Adventure Government 

Guiding Principles

Risk-taking. Only a community willing to take risks and accept some degree of failure will see results.

Opportunity. The city's current position is not a challenge but a whole realm of opportunities.

Learning City. The city that learns, learns to innovate. Cumberland can become a creative foundry.

Community Design. Community members should take the lead in designing solutions to local problems. They should be given the tools and knowledge to effect change.

Goals

Fiscal Management
* Maintain culture of fiscal restraint to ensure lean service delivery and guarantee low cost public services.
* Revise upwards outside-of-city water/sewer charges to reflect current cost of providing these services.

Planning
* Publish Annual City Goals document and present in public session.
* Create a Planning Office within Administrative Services to improve long-range planning and grants writing capacity.
* Increase Foundation grants writing initiatives. Work with Tri-County Council to create a community development foundation.

Open Space and the Environment
* Continue work on Sustainable Cumberland Initiative
* Support creation of County-wide Parks and Recreation System
* Develop City Skate park.
* Create joint-use agreement with Board of Education that will revitalize recreational open space at Washington Middle, Braddock Middle, and South Penn and install playground equipment at West Side Elementary and John Humbird Elementary.
* Create recycling program and build financial incentives into existing trash fee schedule.
* Develop Management Plan for new City Park on Wills Mountain, support additional open space acquisitions on steep slopes, and support creation of scenic overlook.
* Create brochure mapping City open space and recreational assets.

Community Access and Accountability
* Continue participation in summer foot patrol
* Maintain and improve Adventure Government webpage.
* Press for creation of Government Access Channel through local cable television provider
* Implement computerized CRM/citizen complaint system.
* Continue citizen satisfaction survey and monitor on annual basis
* Maintain Accountability system and establish benchmarks
* Support distribution of "Welcome Package" to new residents.
* Support annual Groundhog Day Neighborhood Summit

Neighborhood Revitalization
* Through the Neighborhood Advisory Association, develop neighborhood-based Community Design teams.
* Establish website presence on ALLCONET for Neighborhood Associations.
* Monitor effect of out-of-town landlords on property condition and tenants.
* Institute code reform to prevent usage of street for long-term vehicle parking and storage.
* Support creation of a Virginia Avenue corridor design and development plan.
* Create an early warning system using water/sewer/tax records for blight.

Economic Development
* Implement first-ever economic development plan with community visioning element
* Support creation of dedicated fund to support economic development activities
* Work with realtors to develop an inventory of vacant properties that are available for development.
* Improve City Economic Development website and improve visitor diagnostic information to aid recruitment.
* Develop a retail/service market analysis that can be used for retail/service recruitment/brochure development. Establish City presence at retailers convention.
* Dispose of surplus city properties for business development
* Support annual economic development report to M&CC to increase community awareness of accomplishments and challenges.
* Develop a city business park
* Support annexation to increase the supply of undeveloped land that can be marketed for development

Public Health and Education
* Support improving accessibility of health care through Community Access program
* Support school renovation and public education funding efforts.
* Support Western Maryland Health System modernization efforts. Secure funding and make zoning amendments necessary to facilitate modernization on site of Memorial Campus.

Public Works
* Lobby state to reinstate highway user fund cuts
* Institute surface management system, streets capital plan, and streets programs guidelines. Publish information on city website.
* Support Combined Sewer Overflow plan.
* Support capital improvements for Potomac Highlands Authority airport.

Regional Political reform
* Work for the development of a modern political culture in Allegany County, District 1, and the region.
* Improve coordination with other political jurisdictions such as town of Ridgeley, Mineral County, and Mountain Maryland municipalities.

Information, Research and Development
* Continue to provide policy research support for Mayor and City Council.
* Obtain projector and computer laptop for use in making presentations in the community.
* Continue work on an integrated urban simulation model (MountainSim) that can be used to examine the impacts of public policies on land use, transportation, and economic growth in the city.

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