[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 182 (Friday, November 16, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RECOGNIZING JOHN BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 16, 2018

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of John Brown, 
a consummate public servant who is retiring from his role as City 
Manager of the City of Petaluma, California, after ten years of 
excellent service.
  Born into a family with a strong emphasis on the value of public 
service, John Brown embarked on what would be a 35-year career in local 
government beginning in 1983. For 25 years, Mr. Brown worked directly 
for three cities and one county in Northern California and Oregon. His 
roles during this time steadily evolved in responsibility, from 
financial and project analysis to city management and county 
administration. Mr. Brown developed a reputation for his acumen in 
producing balanced budgets while ensuring economic growth and 
sustaining important government services. This expertise became 
invaluable in 2008, when Mr. Brown left his position as City Manager of 
the City of Woodburn, Oregon, to become the City Manager of the City of 
Petaluma.
  When John Brown took over as Petaluma City Manager, the city was 
feeling the full impacts of the global recession. Seemingly unphased by 
the challenge before him, Mr. Brown spent the next ten years 
dramatically re-shaping the city's budget while maintaining important 
city services. He spent the first three years of his tenure reducing 
general fund spending by a third, while also cutting non-essential city 
staff. These cuts were difficult at the time, but they allowed the city 
to outpace the fallout of the financial crisis. Following this period 
of austerity, Mr. Brown focused on growing the city's local amenities 
and opportunities for economic development by bringing in new retail, 
tourism, and mixed-use developments into the city. He also worked 
tirelessly to tackle the city's lingering debt repayment issues, 
improving the city' s credit rating in the process. Altogether, these 
policies eventually paid dividends and the city rebuilt its reserve 
fund to pre-recession levels, hired back city staff and expanded city 
services. Today, the City of Petaluma is on firm economic footing, and 
prepared for a bright future. None of this would have been possible 
without John Brown's leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing deep appreciation for John 
Brown's extraordinary leadership in the face of a global recession, and 
to congratulate him on his retirement.

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