FY 2015 Popular Annual Financial Report FY 2015 Popular Annual Financial Report | Seite 23

Looking Forward

F

or Fiscal Year 2016, the
City Council reaffirmed its
commitment to the previous
year’s four Council priorities,
Champion Great Neighborhoods,
Enhance Regional Mobility,
Invest In Our Economy and
Support Quality Education, and
also established a new priority,
Put Technology to Work. The
new priority highlights the role
technology plays both within the
organization and the community at
large.

In addition to a broader
conversation about how Arlington
as a community will maximize
the benefits of forever evolving
technologies, several projects
are planned in FY16 to maximize
service delivery, such as new
Parks scheduling software, Action
Center enhancements and Police
electronic ticket writers. The City
Council has committed to and
realizes that continuous investment
in technology is necessary in order
for the City to efficiently deliver its
core services and achieve the goals
of the Council priorities.

Another area of
significant investment in FY16
is transportation. Enhance
Regional Mobility focuses on
exploring creative and alternative
transportation opportunities as
well as planning, managing and
maintaining public transportation
infrastructure. After the successful
completion of the two-year pilot
of the MetroArlingtonXpress,
funding for the bus service has
been extended for another year
while a more permanent solution
is identified. Funding was also
allocated for street maintenance, in

addition to the quarter-cent sales
tax, to improve the street condition
index for key thoroughfares
and deteriorating residential
streets. Several large regional
transportation projects, including
the IH-30 and SH-360 Interchange
and the South Center Street
Bridge, will continue into FY16.

Several large economic
development “wins” were
announced in FY15; continuing to
promote economic development
opportunities within the City of
Arlington is integral to the viability
of the community. Redevelopment
of the downtown core, with the
construction of the new Central
Library and the public/private 101
Center development, is a key focus
of FY16.

Creating a sense of place and
maintaining a high quality of life are
key components of the Champion
Great Neighborhoods priority.
Operation Beatification, a program
started in FY15, with the goals of
growing our business, valuing our
neighborhoods and protecting our

resources, will continue in FY16.
In addition to Code Compliance
and Animal Service efforts, the
FY16 Business Plan also includes
projects to promote community
engagement.

The City of Arlington realizes
it takes more than a strong
school district to Support Quality
Education, it takes an entire
community. The Library continues
to grow its collection to support the
needs of the community and more
specifically, its youngest users.
The Police and Fire departments
will also continue their hometown
recruiting programs and AISD
fire fighter academies in FY16. By
providing job-based vocational
training, these programs support
the community’s youth and
strengthen future candidate pools.

The City Council has adopted
priorities to realize the goals of
Arlington being a live, learn, work
and play city – The American
Dream City. Looking forward to
FY16 and beyond, Arlington has
great things planned.

Popular Annual Financial Report

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