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In the week since the results of the city's general election became official, the mayor-elect and aldermen-elect have been transitioning from competitors to a team, and racing against a fast-approaching Dec. 10 deadline to set their agenda.

The new administration will hold its first public meeting at 7 p.m., today, in the city's Municipal Annex Building., at 140 W. Patrick St. Mayor-elect Randy McClement (R) will introduce his transition team and outline the team's goals and objectives.

Solidifying a transition team and meeting with the new aldermen has been one of the top priorities for McClement since his win was confirmed by the city's board of supervisors on Nov. 5.

Since then, McClement has met with candidates for the transition team and met with the new Board of Aldermen on Monday, said Dale Driscoll, chair of the transition team.

Driscoll said that McClement will have no more than five people on at least five subsets of the transition committee, to include: governance and operations, public safety, technology, budget and finance and community services.

McClement and the Board of Aldermen are also in the process of soliciting briefings from city department heads on pressing issues and having departments identify their Top 5 priority lists for the next 90 days, six months and one year.

"That is the information that the transition team will gather — to get to the aldermen-elect and mayor-elect up to speed as fast and as detailed as 30 days will allow," Driscoll said.

Aldermen-elect said this week that that information will be key as this administration is starting from a clean slate.

"Considering we will have no past aldermen with us, all of that information will be important," said Alderman-elect Carol Krimm (D).

Krimm (D) said that she already has her sights set on the tax equity issue with Frederick County government. Krimm said she is prepping for a letter that is due from the city to the county in December regarding the issue. She is also concerned about state cuts that affect the city budget.

The state of the city's finances also took center stage for other aldermen-elect.

"There's no shortage of things to do," said Alderman-elect Michael O'Connor (D). "But, it all flows to some degree from the budget. How we look at the budget and how we talk to the citizens about their priorities ... goes a long way to meeting some of my objectives."

O'Connor said that he is brushing up on issues that he had studied throughout the campaign, such as the city's charter and governance rules. "There's no question that despite having done all of this at one time or another, it's like cramming for a final exam, and some of it goes away," he said.

Alderman-elect Karen Lewis Young (D) said that she is preparing to transition into her new post by revisiting what she already studied.

"I interviewed every department head, talked to a lot of representatives on various commissions [during the campaign] so I am repeating a lot of those things, because there's a slightly different slant," she said. "Now that I've read it, I'd like to study it. Learning never stops."

Young also identified budget issues at the top of her priority list. "I sense that it is one of the top priorities of everyone," she said.

Alderman-elect Kelly Russell (D) said she is in the process of brushing up on governance rules and the city charter. She believes the key to a smooth transition will be communication.

"The key to ... hitting the ground running is to make sure we truly are being open and transparent about our communications, keeping each other in the loop and make sure we're informed and educated before we make decisions and offer opinions," she said.

Russell said that aside from the budget, a priority for her would be to propose an oversized-vehicle ordinance, which has wallowed for years in the current administration.

Alderman-elect Shelley Aloi (R) said she was glad to see that the new administration is already on the same page when it comes to tackling pressing issues such as budget and tax equity, which are at the top of her priority list as well.

"I'm excited," Aloi said. "We will continue to work together to develop some mutually beneficial relationship, and look for those commonalities..."

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.

City of Frederick General Election, Nov. 3

Mayor

Randy McClement (R) 3,712

Jason Judd (D) 3,431

Board of Aldermen

Karen Lewis Young (D) 3,765

Michael C. O'Connor (D) 3,573

Shelley M. Aloi (R) 3,481

Carol L. Krimm (D) 3,419

Kelly Russell (D) 3,393

C. Paul Smith (R) 3,325

Donna Kuzemchak (D) 3,235

Alan E. Imhoff (R) 3,229

Amanda K. Haddaway (R) 2,824

W. C. Huckenpoehler (R) 2,267

(Winners names are in bold)