Mayoral Report for 2023

The legally required report was submitted to City Council at first meeting of the new year

The first meeting of the latest version of Troy City Council occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd and as part of the proceedings, the Mayor submitted her required annual report. The narrative from the Mayor presents her comprehensive overview of the city's achievements and ongoing projects. In the report, the mayor emphasizes the city's thriving community, highlighting its appeal to residents, businesses, and visitors. The extensive list of events and initiatives indicates a focus on lesiure and cultural enrichment.

The mayor notes the city's success in attracting new restaurants, hotels, and retail businesses, indicating a healthy and growing consumer-based economic environment, not necessarily one based on creating manufacturing opportunities or high wage employment. The mention of businesses looking to locate and expand in Troy suggests a proactive approach to economic development, which has long been the standard in the community for decades.

Mayor Oda outlines numerous completed and ongoing projects, including utility upgrades, recreational improvements, and environmental initiatives. The comprehensive list of 111 activities of both direct and indirect actions for 2023, many of which are completed or ongoing, outlines the administration's commitment to maintaining city infrastructure and services. The focus on diverse projects like the natural gas aggregation program, public bathrooms, and playground equipment replacement reflects the diverse needs of a growing community.

The report highlights a strong emphasis on leisure events and international relations. The array of events like the Tour de Donut and the Troy Strawberry Festival, along with the involvement in international trade missions and hosting international guests, illustrates the city's commitment to cultural diversity and global engagement. These activities not only enhance the city's cultural landscape but buttress a seeming committment to make the community a lesiurely community.

The ongoing saga of the old tavern building on W. Main Street is addressed, indicating a complex issue that has persisted throughout the mayor's first term. The resolution of this issue and the restoration of traffic will be crucial for downtown access and business prosperity. As the controversy with the Tavern Building is hopefully nearing it’s end, it is disappointing that the city could not play an active role in developing a resolution to this issue in a more timely manner. The settlement that was recently agreed to upon all parties last month was not so much the direct effort of the city trying to come up with a resolution as much as it was a judge committed to find a reasonable end game for all parties involved.

Mayor Oda's involvement in numerous boards and committees, along with her attendance at various local and regional events, demonstrates activity. Her participation in these activities likely provides opportunities for direct community engagement and representation of the city's interests in broader platforms.

The initiation of updating the Comprehensive Plan suggests a forward-thinking approach, aiming to guide the city's growth and development in the coming decades. This plan could be pivotal in shaping the city's future, considering both current needs and long-term objectives. However, development of this plan must be done with the intentional desire to increase citizen involvement at every critical stage of the process. This publication talked about the Comprehensive Plan process in a past edition:

While the report paints a positive picture of Troy's development, the report would benefit citizens by providing more detailed information on the specific outcomes and impacts of the projects and initiatives mentioned. One of the aspects of local government that is often lost is a lack of focus on the outcomes of activities and more focus on outputs. Every local government is more than happy to celebrate the latest activity as being accomplished, but rarely is any thought put into expressing how those activities will be expected to make a substantive change to the community. Furthermore, the report could address challenges and areas for improvement more explicitly, providing a more balanced view of the city's status and future prospects.

The activites undertaken by any government are not the ends; they are the means to the end. There needs to be a better and more robust discussion about the city’s mission, vision and values and how those activities actually improved the quality of life of the residens of the community.

There needs to be a better system to track performance measurement. But that is a topic for another day.

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