Downtown Cheney. Photo by Carlene Hardt, SilverFox Multimedia.
City Staff 2012, from left: Terri Cooper, Court Administrator; John Hensley, Chief of Police; Cindy Niemeier, Finance Director/City Clerk; Todd Ableman, Public Works Director; Brian Jennings, Community Development Director; Arlene Fisher, City Administrator; Mark Schuller, Human Resource Manager; Joe Noland, Light Department Director; Mike Winters, Fire Chief; Paul Simmons, Parks & Recreation Director City Departments
With a staff of 92 full-time employees, Cheney is a full-service city. From utilities to public safety services, to award-winning recreation programs, the City of Cheney provides these services and more to our nearly 11,000 full-time residents.
Our Vision: Known for our family-centered environment, dedicated to life-long learning, with widespread community involvement, and devoted to sound economic development.
The City of Cheney practices exceptionally careful financial management. We have been able to avoid reducing service levels, maintain our employment levels without layoffs, and move forward with some key facilities and infrastructure projects. Our budget is in the black because dedicated employees tightened their belts, curtailed spending, and carefully scrutinized every expenditure to make sure it was necessary and justified.
Moving forward, the rebuilt Wren Pierson Community Center opened last summer for Parks and Recreation programs as well as many community uses.
Our Solid Waste Division has been operating very successfully for over two years. Our solid waste collection costs are down, we are fine tuning our service to make sure it is the best, and we are exploring ways to add value for citizens such as a pilot “clean green” pickup service.
We plan to undertake some major maintenance projects on our electrical system and continue our successful street maintenance program. Our street quality has more than doubled since 2008 and we are now on a 25-year maintenance cycle for most streets.
At the City of Cheney, our strategy is to continue holding expenditures to the bare minimum while redoubling our efforts to attract economic development in our industrial park and commercial sector.
Finally, we are most thankful for our outstanding, highly skilled, and dedicated city employees who continue to make sacrifices and extend every effort to ensure the highest quality services to Cheney citizens.