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Meet Heather

Heather Jefts has been a small business owner, community leader, and member of the Cedar Park City Council who’s been proud to call Cedar Park home for over 20 years.

 

During her tenure on City Council, Heather prioritized traffic and mobility solutions, infrastructure and sustainable growth, bringing in quality jobs and businesses, lowering the tax rate and creating Cedar Park’s first-ever Homestead Exemption, public safety improvements, and new parks and trails. She serves on the Capital Area Council of Governments focusing on emergency response and disaster preparedness, as well as First Vice Chair of the Clean Air Coalition working to protect our air quality and health. Heather was selected by the Hill Country News readers’ poll as the Best Local Elected Official in 2018.

Cedar Park City Councilor Heather Jefts at business grand opening in Cedar Park.
Heather Jefts, Cedar Park City Councilor Place 6 talking to a neighbor.

Heather served six years on the Board of the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center, including two terms as President during their Capital Campaign and new facility construction. She is a co-founder and supporter of Reveal Baby Blessings diaper ministry, gives back as a Literacy Partner with Education Connection, and has volunteered with Hill Country Community Ministries, PTAs, Band Boosters, and the American Legion’s Breakfast with Santa.

 

A collegiate swimmer at Johns Hopkins University, Heather started her own small business, Tempo Swimming, teaching recreational and competitive swim classes on a group and individual basis. She previously worked at UT in the Genomic Sequencing Analysis Facility and as a veterinary surgical technician. Heather is a recent UT Austin graduate with a degree in Sustainability Studies and Economics.

Heather was born at Fort Bragg, where her father was a lieutenant with the 82nd Airborne, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She lives with her husband Richard in Cedar Park with their two big dogs and occasionally their adult sons. Heather’s favorite things about Cedar Park are the friendly people and the many hike-and-bike trails. An avid sports and outdoors person, she also enjoys woodworking, gardening, Packers football, and reading.

Cedar Park City Councilwoman Heather Jefts with her family.

Accomplishments

Jobs, Local Economy, & Lower Taxes

  • Brought in thousands of jobs to bolster the local economy, while pushing for more local options for dining, entertainment, outdoor activities, and other family-oriented recreation

  • Passed the city’s first-ever Homestead Exemption to provide property tax relief to homeowners

  • Decreased the city’s tax rate annually without cutting any vital services and while paying off over $21M in city debt on an accelerated schedule to earn a AAA bond rating and save taxpayers over $7M in interest

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Public Safety

  • Funded new and upgraded equipment and facilities for fire and police as well as a cost of living adjustment for retirement benefits to keep our first responders safe and better address their healthcare needs

  • Built Fire Station #5 and hired more firefighters to reduce emergency response times

  • Built the Public Safety Training Facility to house police tactical training and classes, fire classes, and Emergency Management

  • Funded and implemented a joint Mental Health Task Force with Cedar Park Police, Williamson County Sheriff's department and Bluebonnet Mental Health Services

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Sustainable Growth & Infrastructure

  • Spearheaded a voter-approved ballot initiative to fund needed drainage improvements and address flooding city-wide

  • Installed water bottle filling stations and recycling receptacles in city buildings and city parks, put in trash cans along various trails, and proposed and passed a waste diversion study to meet the needs of continued growth

  • Purchased additional parkland for and opened our 200-acre Lakeline Park, added new trails including connecting Brushy Creek Lake Park to the Ranch at Brushy Creek neighborhood, and funded more public art, including the Korean War memorial at Veterans Memorial Park

  • Led and passed a reclaimed water initiative to use treated water for parks and public space irrigation

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Traffic & Connectivity

  • Led a city-administered transit study, the first in a decade and free of special interest influence, as well as a holistic Mobility Master Plan to efficiently and strategically address all modes of transit and traffic needs

  • Supported “smart signals” traffic lights and new constituent-requested signals, including at Lakeline and Cougar Country

  • Increased connectivity of sidewalks and bike trails and improved safe paths to schools for our children

 

Accessibility, Transparency, & Ethics Reforms

  • Held hundreds of Office Hours at City Hall or local coffee shops and cafés to meet with constituents and hear concerns

  • Increased public outreach for major city projects such as Bell District, Lakeline Park, Waste Diversion Master Plan, Mobility Master Plan, and Art Collective

  • Maintaining an active and engaged presence in our community, including Chamber events and new business openings, Rotary and other civic groups, many volunteer organizations, community meetings, and swearing-in and promotion ceremonies for police officers and firefighters

  • Passed Financial Disclosure requirements for city council members to increase transparency and avoid conflicts of interest, as well as a more stringent Revolving Door Policy for council members and staff to prevent unethical profiting off public office

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