What does a Mayor do?

Adobe Stock Image-not the actual Mayor

McDonalds senior coffee with three creams! Not sure if McDonalds coffee is that good or if I’ve gotten accustomed to it, but I do enjoy it. That said, back to the office of Mayor. Checking out at a local business not too long ago, the person taking my money asked if I was the next Mayor of Linton. I responded in a confident way that, yes, I will be the next Mayor. The person’s response, “I have no idea what a Mayor does”, to which I replied “I don’t either”.

At that time, I had no idea how right my answer was. Since officially taking office I’ve learned a small part of what the Mayor’s responsibilities are.

One surprise was the number of boards/committees/commissions the office of Mayor is required to be on.

Here is the current list: member, Southern Indiana Development Commission (SIDC), member, Greene County Community Corrections, member, Greene County Management Advisory Board, member, Greene County Economic Development Corporation and member, Greene County Solid Waste Board. So, for a couple of these boards it was stated I could designate someone to take my place. That said, I’m not sure what some of these boards do and I’m not going to designate just anyone until I understand the function of the board or committee. Those are the ones I’m aware of so far. Then there are several city boards and committees that the Mayor either serves on or advises. Those boards are the Redevelopment Commission, Pool Board, Park Board and soon to be others. There’s also the recently-established INErgize Linton. The focus of this board is to take up where the Rediscover Downtown Linton Board left off, focusing on improving the downtown area. There are boards associated with soon-to-be-happening events. One is Friends of Goosepond that has been preparing for the upcoming, and always successful Marsh Madness Sandhill Crane Festival, 16-17 February. And the second soon-to-be-occurring event, meetings in preparation for the rare solar eclipse on 8 April, an event that will see a major influx of observers to the community.

That said, I’ve determined it’s important that the City of Linton be asked to be represented on these boards and look forward to the opportunity. After all, Linton is the biggest city in the county. I know the Solid Waste board meets monthly, as does the Greene County Economic Development Board. The others I’ve yet to learn. At the onset, I can see the value of learning different aspects of city/county government and networking with personnel outside the city potentially for the benefit of the city. If my responsibilities and time on these boards start to eat into my primary responsibilities of managing the city, then I will need to reevaluate and possibly designate someone to take my place. My plan, once I’ve had an opportunity to attend one or two meetings, is to provide an update on the purpose of these boards and their value to Linton. My priority is looking out for the community and working to improve the quality of life here. That said, over my next cup of coffee I’ll talk about an idea for utilizing one of the properties the city owns. Stay tuned.

John Preble is currently serving his first term as the Mayor of Linton, Indiana. This blog will serve as one way for the Mayor’s office to communicate news and items of interest to readers.