2021/11/08 - Mayor's Column: A Few Important Items
“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
As we turn toward the holidays and colder weather, I wanted to take a moment to share information on coming events and let you know how some simple things can really help.
- For the last two years, we have been looking at our holiday decorations and a replacement program for the aging ones. Our current decorations have served the city well, but they are about 20 years old and need to be retired. We had planned on replacing some earlier, but with COVID, we froze many of our expenditures. Well now time has arrived, and we will begin this year to phase out the old decorations and start to phase in new ones over the next 2 or 3 years. Parts of South Lincoln, Highway 50 and Smiley will be the first areas displaying the new decorations.
- I also wanted everyone to know that we will hold a Town Hall Meeting on December 8th at 6:30 PM at City Hall. I think everyone will find this very interesting. There are two major components that we will discuss. The first will be the Financial Audit of the City for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The second part is the results of a 6-month study of our current taxes and other alternatives to help finance the present and future needs of O’Fallon in an equitable manner.
- I also wanted to remind everyone to please remove any obstructions from the roadways when snow occurs. Trash cans and other items make it very difficult for snowplows to do their job well. If you live on a snow route, please make sure your vehicle is not parked on the street when a snowfall or ice event occurs.
- You will see an increase of about 3.1% in your water and sewer bill beginning November. There is an automatic increase in O’Fallon’s water/sewer rates that is based on cost of living. This increase is among the lowest 20% of the increases in the 17 surrounding cities that we surveyed. Our total charges are at the mid-point of those communities surveyed.
- The last item is a little item that has to do with checks you may write to the city. Please use black ink when making out a check to the city. Our Banks have repeatedly informed us that when other colors of ink are used, they do not always show up in their scanning equipment which then results in someone having to issue a completely new check.
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.