Plano Mayor’s progress report on first 100 days in office

By Mayor Harry LaRosiliere

This week marks the milestone of my first 100 days in office as your Mayor (City of Plano). The opportunity to represent this community as the Mayor of Plano is a privilege and honor that I enthusiastically embrace. I am dedicated to maintaining Plano as a vibrant business center and safe, family-friendly city which truly is a City of Excellence.

In just these 100 days, I have had many opportunities to be a part of celebrating Plano’s excellence, with the groundbreaking of major new projects such as Legacy Tower and the first Cambria Suites in Texas, we have welcomed new companies bringing jobs, including; loandepot, MedSys, Traveling Coaches, Thomson Reuters and the expansion of others such as ReachLocal. I’ve been inspired by the community programs that have invited me to share in their next steps; including My Possibilities and Emily’s Place.as well as the new art gallery curated by Plano Art Association which adds another exciting dimension to Downtown Plano. As well, I have had the honor to spend time with some of Plano’s legendary citizens, dedicated, long-serving, employees, volunteers and our most important resource – our youth.

Community engagement is essential for us to be a connected society, so one of my first actions was to create even more ways for you to be able to communicate with the Mayor and City Council. You can now like us, follow us, tag us, message us and more! Of course, we love to see you in person at our City Council meetings. You can find multiple ways to connect with me, the City Council, City staff and your community at plano.gov.

I realize Plano is an important regional player in many projects including transportation, tourism and economic development. To support Plano’s priorities, I have actively engaged with other Mayors, regional leaders, legislators and congress members to emphasize our role and commitment to regionalism.

Over this first 100 days, I have been focused on listening – listening to our citizens and our business community to understand how I along with the City Council and staff can further contribute to the quality of life and economic growth in Plano.

Together, the City Council and City staff have been working on the 2013-2014 strategic plan and budget, along with our 2020 Vision of Excellence. Our effort has culminated in a focus on four key initiatives:

 Economic Development

 Revitalization

 Quality City Services

 Youth Wellness.

You will hear more about our plans over the coming months; however I would like to share our philosophy as we approach these issues.

Economic Development remains the engine for our success to offer world- class amenities, low taxes, diverse housing stock and quality services. Plano will diligently work to attract and retain quality employment opportunities to support the continued vitality of the community.

Thoughtful planning by the City of Plano, through a sustained period of rapid growth and development over the last 30 years, has guided the community to the City of Excellence it is today. As an established city, it is important to turn attention toward redevelopment and revitalization of commercial and residential areas. Already you have started to see this happening with new facades on shopping centers, Love Where You Live projects in neighborhoods and continuing maintenance to retain quality throughout Plano. You will see a renewed focus on this important process of keeping Plano attractive and modern as it evolves.

Plano is a national leader in city management and planning, with a strong commitment to public safety, sustainability, fiscal responsibility, open spaces and enriching programs. The City Council and I plan to support our City staff by allocating the resources necessary to uphold these values and to continue delivering excellence.

Our youth is our future and the next generation of leaders. The City Council and I are dedicated to providing opportunities to engage and enrich the lives of young people. First we have sworn in over 100 young citizens in the Youth Ambassador Program with the goal to educate children in the importance of being an active citizen in their community and understanding the role government plays in everyday life. Another important way we can support the quality of our future is to ensure that no child in the Plano public schools goes hungry. Currently, almost 30 percent of the children in Plano Independent School District receive subsidized food assistance. We will be developing a collaborative program between the business community, nonprofits and schools to provide healthy meals and snacks to our young people so that they are equipped to embrace their education.

It’s been 100 Days and the Council and I have just begun charting the strategy to execute the 2020 Vision of Excellence for Plano. Stay tuned and stay engaged!