April 28, 2000

Council accepts plan

BY CARL WALWORTH

City Editor

MATTOON - Kudos flew across the City Council table Thursday during and after a presentation and acceptance of the city's strategic plan.

And toward the end, Mayor Wanda Ferguson cracked open the door toward giving voters an opportunity to consider a key provision of the plan: a vote to move to the city manager form of government.

The council voted 5-0 to accept the plan developed over the past two years, though the overall acceptance doesn't mean the city must adopt any or all of the provisions.

The plan has six major initiatives: reinvent city government and facilitate long-term planning, respond enthusiastically to businesses and their needs, retain and promote lifelong learning opportunities for residents of all ages, revitalize and beautify the city, and re-energize Midtown.

Robert Webb, chairman of the planning steering committee, and Janet Meyer, executive director of the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce, both said the plan is a starting point. Parts of the plan already are being implemented, such as work toward a tax increment financing district in Midtown.

The council received the recommendation to ask voters to approve the form of government change last year. After considerable debate, including a separate study by Commissioner Lois Vondereheide, the council took no action.

Ferguson said she favors hiring an administrator, not changing the form of government. On Thursday, she said her opinion hasn't necessarily changed, but she's now open to putting the matter on the ballot. "If the citizens want it, it's up to them," she said.

In his presentation, Webb said in part: "It's not a criticism of you as individuals or as a mayor and council when I point out that your employment of a professional manager is the most important thing citizens who attended our hearings thought you could do to further the development of the city. The public views the lack of professional management as a major weakness."

Webb said the council isn't expected to implement all of the plan. For example, addressing school facility issues isn't directly a city issue.

But Webb said the council has a "leadership role" in the community, and has clout it may use in a variety of areas, such as offering words of support or appointing committees.

A next step by the council may be approval to put together a comprehensive plan, which takes the outline of the strategic plan and adds details and action items.

To do that, the committees that worked on the plan would stay active.

Webb said generating the ideas is the easy part. Now the city and interested citizens must continue to work together toward creating improvements that will be of long-term benefit, he said.

Ferguson and commissioners Ed Neal and Bud Raboin praised the committees for their effort on the plan.