In addition to individual projects, Salt Lake Solutions will integrate collaborative, consensus-based problem-solving in city government. City department heads are already being introduced to Salt Lake Solutions. Our efforts will include training for alternative dispute resolution and consensus-building processes.

CityWorks

The second initiative internal to City government is CityWorks, an information-driven budget and management program that ensures our city government is responsible, accountable, and cost-effective. About a dozen other U.S. cities have employed programs like CityWorks to establish measurable standards for City programs and services.

Implementation of CityWorks will be a two- to three-year effort. We plan to roll it out initially focusing on one department, the Police Department, and one interdepartmental effort, carbon footprints planning and improvements for each City Department.

Implementing the 180-Day Action Plan

Other initiatives will rise to the top of my agenda this year, many of which are outlined in my 180-Day Action Plan:

• Education — In education, we will do everything we can to give every child the opportunity to succeed through a first-class public education.

As John Adams said at the founding of our nation: "The greatest minds agree that laws for the liberal education of youth, especially for the lower classes of people, are so extremely wise and useful, that to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant."

A selection committee of members inside and outside City government has been helping us hire an Education Partnership Coordinator, and the School District has offered to help fund this position.

I will move forward with the Mayor's School Summit and the "Salt Lake City is College-Bound" scholarship program.

• Environment and Energy — We are blessed with majestic mountains, ribbons of rivers and streams, and a progressive approach to the use of energy in our buildings and transportation system. To optimize our assets for our quality of life and economic opportunities, I want to see Salt Lake City rapidly take giant steps forward.

I will accelerate the planning and funding for Salt Lake Bikeways. Among the new bikeways, Salt Lake City will have a dedicated bikeway for City Creek to the Jordan River and west to the airport.