Now that 2013 is behind us, what did we learn from it?
We learned the city received a “clean” audit from our external auditors, BKD LLP. In fact, the city earned the highest rating. This didn’t get a lot of news coverage, but it’s good news that we think you should know.
We learned even more of our community is beginning to appreciate our heritage as the Birthplace of Route 66. Can we attract more visitors once we have new features to celebrate that distinction?
We learned developing a comprehensive community strategic plan takes longer than you might think, but Field Guide 2030 has wrapped up and will be officially rolled out in early February.
We learned, or relearned, few communities cooperate and collaborate like ours. A good example of this is the new integrated plan framework, developed by the city, Greene County and City Utilities, to attempt to limit the cost of unfunded environmental mandates in our community. The Environmental Protection Agency is not aware of another community to have proposed anything similar.
We learned the Springfield-Branson National Airport received its eighth consecutive “clean” Federal Aviation Administration inspection certification, helped Expedia complete its second expansion at the former airport terminal (bringing Expedia’s employee count in Springfield to more than 1,000), signed its second Foreign Trade Zone operator and added a new route – a direct flight to Ft. Myers/Punta Gorda in Florida.
We learned, via the Food Summit hosted by the city, that our community has a food security problem. Food pantries have worked to minimize “scammers,” but they are still running out of food.
We learned Springfield was designated the 13th best city for job growth in the country and was recognized for the lowest cost of living of any major city in Missouri. I predict this, and the larger issue of increasing poverty, will be serious challenges in 2014.
We learned the city and county can work together to identify and address significant challenges. The new Joint City-County Planning Task Force is doing just that. At this point, all recommendations from the safety and justice roundtable (for which the city and county have authority and a funding source) have been implemented.
We learned our crime numbers are up, and that we all have a role to play in addressing that problem via Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch and other tools. It requires that we all get involved.
We learned the city received a national Sunny Award for website transparency in making information available to citizens online and was recognized by the National League of Cities as a Top 10 Digital City.
We learned our community’s domestic violence numbers are on the rise. In response, the Springfield Police Department created a family violence task force and launched an awareness campaign.
We learned city staff members are more prepared now that 99 percent of them already have completed the voluntary CPR/AED training.
Now, what does all this mean?
To me, it means there are a lot of great things happening in our community, but we also have plenty of challenges awaiting us in 2014. It appears most of our current and upcoming challenges are not unique to Springfield – almost every community is wrestling with poverty, crime and how to pay for services, whether desired or mandated.
Springfield City Manager Greg Burris can be reached at gburris@springfieldmo.gov.
