PLATFORM
As with any community, the Berea City Council has the responsibility to legislate in the best interests of the community while being responsible overseers of the city's finances.
Maintaining and improving infrastructure is a top priority. Without good roads, well maintained utility services, sidewalks, proper signage, etc, our community cannot function well. By anticipating the needs of our growing community and acting upon them, we are far more attractive to new businesses, tourism and residents.
Our emergency services are just as important. Our police department has served us extremely well. They were early adopters of body cameras, embrace new skills and technology, and are actively engaged with the community. We must continue to ensure that they have the tools to do their jobs effectively.
We must continue to encourage and seek out new factories and other businesses for our community. In addition to our infrastructure work, our city's policies must be attractive to these job creators.
We must encourage communication and partnerships between our city government and our citizens. Our greatest resource has always been the people of Berea. Berea recently became a trail town due to citizen effort. Neighborhood watches bring community members closer while deterring criminal activity. I've been amazed how many events begin with the effort of a few individuals and quickly gather momentum, especially when they can be directed to another group with similar goals.
Our city is rich with resources, though its citizens are not always aware of them. In 2016, Yellow Pages are not as robust as they once were and Google isn't necessarily the best way to find out about local resources. Berea would benefit from an online WIKI, a source to fine Berea city and business services. This could be maintained and expanded at a reasonably low cost.
It is important to look to our neighbors for ideas. Often in my position at the public library, we have seenanother library provide a service that is better than or different from one of ours. Many times, we have partnered with the library, adopted the better service or taken the idea and applied it into a new direction. We must always be on the lookout for the best ways to serve our community.
