The next mayor of Butler expects to be a very active leader.

Tom Donaldson will be sworn into office Jan. 6, making him the first Republican mayor of the city since 1985.

Donaldson said he wants to be very involved with all aspects of the city’s government.

“I want to be a very active mayor,” he said.

One of the major points of emphasis for Donaldson at the start of this term is focusing on the city’s various boards and authorities.

As mayor of the city, Donaldson would make any appointments to the Shade Tree Commission, redevelopment authority, and parking authority, while council as a whole would handle appointments to other boards.

Donaldson said there will be changes through the different authorities.

“Each of these boards will see new people,” Donaldson said. “I expect there will be significant changes.”

Past attendance at meetings will be a major sticking point for Donaldson when reviewing board members, but the main concern for the soon-to-be mayor is simply getting new faces on the boards.

“I want people to bring fresh ideas to the boards,” he said. “One of the problems with the city is it has always done everything the same.”

Other than personnel, Donaldson said a major concern of his is the time authorities hold their meetings.

“I want the boards to start meeting in the evening,” he said. “That would give more people who work during the day an opportunity to actually attend the meetings.”

While that is a wish for Donaldson, he will need support from council to pass such a motion.

Donaldson also will be part of choosing the new city council member who will replace councilwoman Lisa Guard, who will resign at the end of the year to move to Erie.

Nine people have written letters of interest to the city for the seat.

Donaldson said he looks forward to being part of the process to appoint a new council member, and said he also would consider any of the eight candidates who do not get the seat for a position on one of the boards.

“We’ll have eight people available who care and that are interested in their town,” he said.

But perhaps Donaldson’s biggest focus will be on the city’s police department.

A former police officer for Jackson and Franklin townships and for Eau Claire, Donaldson ran for election on a platform emphasizing the restoration of neighborhoods, mainly by reducing crime.

Those points of emphasis remain key for Donaldson.

To cut into crime, Donaldson said he would like to institute a neighborhood watch program once the weather gets nicer to help monitor the streets.

The mayor-elect emphasized the program would start slow for safety reasons.

“It would be a limited watch, carefully formed so nothing bad happens,” he said.

Donaldson said participants in the program would call a police liaison should they see anything suspicious during their walking routes.

“People know their neighborhoods,” he said. “They know where and what to look for. I think it would work.”

Donaldson also wants the city’s police officers walking the streets while on patrol.

“I want them to park the car and walk around,” he said. “I’d like for them to have that interaction with the public.”

Donaldson said officers would not be walking around at night or in bad weather, but said the occasional stroll through the neighborhoods would create a better awareness of their presence.

“It’s more effective for them to walk by a house than to drive by a house,” he said.

The city’s nearly $7.7 million budget also will be a constant concern for Donaldson in office, but he admitted there is not a lot he can do to cut expenses.

“There is not a whole lot left to cut,” he said.

But Donaldson said he does have ideas on how the city can save some money.

He said it seems unnecessary for the city to go to arbitration with its bargaining units.

“You have to save money where you can,” he said. “In the future we need to sit down with union representatives and come to an agreement. Maybe I’m just an optimist, but I think those guys are willing to sit down and talk with the elected officials.”

Donaldson said other ideas he has to save money includes utilizing the Butler Transit Authority’s proposed compressed natural gas pumps for city vehicles, and doing more preventive work on the city streets to cut long-term costs.

He also would like to explore changing the city’s tax abatement program for new businesses.

Currently all new businesses in the city are given 100 percent abatement for the first two years, followed by additional years of reduced abatement.

“We need to keep the city attractive to new businesses, but we also need to get something from them,” he said.

Donaldson said if the Centre City project, which will bring a Marriott Springhill Suites hotel, a new Rite Aid pharmacy, and a new parking garage downtown, does boost economic development, the city wouldn’t see money from those businesses for years.

Donaldson, who was skeptical of the proposed funding for the parking garage during his campaign, said he thinks funding is coming together nicely and the project will be successful in the city.

Donaldson’s list of interests in the city covers almost every aspect of the government.

To prepare for a wide array of responsibilities, Donaldson said he has been constantly preparing for his new position by researching city statistics with different departments and by reading the third class city code.

“I also think I’ll take a newly elected officials class in Harrisburg,” he said.

But Donaldson said he is confident he’ll adjust well to the position.

“I’ve been around government for a long time,” he said. “Municipal government isn’t new to me.”