Mission
Doing our best work today and every day to make Kalamazoo the best city it can be tomorrow.
Vision
We are an All-American organization committed to public service, with a “can do” attitude to make Kalamazoo a livable and sustainable community for all citizens. We strive to create a work environment driven by enthusiasm, where innovation and risk taking are encouraged and rewarded. We respect the diversity of our co-workers and recognize change as an opportunity, and value teamwork, honesty, and integrity. We celebrate and learn from our successes and failures, and use those lessons to guide us in our work to make Kalamazoo the best city possible.
In 2015, Kalamazoo will be a city where residents move easily, by motorized or non-motorized means, between vibrant neighborhoods and a vital downtown. It will be a regional center of cultural, educational, and economic activity and health care services. It will have well-used greenways and open spaces, including neighborhood and community parks that are interconnected by bikeways, pedestrian paths, and roads. Diversity will be a virtue. Kalamazoo’s vitality will be sustainable with a balance among the needs of the environment, the economy, and the social needs of residents.
Community Values
- Belonging
- Economic Opportunity
- Equity
- Safety and Security
- Sense of Community
- Shared Leadership
- Striking a Balance
Strategic Focus
Economic Vitality
- Support and invest in a sustainable and growing economy that offers a diverse supply of employment opportunities for all skill levels.
- Provide a leadership role in economic development within the city while working collaboratively with regional partners
- Support and promote educational opportunities for all ages.
- Support and promote a vital, vibrant downtown that includes residences, businesses and cultural institutions.
Neighborhood Development
- Promote and support diverse, clean, safe, quality neighborhoods offering a variety of residential opportunities at a variety of affordable prices.
- Promote safety and development by utilizing the principles of community policing.
Responsible and Responsive Government
- Ensure that City government is open and accessible to the community.
- Provide quality services and programs delivered to residents efficiently and cost-effectively while ensuring ethical practices are observed and legal responsibilities fulfilled.
- Provide prompt, professional, and courteous police, fire and emergency medical services, including concentrated attention to critical neighborhood problems.
- Promote a long term, sustainable revenue strategy and equitable distribution of the tax burden.
- Promote and support a comprehensive, multi-modal regional transportation system and improved non-motorized facilities (.pdf).
Environmental Stewardship
- Protect and preserve water quality and quantity.
- Provide a consistent, high quality effluent from the City Water Reclamation Plant that meets or exceeds all local, state and federal discharge requirements.
- Promote a system of open spaces and greenways throughout the City to protect the environment, provide recreational opportunities, improve the community’s visual quality, and contribute to economic prosperity.
Community Building
- Respect racial, cultural, religious, age, and individual differences, including disability and sexual orientation, providing equal opportunity (.pdf) and access for all citizens in a diverse community (.pdf).
- Improve the quality of life by determining and addressing community and neighborhood priorities and responding to issues.
- Reduce the rate of poverty.
