Monday, July 22, 2013

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." ~ Charles Darwin

Just as it seems like we may be pulling out of one of the worst economic recessions to hit during our lifetimes, the City of Chico faces a financial crisis that has many of us reeling.  With the interruption and/or reduction of key City services, such as police and fire, we're questioning the impact on our businesses and on our families.  We wonder: what does this mean for me?

Because I sit in the shadow of City Hall on a daily basis -- literally hunkered down in the Old Municipal Building as questions and concerns fly -- I feel a great sense of responsibility and urgency to help businesses and members of our community understand not only what's going on but what's to come.

In many ways, it's business as usual for us.  We provide our members with extraordinary opportunities to connect, learn, and make a difference.  That's our job.  But, we're juggling issues on an advocacy level that are profoundly significant and unpredictable right now...issues that have enormous impact on the health and vitality of our economy and rest largely in the hands of our City staff and Council.

Most of my work is done behind the scenes and I share my opinions and suggestions with our policy makers regularly.  But, the best thing I can do at times is to simply get out of the way and let the businesses -- you -- speak directly.   After all, the voice of business belongs to all of us.

To that end, I encourage you to attend our Lunch Hour with the City Manager on Thursday, July 25th, at noon.  Brian Nakamura will be joined by Mark Orme, Assistant City Manager, and Chris Constantin, Administrative Services Director, and all have pledged their time and expertise to you during this Q&A session.  Seating is limited so let me know right away if you'd like to attend.

I'm counting on you!

~ Katie

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