Mayor Scott Willis has been promoting his four-pillar plan to guide growth in Westfield during his term. He said those pillars — public safety excellence; transparency and accountability; quality growth and livability; and empowerment and improvement — are a roadmap for his administration, and each includes a long list of objectives and goals.
“These four pillars, in my mind, are the recipe for success in our city and advancing Westfield over the next four years,” Willis told more than 140 residents at his first town hall meeting March 21 at Wood Winds Golf Club.
Willis said his goal is to keep residents involved and informed every step of the way.
“We’re looking at implementing a quarterly newsletter, and that will be a hard copy. It is going to be mailed to you, it is going to cover schools, the chamber of commerce, city council will have a way to communicate as well,” Willis said. “We’re just going to try to keep you up to date on things that are happening in the city.”
Willis said the city will continue to use social media and email updates, but hopes a newsletter, which will cost $16,000 to $17,000 per quarter to produce, will reach everyone, especially those who don’t follow the city’s digital platforms.
“We’re trying to hit it from every angle,” Willis said. “The way I look at my job, I’m the mayor, but I have 60,000 bosses. Every single person (who is a) resident of Westfield, I work for you. In a business relationship, if you never talk to your boss, you’re probably not going to be around very long, and you’re certainly not going to be successful. So, my goal is to communicate to you and I’ve really tried to instill that in my staff.”
Willis said the money spent on the newsletter is an investment in transparency.
“If we choose not to spend that money to communicate, you’re going to be in the dark, you’re not going to be happy with us,” Willis said. “We want to do the best we can to make sure that you understand we’re not hiding.”
Willis’ next town hall will take place at 7 p.m. June 20 at the new Westfield Washington Library. A tour of the new facility will begin at 6:30 p.m.
