All of the goals I have as Mayor of Greenville aim at continuing to provide our residents with those services they expect and deserve as hardworking, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens.
At the top of that list is always providing for the safety and security of our families with strong, effective police and fire protection. Those that serve as first responders are greatly appreciated and are to be highly commended for their service and sacrifice. They will always have our full support in carrying out those tasks.
We will always ensure that Greenville residents have the ample supply of clean, safe, and healthy drinking water they require, as well as the utmost in sanitary wastewater treatment. This will always receive the highest level of attention. It is far too vital to our health to tolerate any sort of circumstance that might compromise the integrity and safety of our supply of drinking water, putting our health at risk.
We will always prioritize the maintenance of our streets, sidewalks, and all of our city’s infrastructure to the very best of our financial capability. As Greenville’s number one physical asset, it’s imperative that we take the very best possible care of it.
We’ll always continue, as we have in the past, in being most judicious with the spending of our hard-earned taxpayer dollars, striving to remain financially strong as a city. We will, as it becomes available, continue to seek grant funding and zero to low-interest loans in making our available funds stretch even further in providing the current level of services, as well as any other additional projects, services, or amenities in the future that will add to what we offer our residents.
A key element to the focus, progress, and success of any municipality is it’s Comprehensive Plan. This is a long-range planning document, a plan of action, so to speak, which outlines the city’s vision, goals, objectives, policies, and strategies for our future growth.
An example would be Greenville’s Planning and Zoning Department and their goal of streamlining the permit process to provide better service for residents and contractors, and to develop a more effective code enforcement program. This Plan also addresses the importance of maintaining property values, deals with the outline of infrastructure for the future, any future housing developments, economic development, the aesthetics and overall community image, as well as community development.
A Comprehensive Plan expresses our values and preferences regarding these subjects, and is the foundation for future development decisions.
Currently, we are near the completion of an update to the City of Greenville’s Comprehensive Plan.
One of the highest priorities of our Comprehensive Plan sets our sights on the development of more workforce affordable, single-family dwellings within the city limits to encourage younger families to settle in Greenville, making a major investment in our community, and call it home. They would have the opportunity to own their own home, send their children to a quality school, and be able to enjoy the amenities of what a more progressive Greenville has to offer. In my judgement, providing housing options for all income levels is imperative, thus the need for more executive-level housing within the city limits exists as well. Attracting those with higher income levels further strengthens our tax base and our economy.
Greenville is fortunate to have, already, six low-income housing developments meeting the needs of those with lower income. Now, we need to concentrate on setting as a goal those types of developments having the capability of building a stronger tax base, and bringing more people to Greenville and to fill the many existing jobs we have. We would then have the further capacity of encouraging employers to come to Greenville, offering even higher paying jobs. This strengthens the prospects of a prosperous economy even further. Also of benefit would be the likelihood of further citizen involvement and contribution in our community, and the ability to offer and enjoy more amenities for our residents.
I think the challenge lies therein of working on ways to secure the funding required to encourage such development, and in doing so, using our available land wisely. The necessary infrastructure required for the encouragement of more housing developments include waterlines and sewer, streets, sidewalks, as well as available power and gaslines. None of this is easy, but nothing worthwhile is going to be.
Since living here, I’ve always taken notice of the tremendous amount of generosity and conscious effort on behalf of so many people willing to give of their time, talent, and personal finances in making sure those in need are given care. I find it incredible the abundance of programs and services within the City of Greenville and throughout Darke County that are available in helping those in need, be it providing shelter for the homeless, food for the hungry, clothing for those that need it, counseling for those with various addictions, and help and encouragement in seeking employment.
The fact of the matter is, each individual has a certain level of responsibility for themselves and how they live their lives. We live in a city though, I believe, which encourages anyone in need to seek that help and shows them how to utilize all of those resources available to them. We will help those who wish to become productive citizens of our community to do so. We don’t wish for anyone to lose hope.
We are a caring community, called upon by our Lord Jesus to demonstrate the love. for one another as He has for us.
All of us should be proud to live in a community with such historic significance as the signing of The Treaty of Greenville in 1795, and of being the home of Annie Oakley, among others of historic signifance. Many of us have lived here or in this area all of our lives, some of us, not so long. But all of us should recognize that it takes an ongoing effort from everyone in bringing community together, in keeping Greenville strong and vibrant, safe and clean. We encourage each other in doing our best, in supporting our businesses, in keeping up our properties, and in being a community that sticks together. We want to see to it that Greenville is a safe, healthy, comfortable, and most enjoyable place to live, work, and raise our families.
I want to devote all of my efforts and energy as your next Mayor in leading that effort. I ask all of you for your support, and for your vote on May 2.
Thank you.