In that spirit, the three Worthington leaders - Matt Greeson, Melissa Conrath, Meribah Mansfield - presented a message of unity at the annual Groundhog Day Forecast Breakfast on Tuesday morning.

Held at Brookside Country Club, the breakfast is an annual event of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce.

In place of the traditional state-of-the-city, -schools, and -library addresses usually delivered at the breakfast, the city manager, superintendent of schools and library director presented one collaborative talk.

That in itself speaks volumes to what makes Worthington more able to stand strong than other central Ohio communities, chamber director Kathryn Paugh said.

"They don't have the collaboration that Worthington has," she said. "There is serious daily interaction among the city, schools and library working together."

Greeson agreed.

"We are all in this together," he said.

Perhaps because they so often work together, the trio is sometimes called the "three M corporation."

It was about a year ago when the three decided they could join forces to gather information that will help guide each of the entities, and the community as a whole.

Together, they hired two consulting firms to lead a project called Worthington Area 360. Each pitched in $25,000 for the project.

The consultants held several community meetings and conducted a 600-person survey to learn more about community values and what people want to see in the future.

Community values turned out to be strong neighborhoods with a variety of housing options; hospitality; safety and security; sustainable living; multi-modal transportation; life-long learning; health and well-being; and partnerships and community involvement.

Community strengths are city services; excellent schools; award-winning library; established neighborhoods; diverse housing stock; a unique and historic downtown; and amenities such as the Griswold Center, Community Center, McConnell Arts Center, and well-maintained parks.

Challenges are limited opportunity for growth because the community is "grown out;" old office and housing stock; people living at the ends of the income spectrum; diverse population; and demand for high quality service while traditional sources of revenue are declining.

An overriding message sent to the city, schools, and library was to maintain existing services in the future instead of expanding them.

But to maintain, it will be necessary to change, since all three are experiencing declining revenues, Conrath said.

"We need to think creatively and look for different ways of doing things," Mansfield said.

The library will face an additional challenge in the coming years as it seeks a replacement for Mansfield, who will retire in July. It must also continue to grapple with reduced state funding.

Despite passing an operating levy last November, the schools face the challenge of continuing to make budget cuts. Internal and external teams are meeting to find ways to save money, Conrath said.

Regardless, a future ballot issue looms.

"We need to return to voters in a relatively short period," she said.

In the city, voters will likely be asked to raise the city income tax from 2 to 2.5 percent in May, Greeson said.

If approved, the additional $3.5-million will allow the city to continue to provide the high quality of life and city services that seem to be appreciated by residents, he said.

To learn more about the Worthington 360 project and its results, vist the Web site at worthington360.blogspot.com.