Engage PT Initiatives
Engage PT is your direct connection to learning about and influencing City decisions that affect you. Each year, we draw together the priority issues that need community input and decisions by City Council. A brief overview helps you understand how the issue connects up to others and how you can have your say in the outcome. Through Engage PT, the City intends to reach a wider diversity of our residents, recognizing that some people are simply not heard or may not have the time or interest to engage. Broader community engagement isn’t just important to inform the decisions that affect us all, it is also important as a creative process that helps build a more cohesive, inclusive, and caring community.
Ways to Engage, Stay Informed, and Activate Your Curiosity
- Read the City's monthly newsletter, press releases, and quarterly news magazine
- Follow the City of Port Townsend on Facebook
- Watch our educational videos on our YouTube Channel
- Participate in How Your City Works programming at the City Public Library
- Listen to City Manager John Mauro's radio show, Brewocracy Now!, on KPTZ and submit questions to the DJ
- Attend City Council meetings and participate in Public Comment
- Follow specific City projects through email subscriptions
- Attend the City Manager John Mauro's First Friday monthly coffee with the community
- Attend monthly Advisory Board meetings and consider applying to sit on a City Advisory Board
- Connect with City staff and Councilmembers at public events, like project open houses, ribbon cuttings, and tabling the Farmer's Market
Want to learn more about the City's 20-year plan and how to get involved? Visit Port Townsend 2045: Planning Initiatives.
Strategic Focus Areas
City/County Pre-approved Stock Plan ProgramClick Here to watch Part 3 HOUSING in the City's 4 part video series
Like in other areas of Washington State and the nation, the lack of local affordable housing supply has devastating ripple effects on families, critical services, our education system, and our local economy. Rapidly rising house prices have driven out individuals and families who have long lived and worked in Port Townsend. A higher percentage of residents here live in poverty than in either Jefferson County or the USA and are significantly burdened by the cost of housing. Diverse, affordable, and stable housing in Port Townsend is an underpinning success factor for our collective well-being and quality of life.
Infrastructure is the set of fundamental facilities and systems that support the sustainable functionality of households and businesses. Examples of infrastructure include transportation systems, communication networks, sewage, water, and electric systems. These systems tend to be capital intensive and high-cost investments, and are vital to a city's economic development and prosperity.
We and our community depend on a resilient and sustainable regional economy. Economic development attracts, sustains and retains businesses and industries which provide jobs and services as well as a tax base for municipalities like the City of Port Townsend that deliver basic services.
What sectors drive our economy – and what should? What range of factors impact our economy? What does our future economy look like – and how can we shape it? What should our economy do for us and our community – and what are the benefits and outcomes we’re looking for?
Port Townsend benefits from a stunning location, rich natural and cultural amenities, and a vibrant quality of life that is enjoyed by many residents and admired by many visitors. The City of Port Townsend provides basic services like public spaces, clean drinking water, public safety, and access to information and programs that contribute to and underpin the quality of life. Enjoyment of a meaningful life, including health, happiness, and general well-being, is something we almost universally strive for, even if it takes different shapes and forms.
A smart, sustainable, efficient, and effective City government organization supports a great community and our aspirations. Ensuring the City has the staffing, resources, tools, and infrastructure to deliver the services you depend on – both today and for the long-haul – is paramount for our collective success.
