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1. Determine income sources that may be devoted to neighborhood revitalization when ARP and different state and federal assets are exhausted, or should not sufficient to maintain the town’s dedication to neighborhood revitalization.
2. Addressing the necessity to work with the colleges, faculties, and profession/work improvement teams to make sure we have now educated folks ready to enter the workforce to fill the varied new kinds of technical jobs that shall be opening up in Decatur. These new jobs shall be totally different from earlier Industrial jobs up to now.
3. Addressing the general crime stage in our metropolis and recruitment wanted to fill and keep our cops.

Gregory: Essentially the most urgent points going through Decatur are future budgets, the readiness of our workforce and the decline of a lot of our neighborhoods.

Finances: The 2023 finances tailored by the Metropolis Council is balanced, addresses brief and long-term neighborhood wants, and takes a conservative method to positioning the town to proceed a gradual and wholesome return from COVID-induced financial impacts, whereas coping with anticipated recessionary forces. Nevertheless, the finances doesn’t considerably tackle all the structural considerations wanted to make sure future balanced budgets. You will need to observe, the town shouldn’t be the biggest taxing physique in Decatur. Town has deliberately held the road on property taxes since 2015 whereas many different taxing our bodies have handed their working prices on to the taxpayer by growing their “wanted” levy quantity — leading to larger property taxes.

Workforce: There may be an pressing have to develop a more practical method for getting ready and enlarging the native workforce to fulfill regional workforce necessities and be certain that the power, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare and different sectors are capable of make use of the employees they want. Whereas Decatur is lucky to have Richland Group Faculty, Millikin College, and Workforce Funding Options, in addition to others, our accessible and prepared workforce numbers nonetheless fall brief. Within the fall of 2022, the town commissioned Key Strategic Group to conduct a Workforce Growth Methods Evaluation and Technique and Implementation Plan for Decatur and Macon County. One of many key findings of that report was that our workforce improvement initiatives are typically unintentionally disconnected and function with no collective community-wide technique or fairness plan.

Neighborhoods: What have been as soon as engaging and well-maintained, principally owner-occupied neighborhoods, now manifest blight. A big variety of properties within the city core neighborhoods have transitioned to leases, and in too many cases, satisfactory property investments for long-term upkeep haven’t been made. With out intervention, these neighborhoods will proceed to say no. Throughout my first time period on council solely 31 homes have been demolished.

1. Lowering crime in the neighborhood/coping with native road gangs
2. Town’s declining and growing old inhabitants
3. Extra Financial Growth to draw new industries and companies to create higher paying jobs for the town’s current and future labor drive.

Coleman: Town’s neighborhood revitalization efforts have been well-intentioned, although to date have fallen wanting assembly the calls for of the neighborhood. That is because of the lack of financial assets accessible to spend money on these efforts. As constantly acknowledged by the council and Metropolis Supervisor Wrighton, the town desperately wants so as to add extra income sources with the intention to maintain and probably broaden packages such because the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. This may be performed in a number of methods, however the council have to be dedicated and prepared to take daring and decisive motion to fulfill these rising calls for. We should appeal to and domesticate small and enormous companies alike to Decatur to boost the tax funding essential to fund and maintain neighborhood improvement initiatives. The extent of dilapidation in sure areas is exacerbated by the buildup of trash and different discarded objects in these areas. Selling city-wide cleanliness campaigns to assist rid the town of extra litter and rubbish that has amassed alongside roadways and public areas would assist the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. The housing challenges going through the town have offered the town with a singular alternative to fight a number of points concurrently. Youth Employment numbers are larger than nationwide averages and reestablishing and totally funding year-round youth employment packages underneath the neighborhood revitalization program in order that youth can earn revenue whereas selling the objectives of the neighborhood revitalization initiative would make a marketable distinction in a number of areas.

Cooper: I consider we’ll all the time have blight occurring as folks could determine to relocate from the town for varied causes. I do consider that with the council persevering with with the neighborhood initiatives that many dwelling house owners will see the financial worth of restoring their houses and upkeeping yards to farther improve the worth of their houses. It is going to be necessary so as to add neighborhood teams/associations in all neighborhoods within the metropolis. It’s incontrovertible fact that if you will get folks concerned with their neighborhood they may take extra possession and develop extra delight in such funding.