The following is written by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow:
Periodically people will ask: “What’s it like living or working in a small city?” Having lived and worked in a big City (yes, I grew up in that big city to our north), I can tell you there are lots of advantages to a small city. Most of our City employees, who have opportunities going to go work for larger cities to advance their careers, chose to work in a small city. I think it comes down to quality over quantity, but I also think it has something to do with the feeling of ownership and pride toward something we value. Whatever it is, we have great employees that care about our city and look at working here as more than just a job.
Recently, the City of Sumner was recognized twice for outstanding work done by the employees. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) honored Sumner with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for our 2015-2016 Biennial Budget. GFOA, a national, professional association, commented that this award assesses how well a government’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device. Sumner was deemed proficient in all four categories and met fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories to receive the award.
In addition, the Washington State Department of Ecology honored Sumner’s Wastewater Treatment Facility with an Outstanding Performance award. Of 300 facilities statewide, ours was one of only 127 to achieve full compliance with their criteria. As they said in their letter, “It takes diligent operators and a strong management team, working effectively together, to achieve this high level of compliance. It is not easy to operate a wastewater treatment plant 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without violations.” Sumner’s facility is operated by the City of Sumner and serves both our community and Bonney Lake.
I like to think that Sumner is the perfect size of a city. We’re just large enough to meet (or set) professional standards but small enough to remain flexible and creative. It’s nice to see that other state and national organizations agree!
