Cleveland list of priorities now a struggle

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Fitting the city's needs into a year-end priorities list was tougher to do this time than in previous years, according to City Council members.

Each year, council members set goals for the coming year as a guideline for the city staff. They also spell out goals that require federal funding to pass along to the local federal delegation -- Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, both Republicans.

This year, the letter to Sens. Corker and Alexander included the required top three federally funded goals, but officials added four more.

"We thought if they got more stimulus money, perhaps they would realize we have a lot more on the drawing board," said City Manager Janice Casteel.

Council members struggled for weeks, however, to prioritize local needs.

"Certain things cost money. Certain things don't cost money but cost personnel time and attention," said City Councilman Bill Estes. Even projects done in-house, he said, cost money.

"And some things happen in the middle of the year that are a good deal for the city or (are) something you have to do," Mr. Estes said.

The recent transfer of variable rate debt from a weak bank to a strong one is an example, he said.

The council moved some of its bond debt recently from AMBAC Financial Bank after it slipped below investment grade ranking to Deutsche Bank.

Adding to the problem of setting goals, said Councilman David May, is that some projects can be done in stages over multiple years.

He gave the need for city detention ponds for flood control as an example.

But a priorities list is one way elected city officials can communicate their wishes to the city staff, Ms. Casteel said.

And there is no list cut in stone, she said, so they can be expanded or divided into categories.

"It constantly reminds us that this is where we need to focus," she said.

But even the goal of setting goals may need to be changed, some council members said.

"Maybe we need to look sometimes at pie in the sky, look into the future for great things for Cleveland," Mr. May said. "But I am very practical and, as I look at the list, I think about what we can actually accomplish. It's two different things."

Stormwater and traffic congestion issues are examples of goals that are difficult to prioritize on a list, Councilman Avery Johnson said.

"We are getting very congested in a lot of areas and have been for a long time," he said. "It just doesn't seem right to put them on a list and try to rationalize between providing funds for those kinds of things versus salaries and compensation to employees who are really serving us well."