Aren’t you excited to be told we are in the middle of “Cities and Towns Week?” I know, I know, there is a day or a week or a month designated for just about everything under the sun, but when I saw the announcement by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, I thought, “Why not? Might give me a chance to brag a little bit.”
I would never brag about myself (ahem), but I’m certainly proud to be part of a hard-working Town Council that oversees the everyday workings of the Town of Fountain Hills. I’m even more proud of a hard-working staff that works 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year to provide services to you, the citizens.
Now of course Town Hall is not open 24-7, but we do contract for police protection with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and with Rural/Metro for fire and emergency services. These hard-working first responders are certainly there 24-7, while some of our parks personnel and street crew work odd hours to accomplish their appointed rounds. The town thus provides vital services along with what could be called “quality of life” services.
The year 2020 was supposed to be one “great celebration,” as we marked the 30th anniversary of incorporation in December 2019 and looked forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary this coming December of when our world-famous Fountain first spouted off. Then came along something called COVID-19. That changed everything, and I mean everything…
Obviously it’s been difficult in many ways, but I must insist here that the town staff and your mayor and council did everything in our power to persevere during this tough year and maintain a positive attitude about ensuring our safety, protection, well-being, convenience and enrichment for citizens of all ages.
After all, that’s the town’s job – whether we are in the throes of a pandemic or not. Do you always agree with every decision the Town Council votes on? Nope. Do you always agree with every action taken by someone working for the town? Not likely. This is all perfectly normal and even expected in a small community that celebrates our rights and freedoms and opinions.
Yet we are here to serve.
We have a ton of services and programs that we provide in a variety of ways (too numerous to list here). We are actively trying to improve this community at all levels. I think “government” in general gets a bad rap, but I would assert that we at the town level truly embody what it means to serve. I want to recognize and applaud all our municipal employees and contractors, volunteers and elected officials who continually work to make sure these services are delivered seamlessly (at least most of the time).
No one is perfect, and neither is the Town of Fountain Hills. But it doesn’t hurt on occasion to give applause, to look for the positive, to drive or walk or bike around and appreciate the beauty and the blessings that we have in Fountain Hills.
Sure, mistakes are made and things still need to get done, but let us accentuate the positive as well. I was here before incorporation. Trust me, Fountain Hills and its citizens are in a much better place today because of our town government. And I’m not writing that just because it’s “Cities and Towns Week.” Or because I’m currently on the Town Council. I write that because it’s true.
