11/2017 Mayor's Corner NOVEMBER 2017
Message from the Mayor
When I walk around Tigard in the fall—with the brisk air and colorful trees—I am reminded
of why my family, like many others, has stayed here over the years. There's so much to
enjoy. Parks, trails, library...Tigard's a great place for families to grow and age; it's close to
everything, but not a big city.
And when I drive around Tigard, I notice other things: new neighborhoods, more
people...and I am reminded that we are a growing city and our increasing population is
placing more demands on amenities like our parks and key city services like police.
Then I start to think like an accountant. I know Tigard made a lot of deep cuts in the
recession, but the city's revenues still don't keep pace with these demands, which means
that soon we will need to cut services to preserve core functions.
Tigard's population is about 50,000, and we continue to grow by almost 2 percent each year
because people want and enjoy the quality of life here. In truth, we should be making some
modest improvements to maintain this quality of life, not cutting services. We need more
sidewalks, more police officers (we still have the same number of officers we had nine years
ago!), better maintenance and facilities in all of our parks.
If we don't take care of what we have now, the quality of our community will decline. This is
our city. These are the things we value. We have to decide what kind of future we want for
ourselves and our children, and what we are willing to pay—or give up—to get there.
The next Fireside Chat will hosted by Council President Jason Snider on Thursday, Nov. 2,
6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Starbucks in the Tigard Marketplace (13560 SW Pacific Highway).
Please note the new location! I hope you'll stop by to share your thoughts with him.
My quote of the month for November is by John Burroughs, "I still find each day too short
for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read
and all the friends I want to see."