By Barbara Day, M.S., R.D., C.N.
Full disclosure, I did not vote for Louisville Metro Mayor Greg Fischer. I am conservative. My voting record is independent, however. I voted for Mayor Abramson & President Clinton. In the mayor election cycle, I helped my friend and fellow Church member, Hal Heiner, in his campaign. However, I liked what then Candidate Fischer had to say when he was debating Heiner before the election. I have to admit I didn’t even know anything about Greg Fischer at that point except that he was running against Hal Heiner. I remember thinking after the debate either candidate would be a good choice but fast forward to today.
Mayor Fischer declared today was 79 days into his administration. Using the football analogy, he said he would be on the 6th yard line with about 94 yards to go. Well, that got my attention since I love football. Fischer said he gave himself a B- based on his job performance.
I personally found Mayor Fischer’s address very entertaining and informative. In fact, I have to say, he convinced me he was up to the task of leading Louisville and seemed to be a visionary as well. He claimed his mantra as mayor is “Taking Care of Business” and I have to admit I think he actually means it! One thing about Fischer is that he is NOT a career politician so what he says probably actually means something.
Getting the Job Done One Step at a Time
Mayor Fischer said first up to bat was working on the police take home car policy, the current firefighters lawsuit and the Merger 2.0 Task Force which is charged with helping the Mayor improve on the merged government. With those tasks launched, he said he was currently looking at each department and each player in each department for job performance. (Metro government has 5500 employees according to Fischer). I got the impression as a businessman not a public sector relic, Mayor Fischer understands how to determine if a job is overlapped & actually needed to complete a task. After years of being in the private sector, he understands very intuitively how everything affects the bottom line. Typically in government before the economic downturn, it seemed no one actually cares about the bottom line, more spending was helpful in getting re-elected.
I have said a million times “if the government were ran like a REAL BUSINESS we wouldn’t be having this major debt crisis that is facing all levels of government today.” Mayor Fischer seems to be running Metro Government like a REAL BUSINESS! How novel!
Transparency-Really??
Mayor Fischer reported his administration has been releasing tax revenues monthly. He said Metro government’s annual budget is $800 million with a $22 million shortfall. He ultimately decided to hold 5 public hearings around town to get the residents input on what should be CUT from the budget to balance the budget. HUM! Well you might guess what happened. He said city wide hearings weren’t quite as effective as he had hoped for even though he had over 200 ideas but only 2 were cost cutting ideas the rest were more spending. Oops!
Job Creation
Mayor Fischer seems to understand that the government does not create jobs but creates an atmosphere for entrepreneurs like him to build businesses and hire employees. He wants to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in Louisville where people in Louisville take risks like he has done in his career. As an entrepreneur myself, I like his spirit and spunk for getting Louisville’s mindset changed so we can compete effectively with other cities for new business.
Ideas from the 2011 IdeaFestival
Mayor Fischer obviously is a big fan of the Annual IdeaFestival. This year’s IdeaFestival is September 21-24. He’s planning on setting up a temporary office at the festival so participants can see government in action. In past years, I had been working 70 hours a week trying to get my health publications published so I didn’t have the time to go to IdeaFestival but now that I am FREE, I may take advantage of the IdeaFestival just to see what Mayor Fischer does on a moment to moment basis! He’s encouraging other businesses to join him, too.
What’s Happening
Mayor Fischer said Metro Government has established final funding for the Pedestrian Bridge (Yipee!) and the Ohio River Bridges, I heard he’s promoting 2 bridges not just the controversial East End Bridge. Based on what he reported about the funding, bridge usage fees will help pay for cost of building the bridges. In addition, he elaborated how the NEW Fort Knox expansion of the Army’s Human Resource Command will be a major asset to Louisville. He briefly discussed the $50 million expansion of the Speed Art Museum and the development of the Local Farm Enterprise Zone which is a farm to table program featuring local farmers.
Louisville Innovations: Leading America-Center for Lifelong Wellness & Aging Care
Mayor Fischer discussed the development of the Center for Lifelong Wellness & Aging Care. With over 250 businesses and organizations specializing in healthcare, specifically senior care, the Mayor feels certain Louisville can innovate its way into becoming a national force in the senior care market. Mayor Fischer detailed how the University of Louisville (Alzheimer’s disease, palliative care, genetics of aging, oncology, social work), Bellarmine University (physical therapy), and Spalding University (occupational therapy),will be effective at helping create a competitive workforce to accomplish these goals. (Don’t forget the Sullivan University School of Pharmacy in this mix as well!). In addition, other technical educational facilities can help transition Louisville into a national healthcare power.
Mayor Fischer talked about 6 areas of healthcare where Louisville can concentrate on which could become economic engines for growth: Assisted living (Atria), developmental & physical disability care (U of L and Jewish Hospital’s Frazier Rehab), healthcare solutions & management (ZirMed), Managed Care Management (Humana), Nursing Home Care (Kindred, Signature Care, Senior Care), and Rehabilitation Care (Kindred).
As a healthcare professional, I am thrilled to hear about all this health care innovation that is going on right in my own backyard!
Lightning Round from Mayor Fischer
Mayor Fischer will call for a Day of Service in October, announce a volunteer Derby event at the There Off! Luncheon called Brush Fire of Compassion, wants companies to hire teens for the summer which is about a $2,000 investment, and is interested in having more people involved in Metro Government in a volunteer capacity.
Summing it Up!
Using the sports analogy, from where I sit, I think Louisvillians have hit a home run by electing Mayor Fischer! His vision for Louisville and our economic development is excellent! But the proof is in the pudding: 3 years and 9 months and counting!
Barbara Day, M.S., R.D., C.N, is a registered dietitian (www.DayByDayNutrition.com) who has been teaching healthy lifestyles strategies to consumers for over 35+ years.
