City Manager's Blog

Many residents consider Greeley’s state-certified creative district the center of downtown activity, including dining, entertainment, history, art and more.  What helps make that portion of our community so dynamic is our expansive indoor and outdoor public art collection. 

Of the three external and two outstanding internal applicants for the position of police chief, I have selected Captain Mark Jones, who is a veteran of more than 30 years of experience with the Greeley police force. 

We are fortunate to have a great city staff who are providing excellent municipal services while keeping our finances strong. One aspect of that is planning for the future.

Greeley city government’s 2017 year-end financial report was published a few weeks ago.Preparing the report is an annual exercise that can bring joy or tears to a Colorado City Manager depending on the local economy, oil and gas activity, consumer confidence, and other factors.

Two of our core values, namely Stewardship and Integrity, came to mind in February when the City Council recognized our police personnel for their outstanding fundraising efforts.    

There are only a very few aspects of a community that mean as much to me as a city’s volunteer spirit. Why?  Because it takes a special person and a special way of looking at ones’ role in the community to contribute time, energy and ideas to the place they love.

When I speak at our City of Greeley new employee orientation session every few weeks, I make it a point to tell them, “You have a life.”  Not a work life and a home life, but one life with many facets. 

Each year City of Greeley employees are encouraged to participate in an internal survey to take a pulse on our organization’s cultural wellness. The majority of employees, in fact 63 percent, placed themselves in the “dream box” indicating they feel fully engaged and fully satisfied with their job.  

Priority Based Budgeting may be new to the City of Greeley, but it has been around for quite some time and is gaining popularity among cities of all sizes.  In fact, it has already been implemented in more than 150 communities in the U.S. and Canada.

There was a time when Greeley residents had to leave the city to find something fun to do.  Thankfully, those times are long gone.  Now all you have to do is check the local paper or go to the many event listings online.

Greeley is fortunate that our water comes from Rocky Mountain snowmelt collected close to the source and then transported and treated by City of Greeley employees.  All of that undoubtedly contributes to the most recent award for our Water and Sewer Department. 

No doubt you’ve heard of the Greeley Stampede, Friday Fest concerts, Arts Picnic in Lincoln Park, the annual Blues Jam, and the annual Chautauqua series.  

What do model trains, art, live music, beer, rivers, trails, and successful students all have in common?  Well, besides being things that Greeley can brag about, they are also the stories we’ll be telling during the 2017 Greeley Unexpected campaign.

When voters approved the Keep Greeley Moving sales tax for street improvements, road capacity projects and concrete repair it truly was a turning point for the city’s infrastructure. The measure passed with a 57-43 percentage margin, demonstrating voters’ confidence that City government would follow through on the commitment we made to improve Greeley’s streets. 

City Center construction is ready to roll!  On March 31 the City of Greeley partnered with Greeley’s Hensel Phelps Constructors to celebrate the construction launch for the first phase of City Center, Greeley’s new City Hall. 

In February, City staff hosted a reception for veteran and new members of our city’s boards and commissions.  This was an opportunity to say “thank you” for their volunteer time, energy, expertise and input which assists City staff and the City Council on a number of levels. 

Last November, Chief Garner and his staff organized the first Coffee with a Cop event in Greeley. That led a new resident to support and help organize a second one in January of this year. 

With all the recent positive economic news for our region, we are cautiously optimistic about our 2017 City government budget. The growth occurring in Greeley is evident each and every day.  These changes bring challenges, including the need to provide additional services.  In the end, we work the hardest to ensure we’re meeting residents’ quality of life needs and that Greeley is a great City in which to live, learn, work and play.

Greeley City government and the Greeley City Council recognize that employees are the greatest asset to making Greeley “A City Achieving Community Excellence.”  An impressive 66% of City Employees are highly satisfied and engaged in the work they do for Greeley and its residents. 

During the past three years our city has seen and accomplished remarkable changes—all of this occurring while we experienced phenomenal growth, due in part, to unprecedented oil and gas activity.