As the new year starts so does the work on the Ames City Council. This year has a lot in store for the city of Ames as the Council works on some big plans for the future.

The Ames City Council will meet at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday via Zoom to conduct the annual budget hearings.

According to the agenda sent out by David Martin, the budget meeting Tuesday will cover the library, all water utilities, resource recovery, public works, traffic and airport and general governmental services. The items covered Wednesday are parks and recreation, electrical utility and police and fire services. The final meeting Thursday will cover CyRide, general governmental services and housing programs.

Each year the Council meets and finalizes a list of goals they would like to achieve. This year’s list included things like initiating and completing a climate change plan by the end of 2021, beginning construction on a downtown community space by 2021 and increasing the stock of diverse housing types.

The Ames City Council is a group of eight individuals who come together to pass bills and pass orders to help benefit the city of Ames.

Each member of the Council represents a specific ward or sector of the city. Once elected the representative serves for a four-year term. In total, there are four different wards to represent in Ames.

Also on the Council are the mayor, John Haila, two at-large representatives and an ex-officio. The at-large representatives on the Council represent the whole city rather than just a specific ward. The ex-officio is a member of the Council that does not represent a ward but rather a different body or area. In this case, the ex-officio represents the University of Iowa State as a student.

Gloria Betcher is the representative for Ward 1. She was elected to the position Nov. 5, 2013, and has been in the position ever since. (Not available for immediate response.)

Tim Gartin is the representative for Ward 2. He was elected to the position Nov. 5, 2013, as well. He has also been in the position since then.

“I am very pleased with the budgets we adopted over the last six years. The most important thing a council does is to adopt a budget. Ours is around $250 million,” Gartin said. “Second, the creation of the Prairie View Industrial area is roughly 1,300 acres and will provide opportunities for economic development for years to come.”

Gartin also talked about some of the goals for the upcoming year, which include continuing work on the climate action plan, improvements to the city with projects like a downtown center along with many other projects and possible ideas.

David Martin is the representative for Ward 3. He was elected to office Nov. 7, 2017, and has remained in the position since then. (Not available for immediate response.)

Rachel Junck is the representative for Ward 4. This is the ward that includes Iowa State and Campustown. She was elected to the position Dec. 3, 2019. She is currently serving her first term.

“During my campaign, I talked a lot about funding a climate action plan for the city of Ames,” Junck said. “I am most proud of setting the funding aside for that climate action plan.”

Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen and Amber Corrieri are the city’s at-large representatives. Corrieri was elected Nov. 5, 2013, while Beatty-Hansen was elected Nov. 3, 2015.

Nicole Whitlock is an ex-officio member of the City Council. She was elected by the Council May 12, 2020. She is currently in her first term. (Not available for immediate response.)