2021/01/25 - Mayor's Column: The Dust has Settled on 2020
An Open Door to O’Fallon”
A Weekly Note from Mayor Herb Roach
Now that the dust has settled from 2020. Let us look at how the City came out of it with most of the year being covered with the COVID restrictions. Yes, we took a hit with the loss of some of our tax revenue due to the restrictions. But I think we can see a bright side for the future. I believe that you can be proud of what you, our citizens and businesses, in conjunction with the City Council and staff, have achieved during this trying time called 2020.
For the third calendar year in a row (2018, 2019 & 2020) the City of O’Fallon issued over 480 building permits. This is the first time in over 13 years that we have had three consecutive years with over 480 Permits. Each of these three years also rank in the top ten of all the years that the City has kept record and that goes back over 30 years.
I like to use building permits because I think it is a better way to compare how you are doing in the overall. When you look at dollars, it can be one big project like the hospital and the increase in building and land costs must be taken into consideration. But for those that would like to see the dollars, our construction over the last three years as exceeded $250 Million!
This amount of new construction has produced hundreds of construction jobs and permanent jobs (more when COVID restrictions are lifted). It has also meant the development of over one hundred new homes and new families calling O’Fallon, home.
With this new development and growth, we have seen our external marketing pay dividends with the construction of new facilities by three companies that have never been in the St. Louis or Illinois market.
We are also seeing the redevelopment of some sites that needed some tender loving care.
In addition to these positives, we continue to look forward with more efficient ways to do things. For example, we have just rolled out our new online permitting system that will make it easier and more efficient for our citizens and businesses to apply for various city permits. The first phase of the roll out is with property occupancy permits and then we will start with some types of construction permits.
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open (virtually, at least)!