SACO — A proposal to hire an outside consultant to work with the city on a vision statement has received a mixed reaction from the city council.

The council, at a Monday night workshop, discussed spending $15,000 for a facilitator to conduct community visioning meetings and solicit community opinions, create a 10- to 15-year vision statement with concrete actionable goals and update the city’s strategic business plan.

City Personnel Officer Stephanie Weaver said she felt this would be a great public relations move, for the city to reach out to taxpayers after the tax increase a few years ago and let them know the city wants to hear their opinions.

“This isn’t just coming up with a nice slogan,” said Weaver. “There are things moving around the state and we aren’t moving as fast as we could be.”

Councilor Eric Cote said he didn’t see the benefit of hiring a consultant. He said the city doesn’t have the money for all the projects it wants to complete, and he didn’t think it should spend money on a report that wouldn’t be used.

“I think this is a waste of time, nothing personal,” he said.

Councilor Arthur Tardif said he didn’t think the city had the money to spend on the proposed project.

“It’s going to be a tough year,” he said.

Others thought the expenditure would be a worthwhile investment. Councilor Bette Brunswick said she’d talked to businesses in her ward about the proposal, and they were very excited about it.

Councilor Kevin Roche said that although the proposal would mean spending $15,000, it could lead to moving forward with ideas that could bring a lot of money to the city.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.