alternatives to move from point a to point b.  Work will persist at Settlers Park as we take steps, although smaller than originally anticipated, to complete the vision for this amenity.  The public safety training facility that has been saved for over the last several years will begin to move forward.    

In addition, we will see many projects to maintain and improve our water and sewer systems.  This will include a new ground reservoir, a water main replacement on Meridian Road, numerous well treatment and expansion projects, and several sewer line replacement and extensions.

These enhancements are not being presented in a vacuum.  Rather projects like these make up the City’s CIP or Capital Improvement Plan, which lays out our vision for enhancements over the next five and ten years.  It provides guidance and clarity to the departments and City Council about where they are headed so that these projects are known in advance before they are presented which keeps everyone focused and on track.

We have put into place the same cautious, conservative approach for the 2013 budget that has served us well for many years as a community – growing where we need to and holding the line or reducing where we don’t.  Now, as we focus on meeting the long-term priorities of our citizens with the resources that we have, it is important we are not delaying or passing on budget issues for future City Councils as doing so would only make issues worse in the future.  

Additionally, as a City we have certain unknown issues in the future which we may be required to fund or would impact our funding in the future.  These items include providing a court in Meridian, paying dispatch fees to Ada County, and potential revenue reduction based upon anticipated legislation in 2013 concerning personal property tax. 

For all these reasons we have asked City Council to provide a budget which includes a 3% property tax increase to the City’s base budget.  To not do so would be doing a disservice to each person who lives in our community.  We need to put Meridian first in our budget process to ensure the city is reflective of the values of the Meridian citizens and we have sound decisions in how we are governing.

An important part of keeping transparency in this process is citizen participation. I encourage your involvement in this year’s public hearings on the budget. You can access and review the City’s proposed 2013 budget online at www.meridiancity.org. You are also welcome to comment on it either in writing through our City Clerk’s Office and in person at our public budget hearing scheduled for August 21, 2012 at 6:00 pm at City Hall.    

Through our actions, I believe our community will remain strong and financially secure as we continue fighting crime, improving neighborhoods, growing our economy,  planning for the future, and streamlining the way we do business. 

by Mayor Tammy

On July 6^th I had the opportunity to participate in the ground breaking for the newest building at Touchmark at Meadow Lake Village. Located off of Franklin Road, this senior living facility has been a great addition to Meridian and an important part of our community’s development over the last several years.

Not only has Touchmark been an employer and catalyst for construction through their various stages, but they have created a vibrant community full of active seniors who participate in and volunteer their time here in Meridian. Touchmark holds dozens of events and activities that are open and available to the public including National “Morning” Out, a Model Building Club, the Art Gala, and the recent Classic Car Show which had over 200 attendees from the community.

Touchmark is a great amenity for the community groups and events.  I’ve hosted Coffee with the Mayor in their grand lodge and other city departments have done outreach efforts in this facility.   It is also a gathering place for groups such as the Noon Rotarians and about a dozen other organizations who hold lunch and other regular meetings there throughout the year.

To continue with their involvement in community, Touchmark will soon be hosting the BBQ Celebration and Packet Pickup for the 24^th Annual Idaho Senior Games, which runs July 28 – September 22.  On August 10, 2012 - 5-7:00 pm the Idaho Senior Game participants can pick up their registration packet, mingle with other athletes, and visit sponsor tables.  

Modeled after the Olympics (which incidentally is also coming up), the Idaho Senior Games is an extension of our dynamic culture of health and fitness, as well as the community’s great appreciation for our active senior community.

The games, according to their motto, are “designed to encourage health and fitness of men and women age 50 and over on all levels of fitness.”  In Meridian we are no strangers to having an active lifestyle. In fact, our quality of life has been repeatedly recognized by national publications such as Family Circle, CNN/Money, and America’s Promise, due in large part to how active our citizens are.

I wish all of the competitors the best of luck and I hope to see many of you cheering on our local senior athletes as they compete throughout our community!  It is because of events like these, and places such as Touchmark at Meadow Lake Village, that I am reminded why I love to live in Meridian!

by Caleb Hood, Planning Manager, Community Development Department

By this time, nearly everyone knows about the Meridian Split Corridor Phase 2 (MSC2) project, scheduled for construction this fall. But did you know that right before the MSC2 project, this summer, ACHD is going to do some pretty major work on Main Street between Fairview Avenue and Ada Street downtown?

During construction of the MSC2 project, which is anticipated to begin in October 2012, Meridian Road will be closed to traffic between the railroad tracks and the Meridian/Cherry intersection. In preparation for Main Street handling addition traffic while Meridian Road is closed for construction to 5-lanes, ACHD will re-build Main Street.

The Main Street pavement and sub-base are failing and must be upgraded with a new road bed and asphalt. This maintenance project will remove the current road surface and replace it to improve quality and longevity. Due to the volume of traffic Main Street carries during daytime hours between Franklin and Fairview, combined with the numerous businesses along this stretch of road, this maintenance project will be constructed during nighttime hours, generally between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Working at night will minimize traffic restrictions for daytime motorists and business accesses when the area is busiest. Working at night sometimes creates negative impacts to nearby residents with construction noise and lighting—the contractor will try to minimize these impacts. It is likely that work on the pedestrian ramps in the area will occur during daytime hours. Construction of the Main Street pavement rehabilitation project is anticipated to begin in mid-July 2012 and last for approximately eight weeks.

Throughout roadway construction, I encourage you to continue to come downtown to shop, eat, and do business. Businesses all over downtown will be still be open during roadway construction and they need us to support them with not only our business, but also with words of encouragement. These downtown businesses will be greatly impacted. However, the short--term headaches and sacrifices they are making will benefit us all in the long run.