2012 Citizen's Report

Citizen’sCitizen’s ReportReport renew reenergize reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect reform Gainesville:Gainesville: reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergizeGainesville: reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine InnovationInnovationInnovation rebound renew reenergize CityCityCity reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect reform reinvigorate recreate rebuild redefine rebound renew reenergize reconnect Letter from your City manager Dear Citizen: As your city manager, I am always pleased when city government and community groups partner to create successful initiatives that meet or exceed our goals. I am pleased to report that in 2012, such collaborations increasingly became the norm. British writer Ian McEwan once wrote, “The beginning is simple to mark.” Years from now, this may be the point in time that defined a new era of achievement for Gainesville. Our city is experiencing accelerated progress in developing an innovation economy and appears ready to shift into a higher gear. In the 2011 Annual Citizen’s Report, I challenged those of us in city government to keep pace by finding better ways to do our jobs. The good news is that across the board, our organization responded and is becoming better by innovating the ways in which we provide high-quality, cost-effective government services to you, our citizens. This new way of looking at municipal service provision goes beyond traditional ways of conducting government business. By actively collaborating with community institutions, businesses and engaged residents, neighbors and friends, together we are creating a new vision and future for Gainesville, one success story after another. Prioria Robotics, a local high-tech manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, was faced with the need to rapidly expand operations. City staff worked to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks and helped the company to stay and grow in Gainesville’s Power District. Additionally, when the multinational computer software company MindTree was looking to relocate its main corporate headquarters from India to the U.S., city staff collaborated with UF and the Chamber of Commerce to navigate regulatory issues and helped make the UF Innovation Square near campus and downtown Gainesville the obvious choice. Stories like these and others are repeating themselves throughout our downtown and across our city. They are sparking quiet optimism that our community is priming the pump on an economic engine with unlimited potential. Along with optimism, there is also a renewed sense of shared community purpose, pride and determination to map our own unique course toward economic prosperity. Your city government seeks to reflect this sentiment by continually performing at peak efficiency, so that you can live, work and play in a top-ten mid-sized city. It is this same spirit that is captured in the photograph that graces the cover of the City of Gainesville 2012 annual report. The “Double Helix” Southwest 13th Street overpass and nature trail is designed to evoke a DNA strand and to symbolize Gainesville’s bridging connection between technology and nature, as well as campus and community. As we move forward, our community connections must be maintained and nurtured, so that no one is left behind or excluded from sharing in this exciting journey we are embarked upon. This report is intended to show how successful city government has been in providing services to our community during the past year. I’m convinced we’ve done well, but we need your help to do even better. As always, I look forward to receiving your comments about this report of city services for 2012. Please email them to [email protected] or call 352-334-5017. With appreciation, 2 City Manager Russ Blackburn tabLe of Contents Gainesville: Your City 2 Letter from Your City Manager 4 Letter from Your Mayor 5 Your City 5 Your Government 5 Voting Districts Map 6 Your City Commission Public Services 7 Organization Chart 10 Your Charter Officers 8 Citizen Engagement 15 Neighborhood Improvement 9 Strategic Management Framework 20 Public Safety 22 Growth Management 23 Improved Quality of Life 27 Community Infrastructure Fiscal Sustainability 29 Increased Effectiveness 32 Responsible Fiscal Policy Contacts back cover City Contact Information The grand prize winner from the Fourth Annual Gainesville Photography Contest is shown at right and is titled “Eye of the Sun,” by Josh Milliken. This photograph and others will be shown at a photography exhibition at the Hippodrome State Theatre from Jan. 21-Feb. 18, 2013. This report was prepared by the City of Gainesville Communications Office to inform residents about the City of Gainesville, its operations, services, programs and financial condition. It is suitable for readers that prefer an overview or summary of city government activities. The following pages provide brief descriptive information about your government’s organizational structure and how that structure relates to the services provided to Gainesville residents. We hope this report will give you a better understanding of the services provided by the city, its accomplishments and its overall financial condition. We welcome your comments and suggestions for improving this report. The photograph on the cover of this report is the first place winner of the Fourth Annual Gainesville Photography Contest, “Gainesville’s DNA,” by Cary Ader. This photograph is of the new Southwest 13th Street bicycle/pedestrian overpass, which has been dubbed the “Double Helix,” and symbolizes Gainesville’s bridge between technology and nature. 3 Letter from your mayor Dear Gainesville Citizen: On behalf of my colleagues on the Gainesville City Commission, thank you for the opportunity to work for the betterment of our city each and every day. Gainesville is experiencing positive changes that emphasize our best qualities as a community. Increasingly, we are known for supporting vibrant, innovative high-tech industries and entrepreneurial business development. Together with our partners at the University of Florida, Santa Fe College and the extended business community, we are taking the steps to make the promises of Innovation Gainesville a reality. New, high-quality development is occurring between the University of Florida and downtown, in downtown itself and on Gainesville’s east side. This will have a ripple effect benefiting citizens of all educational levels. Earlier this year, for example, Silver Airways announced that they were moving their maintenance facility to the Gainesville Regional Airport, where they have provided local travelers with additional options for flights and brought more than 100 maintenance jobs to our city. At City Hall, we have also sought to be flexible and innovative. Thanks to sound policy decisions by the City Commission and cutting-edge management by city staff, we ended another successful year within budget. The City Commission was also able to approve the FY13-14 budget without increasing the millage beyond the rollback rate. Our community’s regulatory framework was re-examined this year with an eye toward balancing growth and our unique natural environment. In the planning department, the first steps are underway to implement a form-based code that will ensure the type of high-quality development Gainesville citizens deserve, while also increasing flexibility for those who are willing to make long-term investments in our community. There is still more work to do, but I am proud of the increasingly collaborative spirit that is being embraced by staff members throughout city government. We also benefit from the ability of departments to continue to plan for future economic prosperity. The Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) continues its revitalization of many areas in our city, from the restoration of the historic railroad building at Depot Park, to the beautiful new rails-to-trails overpass on Southwest 13th Street. Another area in which consistency was our ally is Gainesville’s commitment to providing a high quality of life for our citizens. Access to our community’s natural wonders can—and will continue to—coexist alongside cultural amenities that rival cities much larger than our own. In an increasingly global marketplace, our community’s quality of life gives us a substantial competitive edge. The expertise and years of experience built up in our city departments will help guard this advantage for future generations. I am confident that our city will continue moving forward in the coming year, and that we will benefit from lower crime rates, excellent emergency response, state-of-the-art traffic management, and our beautiful parks and amenities. Thank you for the honor of serving as your mayor. Craig Lowe, Mayor 4 gainesville: your City Your City, Your Government The City of Gainesville, Florida is the county seat and the largest city in Alachua County. The city was founded in 1854 and incorporated in 1869. As of 2012, there are 62.93 square miles of land inside the corporate boundaries of the city. As of April 2012, the city’s population was estimated

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