03 – "No is an acceptable answer"

Many citizens think their local government has enough money to maintain its infrastructure and keep up services, because they pay taxes. The reality is most cities do not, and it can be challenging for city leadership to communicate this to citizens. Today's guests are bucking that trend of silence. We talk to three key leaders (Mayor Connie Schroeder, City Manager Lynda Humble, and Hospitality & Downtown Director Sarah O'Brien) from the City of Bastrop, TX, about what managed growth means to the future of their city. They discuss Bastrop's resource constraints and affordability challenges, why they are openly talking about their infrastructure funding gap when many cities' leaderships are reluctant to do so, and why cities need to be doing the math on the eventual costs of repairing roads and subdivisions. Find out more about their Building Bastrop initiative, which aims "to streamline the development process and create fiscally sustainable standards for future projects." Your city may go by a different name, but it's likely facing many similar challenges to those in Bastrop, and it could certainly learn from this refreshing approach to sustainable development. Follow Bastrop's progress on Twitter (@CityofBastropTX) and facebook.com/bastroptx Show page: https://gocultivate.org/podcast-episode-03/