Gaithersburg city leaders gathered in Annapolis this weekend to review the city’s 2007 strategic plans, ranging from an increase in the number of police officers to the building of a new aquatics center.
The annual event has taken place for more than 10 years, according to Assistant City Manager Tony Tomasello, who has been in Gaithersburg government for a decade.
This year, Tomasello said, main initiatives include affordable housing and transportation, with the dominant topic the Corridor Cities Transitway.
“We’re solidly behind the CCT,” he said, “so it’s formulating strategies to get that moving.”
Also, 2007 is expected to be a year for change in the city’s police department.
A new chief will be hired and charged with increasing the 50-member force and exploring the possibility of instituting a beat system.
Tomasello told The Examiner it’s unclear at this point how many more officers will be added and when.
Gaithersburg currently has the authority to install speed cameras, but the city hasn’t taken that step. The possibility could be realized this year, though, he said.
The city’s total budget for 2007 is about $46 million, $10 million of which comes from capital funds.
According to Tomasello, construction on the city’s new aquatics center will take up almost a third of the capital budget sum.
“It’s easily the largest capital project we’ve ever had,” he said.
