BELIEVE IN OURSELVES, OUR FUTURE.

Byline: David W. Fleming

LET'S advance the calendar by seven years, to Sept. 14, 2004, and take a quick look at San Fernando Valley, CA, America's sixth-largest city.

Since we incorporated three years ago, our population has grown to 1.5 million, just 50,000 behind Philadelphia.

We've found it's not quantity but quality that makes our city a great place to live, work and raise a family.

We enjoy the highest average household income of any city our size: from $53,000 in 1997 to $65,000 today, thanks mainly to the growth we've experienced in new high-paying jobs. When we incorporated, we adopted a tax structure designed to attract business. As a result, job creators from all over America have poured in and set up shop.

The fact that we broke away from the Los Angeles Unified School District and formed our own school district (which we divided into school clusters) is another reason job creators came here.

We direct the state's educational allotment per pupil directly to our school sites rather than to administration. Parents, teachers and principals select curricula and set the hours our kids are in school. As a result, academic achievement has soared.

We now graduate highly motivated, highly educated students ready for either college or the work force.

When it comes to our city's government, ``small'' is an apt description. Our City Council legislates and our mayor manages. Since neither attempts to do the work of the other, they get along fine.

Each community in the Valley elects local residents to our City Council of 35 members - one for every 42,000 residents. The council convenes three times a month. Members are paid only a small per diem, so each has a day job in the private sector. They spend their days like the rest of us - working for a living alongside fellow taxpayer-citizens and not holed up with hundreds of bureaucrats.

What a difference in their perceptions that environment has created. Our council members regard city money as taxpayers' money, not simply their money or the government's money.

Each community elects a citizen board. Residents are welcomed at board meetings to talk over neighborhood or community problems, or any matters regarding city services. Everyone has a voice. Everyone feels connected with city government. That's why our voter turnout has increased dramatically.

Our city has established a bonus program for all city employees. For those who do exceptional work, are courteous, give prompt attention and demonstrate high professionalism in carrying out their duties, they are rewarded with a bonus.

Citizens are asked to fill out questionnaires about employees, from department heads on down. Their answers (both positive and negative) are taken into account when awarding bonus pay.

Our city departments encourage citizens to use the Internet for city business. Just as with successful businesses using technology, city costs are reduced.

We are one of the safest cities in America. Police, fire and emergency medical response times are among the best anywhere. We give priority to public safety.

And we've become one of the cleanest cities around. Quality of life is important. We constantly repair and improve streets and sidewalks, plant and trim trees, and generate a sense of pride and responsibility in our communities to keep our city clean.

Getting around is easy with our low-cost, multifaceted transit system that picks you up and takes you where you need to go quickly, safely and dependably, 24 hours a day.

Our flourishing entertainment industry continues to supply most of the world's electronic and film product while, thanks to tax incentives, ease of permitting and our highly trained (and trainable) work force, our young technology industry is expanding.

Small businesses pop up everywhere. One-third of our residents were born outside the United States. They are highly entrepreneurial, sharing their rich cultures with us to make for a fuller, more interesting life for everyone.

To sum up, the city of San Fernando Valley, CA, conceived late in the 20th century, born at the dawn of the 21st, is a city that believes in itself, its citizens and, most importantly, in its future.