By Brian Beckley

The Courier-Herald

Neil Johnson looks relaxed, but life has certainly been busy for the new mayor of Bonney Lake.

In the first part of this year, Johnson has moved to a new home and taken over the reins of the second-fastest growing city in the state. He still works 40-plus hours a week at his day job, as well as coaches soccer.

He and his wife also had their second child this fall.

To make it all fit, Johnson spends time in his car - and just about any other spare minute, like waiting at Starbucks for a reporter to arrive - on his cell phone.

&#8220There's weeks where you get done and you sit back and say ‘wow,'” Johnson said.

Whatever he is doing to help balance his schedule, so far it appears to be working as reviews of the rookie mayor's first quarter in office are generally good.

&#8220Actually, it's probably better than I expected,” he said.

As busy as things are in his personal life, the new mayor has been just as busy with the business of the city. So far this year, Johnson and the city council have reorganized city departments, filled every open position on advisory boards, instituted a new beautification program, created a city administrator position, revamped the budget process with a new finance director and hosted the city's first Easter egg hunt.

&#8220It's a new day,” Johnson said.

Johnson has also changed some policies within City Hall, allowing his department heads to talk to both the press and the city council without having to refer everything through the mayor. He has also given the department heads more leeway and the atmosphere among employees seems to be generally happier than it was under the prior administration.

&#8220We're giving people the freedom to do their job,” he said.

Among Johnson's first moves as mayor was to create an Employee of the Month program and designate a parking spot for the recipient, the space formerly reserved for the mayor.

&#8220Why should anybody get designated parking?” he asked. &#8220I'm one of many, it just so happens I'm elected mayor.”

Johnson also said when he first took office, he opened the blinds on the windows, prompting a public works employee to tell him it had been years since he'd seen them open.

The mayor has also changed the quarterly morning meeting of staff from the Mayor's Breakfast to &#8220Food for Thought.” They are no longer mandatory.

&#8220It's their time to share ideas,” he said of the staff. &#8220I want other people to have ideas. This is not a rubber stamp situation.”

Johnson also hosted a series of town hall meetings to take the public's temperature on many of the issues facing the city.

&#8220That's what it's all about,” he said. &#8220It's a community.”

The biggest change in the city was the creation of a new department, community services, headed by Gary Leaf, an &#8220obvious choice,” according to the mayor.

The Department of Community Services gathers the parks and recreation, senior center and facilities under one roof.

&#8220These are the things people care about,” Johnson said.

Johnson and the city council also reinstated the city administrator position, a role that was eliminated from the budget during the previous administration.

Former administrative services coordinator Don Morrison was named the new administrator and has taken over day-to-day running of the city.

&#8220This is a part-time job,” Johnson said, adding he gives general direction while Morrison makes things happen. &#8220I don't need to be involved in everything.”

The streamlining of services was a promise Johnson made during the campaign. Another was an emphasis on city beautification. As soon as he took office, Johnson set up a new street-sweeping and litter pick-up schedule, part of his belief a better-looking city means more civic pride and will increase interest from business.

&#8220It's just taking pride in your workplace,” he said. &#8220If you want a successful environment, it should be clean.”

The mayor and council also revamped the city's budget process and hired a new finance director to replace John Wiedenfeller, a polarizing figure in the former administration whose resignation at the end of the previous term came as a surprise.

With a new finance director in place, Johnson said the council was finally able to create a six-year planning model in the budget, filling in numbers that were often left blank before.

&#8220To me it just wasn't complete,” he said of prior budgets. &#8220It was just huge to have that completed so the council could move forward.”

Unlike the prior administration, Johnson views his role as mayor more as an arm of the council instead of an opposing force, something that has earned him kudos from the current city council.

&#8220Our goal is to follow what the council wants to achieve,” he said adding his job is to &#8220implement” that policy. &#8220It's a council meeting, not a mayor's meeting.”

Several council members agreed there is a definite change since the year began.

&#8220I'm very pleased with the way it's going so far,” Dave King said. &#8220We've had a lot of progress on a lot of things.

&#8220Maybe we're not talking honeymoon,” he continued. &#8220Maybe we're talking a very viable administration that is taking charge of a lot of things we've wanted to do for a while.”

&#8220I think he's doing real well,” former challenger Jim Rackley added.

Rackley said the atmosphere is more relaxed and the staff seem happier.

&#8220The power is not so concentrated,” he said.

The council members also complimented Johnson on filling positions on advisory boards, some of which sat vacant for months and even years.

&#8220That was important,” Johnson said. &#8220The council relies on these boards and positions for advice.”

King even said the caliber of candidates vying for the positions seems to be higher than in previous years.

There are some detractors, including those who worry the mayor is spending too much money too quickly and will soon deplete the city's surplus funds.

&#8220In the meal of life, Johnson is eating dessert first and not touching the main course,” activist and watchdog Quinn Dahlstrom said.

Dahlstrom said she worries the focus is on things like trails and sidewalks and beautification, and not on the big-ticket problems like transportation, sewer and water.

&#8220At some point you have to catch up,” Johnson said of the spending, adding he sees it more as an investment in the city.

&#8220If the city doesn't take the lead, how can you expect someone else to?” he asked.

There are also several large questions facing the city this year, from the impact of the Cascadia development (&#8220We're not standing back and letting anyone walk over us,” Johnson said) to the development of the Washington State University Demonstration Forest.

Along with those issues, the mayor said he is going to continue to focus on ironing out any remaining kinks at the community services department, developing a new parks plan and continuing beautification efforts.

&#8220We're going to focus on the things you see,” he said. &#8220I couldn't ask for a better situation.”

Brian Beckley can be reached at bbeckley@courierherald.com.