Mayor Mark Bellows Reflects on First Year Leading Lakeville

As of Lakeville, he is heading into 2012 with his ears wide open, ready and willing to listen to the voices of the community.

“We’re always striving to be more efficient and more responsive to the residents in our community,” said Bellows.

Out of all of his community engagement efforts, Bellows is particularly proud of the the recently approved. The advisory committee positions are held by seven volunteer citizens. The committee assists the City Council with financial planning issues, offering a citizen perspective.

Bellows has frequently cited Lakeville’s business community as a high priority. He stated that Lakeville is currently more accessible to local businesses than it was a year ago, but that becoming more business-friendly is a constant and continuous goal.

One recent step toward improving diplomacy between local businesses and city government was the the city hosted last spring. The city invited several local developers to the forum and asked for their suggestions on how best to increase efficiency within Lakeville's development process.

The decision to contract out , a change which will save the city an estimated $77,000 over the next two years, was a direct result of the forum.

However, Bellows’ first year in office has not been without its challenges.

“It is definitely more emotionally draining, emotionally time consuming, than I would have imagined,” said Bellows.

The mayor still has many goals for the coming year. Specifically, he hopes to continue to strengthen the city’s relationship with local businesses and to lower the tax levy.

“I am going to continue to just try to listen to the people in this community. I’m here to serve them,” said Bellows. “That is something that never ends.”