Happy New Year, Flower Mound! As we plan for 2025 and look forward to all that is to come, I wanted to share your Town Council’s goals for the upcoming year. Each year, Town Council and staff work together to draft a Strategic Plan that provides a roadmap to guide our priorities, processes, and decision-making over the next year, and beyond.
In 2025, Town Council has identified 10 objectives that will help guide the work of the Town this year:
First, protect and expand the town’s tree canopy. Under that objective, we’ve identified three initiatives that can help us reach our goal. Complete a tree planting at Colony Park (this occurred in November!) and present site options for a tree planting in Fiscal Year 2025-26. Develop a Residential Tree Rebate Program and increase the number of trees given away. And purchase land to preserve the tree canopy.
Our second objective is to increase open space, parkland, and recreational opportunities. To do this, we hope to acquire additional town parkland, host the Town’s first signature fall festival in 2025, incentivize open space dedication through potential commercial parking code changes, and expand recreational opportunities on Lake Grapevine with a Twin Coves Park expansion.
Third, implement the Economic Development Strategic Plan. To do this, our initiatives include evaluating options for establishing a medical district in west Flower Mound, and bolstering business retention and expansion efforts throughout town by monitoring local business needs through site visits, surveys, and workshops.
Our fourth objective is to implement innovative traffic solutions. Under this objective, we hope to install analytics cameras and detection equipment and implement AI-assisted traffic analytics software. We also plan to partner with third-party navigation apps (like Google and Waze) to improve traffic flow by providing route suggestions and traffic data sharing.
Our fifth objective is to implement the Future Facilities Strategy. This includes identifying funding for immediate facility needs by potentially holding a bond election for the Community Activity Center renovation, parks, trails, and streets. This also includes designing a performing arts center. Lastly, this includes acquiring land for future facility needs when available and appropriate.
Our sixth objective is to implement the Long-Range Financial Strategy. This involves identifying property tax relief for residents by increasing the Homestead Exemption and finding operational costs that can be funded by sales tax. This also involves conducting long-range financial planning by performing a cost allocation study, performing a long-term operational plan with five-year staffing analysis, expanding our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to a 10-year schedule, and implementing a technology and equipment replacement plan.
Our seventh objective is to recruit and retain high-quality staff. To do this, we plan to implement a comprehensive staff training program, perform annual compensation and classification analyses, and recognize high-performing employees.
Our eighth objective is to maintain operational continuity and resiliency. This involves performing Public Works critical infrastructure security upgrades, performing emergency operations exercises, and implementing a cyber hygiene program.
Objective nine is to promote transparency and public engagement. This includes implementing a digital budget book for FY 2024-25 (this has been done and you can see it at flowermound.gov/budget!), creating a Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) in FY 2024-25, continuing to expand FloMo Convos, regularly updating the Town’s website through a monthly departmental update schedule, and identifying a digital solution to improve our customer relations platform.
Last, but certainly not least, objective 10 is to provide effective and efficient police, fire, and EMS response. This includes improving traffic enforcement and traffic safety through a multi-department task force, expanding public safety coverage in west Flower Mound through adding a fourth ambulance to Fire Station #6, and implementing a multi-departmental task force that meets regularly to monitor community risks and implement proactive solutions to mitigate trending risk factors.
There is so much more information included in our Strategic Plan, so I encourage you to check it out at flowermound.gov/towncouncil. I can’t wait to see you in 2025 and to work together to accomplish our goals!
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