City of Brighton

This week, Brighton City Council proclaimed July as Park and Recreation Month and recognized the integral role parks and recreation play in Brighton and throughout the community. Check out the Brighton Recreation Center Facebook page to see all the events planned to celebrate the month. Additionally, City Council designated July 19 as Park and Recreation Professionals Day, recognizing that the parks and recreation field is a diverse and comprehensive system that improves personal, social, environmental, and economic health. Thank you to all of our dedicated Parks and Recreation Department staff who work each day to provide recreational and developmental enrichment for children, youth, and adults, and to ensure our parks and recreational spaces are clean, safe, inclusive, welcoming, and ready to use.

On Tuesday, Brighton City Council had an opportunity to meet our 2024 Growing Grads summer interns. This year, 14 interns will spend 150 hours with their assigned department learning the ins and outs of municipal government. In addition, the interns will complete professional development classes to help them gain additional workforce skills. Welcome 2024 interns!

On Thursday, Youth Services Manager Tawnya Russell, Brighton Youth Commission Chair Cynthia Donlucas, and Senior Human Resources Technician Christian Morales (also a Brighton Youth Commission adult commissioner) led the workshop “Engaging Youth In Municipal Government” at the Colorado Municipal League’s 2024 Annual Conference. The workshop highlighted the innovative approaches the City of Brighton Youth Services team is using to involve youth in municipal government. They discussed the mutual benefits for young emerging leaders, municipal officials, and the community as a whole. The inspiring session showcased the positive impact of youth engagement in local governance.

The City of Brighton is proud to be the first municipality in Colorado to participate with Drive Clean Colorado in the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) Charging Smart program. The Charging Smart program assists local governments in setting and achieving equitable and impactful electric vehicle (EV) readiness goals. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gXXFy9A8

Brighton City Council recently approved the city's first Sustainability Plan during the June 4 City Council meeting. The Sustainability Plan is a five-year strategic roadmap for all the city’s sustainability projects.  The Sustainability Plan is designed to foster a balanced approach to economic growth, environmental stewardship, and social well-being. By adopting this plan, the city aims to address the community's evolving needs, focus resources on priority areas identified by residents, and measure progress toward achieving sustainability goals.  This plan was developed with input from city staff, analysis of regional sustainability plans adopted by other municipalities, and community feedback. In March, the city distributed its first community-wide sustainability survey, with 83 percent of respondents indicating that the city should prioritize sustainability.  The most popular sustainability themes that emerged from the survey results were incorporated into the plan’s major focus areas, including water conservation, energy efficiency and the built environment, mobility, and waste diversion. The plan also includes a list of measurements and key performance indicators that will be tracked through a public-facing dashboard, which will be launched later in the year. “This plan has been thoughtfully developed over the last year and includes recommendations taken directly from residents and other Brighton stakeholders during the robust community engagement phase," said Traci McLean, MA, MPA, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Brighton. "The projects, incentives, and educational opportunities that have been included truly capture the needs of the community. This is a significant step forward in advancing sustainability, and this plan is something we should all be proud of."  View the Sustainability Plan on the City of Brighton website here: https://lnkd.in/g2rfYrwV.

On Thursday, the City of Brighton held a topping off ceremony to place the last beam atop the city's new municipal service center, which is scheduled to be completed this year. The 67,668-square-foot facility will accommodate staff from several departments including fleet, parks and open space, public works, and utilities, all of which currently operate in separate aging facilities. Additionally, the Brighton Police Department will have a substation housed at the facility. The facility, which broke ground in June 2023, will be named the Michael Woodruff Municipal Service Center in honor of the former Director of Public Works, who passed away late last year following a brave battle with cancer.

Staff from Adams County Government Riverdale Animal Shelter brought ambassador pets to Brighton City Hall for a visit on Wednesday, hosted by the City's 3Es committee. The event allowed city employees to take a break from work and interact with these great, four-legged friends. The city's 3Es Committee is an employee engagement group focused on the excellence, empowerment, and enthusiasm of employees by building a culture based on respect, inclusivity, and positivity.

The City of Brighton joins communities across North America in celebrating Drinking Water Week, an annual observance led by the American Water Works Association. Taking place May 5-11 this year, Drinking Water Week serves to highlight the importance of safe drinking water and recognize the tireless efforts of water professionals who keep it flowing around the clock in our communities. On Tuesday, Brighton City Council recognized Drinking Water Week Week with a proclamation calling upon the residents of Brighton to help protect our source waters from pollution, practice water conservation and get involved with their water community. Utilities Director Scott Olsen and Assistant Director Emily Meek, MSES accepted the proclamation. The City of Brighton is currently embarking on its most ambitious water project to date to improve and expand its water treatment plant (WTP). Faced with the immediate challenge of meeting brine and sulfate discharge permit requirements, the City is also investing in improvements to increase reliability and capacity to support population and development growth. You can learn more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/gEHxr8xb To learn more about Drinking Water Week, visit https://lnkd.in/gA4-riEF

Congratulations to our Budget & Performance Manager Kayla Barber-Perrotta on being named one of the "Top Influencers in Local Government" by ELGL: Engaging Local Government Leaders. The recognition honors people who make a difference in their communities and the larger local gov network, and who demonstrate ELGL values of joy, creativity, connection, dependability, and equity through their work and public activities. Kayla began serving the City of Brighton in September 2019. As the city's Budget & Performance Manager, Kayla leads the development, implementation, and administration of the biennial operating budget and five-year capital improvement plan. Kayla also oversees the Brighton Performance and Leadership Academy, the city's award-winning program that teaches participants LEAN skills for identifying, analyzing, and solving pain points in their day-to-day work. Congratulations Kayla!

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has awarded the City of Brighton the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2024 fiscal year. The award represents a significant achievement to the GFOA, reflecting the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the City had to satisfy nationally-recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation, including a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device. To receive the award, budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories. The budget is the largest policy document produced by the City. It supports Council vision areas and community needs through funding allocation and sets priorities for the year. Learn more about the award here: https://lnkd.in/g8AAgPai