The annual meeting, moderated by city consultant Doug Thomas, is used to review and identify council’s strategic goals for policymaking, City Manager Paul Grimes said. The strategic goals outline a variety of city and community topics, including city operations, financially secure government and quality of life.
Council Member Charlie Philips suggested the city add expanding technology and related infrastructure into its strategic goals. Philips cited a recently discussed citywide open-access broadband network project as a first step toward this goal.
“I see so many businesses that are just a technology business. ... If that’s the type of jobs we want to attract to McKinney, I think we need to make it a priority to give them the very best [technology] that they can get here in McKinney,” Philips said.
Council Member Patrick Cloutier also suggested council have more joint meetings with city boards and commissions in the coming year. The joint meetings would help to ensure the various boards are resonating with council’s goals for the city, Cloutier said.
Council reaffirmed many of its existing strategic goals, including maximizing the development potential of McKinney National Airport and continuing the development of quality-of-life amenities, such as parks. The presentation also included a review of some of council’s recent accomplishments, including the groundbreaking of a new City Hall and reducing the tax rate in 2022, according to the presentation.
“I love the fact that all of [council] can be able to look back years from now and think about this period in the city’s growth and how we’ve been through challenges. ... I think we’ve accomplished a lot, and I think we’ll be able to look back with real fond memories,” McKinney Mayor George Fuller said.
Following the meeting, council members are expected to complete an anonymous survey to identify which outlined goals are the top priorities to be addressed by city staff in 2023. Council will meet again March 17 to review the results of the survey and give more clarity on the priorities for the year, according to the presentation.
