This comment was provided by Sue Barnhart who expressed this in a letter to the Decatur City Council on Jumy 4th, 2008:
I have the highest respect for each and every one of you and have never had any problems getting a response from any of you. Still I believe strongly our current system has assisted in allowing the core of city to be ignored in regards to basic services that citizens should be able to expect from city government. By basic services I mean police protection of person and property, code enforcement, infrastructure upkeep and economic revitalization of blighted areas. And my regular travels to and throughout both Champaign and Bloomington tell me that those cities have done better with similar older areas.
I do not think a person has too live in area to care about it, but by the fact that you live in the vicinity you will tend to actually see more of it on a daily basis. Even more important is the fact that you are SPECIFICALLY CHARGED WITH IT’S REPRESENTATION - this I think MIGHT help. The big picture is actually made of up of many smaller pictures.
I believe the neglect of these core areas has been going on for far too long and too severe to ignore. I watched this decay spread greatly during the last decade and have seen too little being done towards trying to retain and encourage current good residents and businesses. To allow it to continue is disrespectful of the good citizens who have already invested in these areas and remained. For that reason I believe we need to give something different a try.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or thoughts. This opinion is in no way a personal criticism of any of you. Thank you for your service.
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