April, 2021 – Village Manager’s Message

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A Message from Jim Barnes

Wellington’s Village Council and the staff are proud of the accomplishments of 2020. Both have worked hard together to prioritize the Village’s day-to-day efforts and connect with our community with a focus on fiscal health; economic vitality; smart, customer-focused government; community engagement; and safety. We believe that continued success in these areas will help provide the best quality of life and environment for our residents and businesses to thrive.

FISCAL HEALTH

Village revenues have continued to surpass estimates. By setting budgets accordingly and operating within Council’s fiscal policies, the Village continues to operate well within its means. For example, the Village retains a healthy reserve in excess of 30% of annual operating expenses, leaving significant capacity should it be needed in the future. Wellington has continued to position itself to execute an aggressive five-year capital budget investing in our neighborhoods and setting conditions to attract future economic investment while retaining the capacity to provide excellent services.

ECONOMIC VITALITY

We continue to build upon the successes we have gained in industry clusters such as medical services healthcare, and related areas. The Village remains focused on investing in place making and its public spaces to ensure that it continues to serve as the cornerstone of keeping Wellington a great hometown.

SMART, CUSTOMER-FOCUSED GOVERNMENT

We take great pride in providing best-in-class services including curbside services such as refuse, recycling and yard waste, parks maintenance, recreation programming, and so much more. Our departments continue to achieve accreditation by professional associations and consistently earn high honors that recognize them as some of the best and most innovative in the nation. We appreciate any comments and inquiries from our residents, but more so appreciate learning where we can improve, so please keep any comments, compliments, and complaints coming. 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Council, its Boards, Committees, and staff provide many opportunities for residents and businesses to be involved. The Village’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging effort, Parks and Recreation Master Plan, HYPE youth program, and Neighborhood Watch programs, are great examples of engagement efforts to bring residents together to address our future. We are constantly communicating through meetings, social media, and our website to better connect with residents and respond to questions and concerns.

SAFE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITY

Public and employee safety remains our highest priority. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office provides an environment that is one of the safest in the nation. Our deputies and their leadership engage with our residents, maintain a high presence throughout the community and in our facilities and events, and offer many services to help prevent crime. We work seamlessly with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue to respond to any emergency, and we train together to ensure we are prepared for man-made and natural disasters. I hope you agree that there has been much accomplished and much still to do. We look forward to connecting our community in more ways to build an even stronger Wellington in 2021 and beyond.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC & VACCINATION EFFORTS

There is no playbook for managing a Village in a pandemic. From providing services to residents directed to stay home, to protecting the health of our employees, to providing recreational programs and activities virtually — the coronavirus pandemic has brought great challenges and an ever-changing landscape to our role as public servants. As we press forward, Wellington is fully prepared to support vaccination rollout as we did by operating the only western community COVID-19 test site in conjunction with our community partners. We will continue working closely with Palm Beach County and the Department of Health to ensure everyone in our community has access to the vaccine. We are all looking forward to a time when we can once again come together for community events and gatherings.