City administration provides annual review of Urbana

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Below is an excerpt from the City of Urbana’s Annual Review:

Dear Citizens of Urbana,

In the hustle and bustle of our daily life, it’s important to take time and reflect on the many positive things that are going on to help remind us how fortunate we are that our community has the willingness to work together for progress. There is an adage, “The only time you should look back is to see how far you’ve come.”

2015 may appear to be nothing but a flash in the pan, but a significant amount of progress was made by every division within the City’s organization in maintaining critical day-to-day operations, managing special projects and laying the foundation for future ones. Every employee takes pride in serving the citizens of Urbana.

Our Annual Review provides a more detailed summary of 2015’s accomplishments, including the Wastewater Treatment Renovation; the two-part Phase 1 Water Main Project; the East Lawn Avenue Water Tower Renovation; the Market Street bridge and Muzzy Road bridge replacements; and the launching of the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) initiative, a collaborative effort between the City, County and private business.

Along with new resolutions, 2016 brings a significant amount of opportunity to build on last year’s momentum and forge ahead with new initiatives. John F. Kennedy said, “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” As with most communities across the country, key to our success will be to accept the challenge to re-define normal and embrace change.

Embracing change allows us the opportunity to open up and investigate new ways of doing things, which should improve our ability to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. Jay Asher, the famous contemporary writer may have said it best, “You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret … is to press play.”

Urbana, like the majority of municipalities in the state, continues to operate within the restrictions of a tighter and tighter budget, continually exploring opportunities to improve our value-added service levels through possible improvements in our revenue stream. While there may be arguments on both sides, the fact remains that no organization can successfully serve its customers if revenues don’t keep pace with expenses and expectations; our number one objective is serving the community in the best possible manner.

We look forward to finalizing the development plans for the Urbana School District’s new Pre K – 8 and High School buildings (including the Washington Avenue extension), and the redevelopment of the former Q3 JMC, Inc. brownfield property on Miami St. As the CEP becomes more established, we are confident that 2016 will bring a variety of sound opportunities for new investments.

As always, we encourage your input. If you have any thoughts or ideas on how to make our community even stronger, please feel free to call or meet with us.

_____

“We may not be there yet, but we’re closer than we were yesterday.” – Unknown

https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2016/02/web1_1urbana.jpg

By Bill Bean, Mayor

and Kerry Brugger, Director of Administration

City of Urbana

City of Urbana 2015 Annual Review is posted. You can view the activities at: http://www.urbanaohio.com/city-offices/administration.html.Reach

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