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Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
December 21, 2007
As we come to the end of another year, it is common to see “Best of” lists in newspapers, magazines, and web sites. I am not too proud to jump on the bandwagon, so here is my “Best of the City of O’Fallon 2007.” They are not necessarily ranked in priority order and I could easily come up with more than twelve good things that happened in O’Fallon in 2007. In any case, society demands structure and I will not disappoint.
-- Family Sports Park: Phase 1 opened in July with much-deserved fanfare. The park is beautiful and received good reviews from our fall leagues. The playground and walking trails are already well used. We can’t wait for the park to get really busy next spring and summer. Now we just need some more money for Phase 2.
-- Regency Park Conference Center: Construction is underway for the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center on Regency Park Drive. The property was stagnating and was in danger of attracting less than ideal businesses. Through a partnership with developer Darwin Miles, the hotel and conference should serve as an anchor for the commercial corridor and provide significant economic impact for O’Fallon businesses. A wedding reception is scheduled in May, so the Conference Center must be complete by then.
-- Economic Development: While it was a slow year for residential development, commercial development was as strong as ever. Among the major additions this year: Newbold BMW expanded into a stand-alone dealership; Frieze Harley Davidson opened a new dealership on Green Mount Road; Ace Hardware opened in Southview Plaza, filling a long-vacant building; and the Drury Inn opened at the Green Mount/I-64 interchange providing a beacon that can be seen from miles away.
-- Amy Blumberg: Although Ms. Blumberg was murdered on New Year’s Eve in 1999, it wasn’t until this year that Eddie Phillips was found guilty and sentenced. Years of old-fashioned police work by the O’Fallon Police Department brought the case to a close, providing relief to the entire community. On a similar note, there were no homicides in O’Fallon in 2007, which also qualifies as a “Best of.”
-- Street construction: 2007 saw another year of important street improvements, including North Lincoln reconstruction and two miles of asphalt overlays. Since the ½-cent Proposition S sales tax was approved by voters in 2000, more than 43 miles of O’Fallon streets have been repaved. Big street projects in 2008 include the State/Oberneufemann roundaoubt and the Oberneufemann Road reconstruction from the railroad tracks north to Ogles Road.
-- Fire Department: The O’Fallon Fire Department has been all-volunteer since 1891, but the explosive growth in O’Fallon forced the City to evaluate how the department can serve O’Fallon residents in the future. Following an exhaustive study, the Fire Department became a full-fledged City department. We intend to hire a full-time fire chief in 2008, but the study provides guidance on how our great Fire Department can stay volunteer well into the future.
-- WiFi: It seems like nothing is news today unless it involves wireless technology. The City of O’Fallon joined the 21st Century this year by launching WiFi wireless Internet service in Community Park, Family Sports Park, Rock Springs Park, and the Shiloh Fire Station. In addition to the benefits to residents who may want to surf the Net in one of our parks, we intend to slowly expand wireless service to provide real-time wireless access to police officers, inspectors, and vital infrastructure.
-- Clark Station: Located in the center of town at the corner of StreetState Street and Lincoln, the vacant Clark Station was perhaps the most blatant and notorious eyesore in O’Fallon. The City finally received approval from the Circuit Court in May to demolish buildings. The property is still tied up in tax liens, but I am delighted the ugly canopy is gone. A bonus “Best of” is the demolition last month of the Plaza Wine and Liquor building: those “Liquor” billboards were very unsightly.
-- New aldermen: We welcomed three new aldermen this year, two by election and one by appointment. John Drolet and Steve Engler were elected in April and Dan Polites was appointed by Mayor Graham following the passing of Becky Henry. The City of O’Fallon is fortunate to have a strong, stable City Council that supports professionalism and has the best interest of the community in mind (if you follow local government news around the country, that is sadly not always the case).
-- Library Director: Molly Scanlan was appointed in October as the new Library Director and is the newest department head in the City of O’Fallon. Mary Smith retired in September after a long and successful career at the O’Fallon Public Library. While we miss Mary’s intelligence and wit, we are excited to work with Molly and I am confident she will fit in well with the Management Team.
-- Center for Performance Measurement: How do we know how we are doing? While we have radically changed operations in the City over the past five years, it is often difficult to measure how efficient we are. In August, we joined a St. Louis area consortium that is participating in a national effort to measure local government services. We have only submitted one year of data, but eventually we hope to have outcome measures on City services that can be compared to cities in the St. Louis area and across the country. These measures will then be used to evaluate
how we can improve services and budget more efficiently.
-- Commitment to Professionalism: Mayor Graham and City Council have supported professionalism for years and the City regularly conducts hiring searches for the best people available. In 2007, we took steps to formalize our commitment to be a high performance organization. We conducted listening sessions with employees to learn from them how the City could be more professional. We conducted three days of training with supervisors to teach how professionalism should be promoted and encouraged throughout the organization. We restructured two departments
where there were problems with lines of authority and communication. We will expand our commitment to professionalism in 2008 with City-wide employee training on customer service, high performance, and accountability.
Unfortunately, not all news was positive in 2007. We were greatly saddened by the sudden death of Alderman Becky Henry in February. She was a caring public servant and a good friend. We still miss her.
Another issue that will not go away is property taxes. I have blogged about property taxes and the township multiplier several times over the past year (here, here, and here) and we are not any closer to a resolution. Assessments in O’Fallon have increased 30% over the last four years, which is particularly disconcerting given that home values are currently flat (or declining slightly). The City cannot do anything about the multiplier, but the City Council recently adjusted the tax levy so that residents should not pay any more in City taxes than last year. The cause of the multiplier mess is complicated and we will continue to pursue reform in 2008.
It was another outstanding year in the City of O’Fallon. This is an exciting time to be living in O’Fallon and we are blessed with great neighborhoods, schools, and parks. Shopping opportunities are expanding and more jobs are locating to O’Fallon every month. We work hard to provide exceptional services to our residents and to maintain O’Fallon’s superior quality of life.
From our City family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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