10 changes for the city of Decatur to make in the next 12 months

With the arrival of a new City Manager, there is an opportunity for change over the coming months.  Below are 10 changes that city government can implement in one year’s time. 

1) Make changes to the city’s animal welfare ordinance that provides further protection to outdoor pets during extreme weather conditions.

2) Renovate the former Wee Folks building and bring a much-needed childcare center to the urban core thereby reducing a major barrier to filling jobs.

3) Modify the utility tax loophole such that Decatur residents will see tax relief from their utility bills. 

4) Discuss ways to reduce the record number of alarm calls to the Fire Department.  Is now the time to institute a paramedicine program?

5) Develop a plan and work with utility companies so that the Oakley Sediment Basin and the farmland the city owns in DeWitt County can be converted to solar farms.

6) Improve public safety and promote economic development by demolishing no less than 200 delipidated properties in a one-year period.

7) Create redevelopment agreements for the Central TIF (which will be voted on at the May 6 city council meeting) that provide direct benefits to the residents of the neighborhoods within the TIF. 

8) Take actions that result in a significant decline in the amount of sediment and nutrients entering Lake Decatur.

9) Collaborate more with Decatur Public Schools to assist in their success.  DPS is scantly mentioned in the council's strategic priorities, yet their success is essential to the city's future.

10) Examine why people are leaving Decatur.  The city has suffered decades long population decline.  Why are we, and what issues are unique to Decatur that the city can address?