One year

This month marks the one-year anniversary of my taking office as mayor.

I am often asked how I am finding the experience of being mayor. My response consistently is that I am enjoying the opportunity to serve Jackson and its citizens. I believe the key to any job is that you feel you are making a positive contribution and you enjoy those with whom you work.

The citizens of Jackson are a great group of people to work for as mayor. Many are very engaged in the community through various organizations, churches, schools and businesses. The board of aldermen is an engaged group of eight that have decided to give back to Jackson by serving on our city council and dedicate their time and effort to make Jackson a better city. The city staff and employees are knowledgeable and committed to provide the services the citizens of Jackson deserve.

The other bright spot of my first year has been the working relationships with our regional leaders. The quote "a rising tide raises all boats" is true in our area. The positive projects and agreements we have been able to make with the Jackson School District, our sister cities of Cape Girardeau and Scott City, Cape Girardeau County, Area Chamber of Commerces, local organizations and business leaders have been very positive.

As I said before, the ability to contribute to the progress and future of Jackson is most fulfilling. By working with the council, city employees, citizens and regional leadership, Jackson is well positioned to keep growing and making real progress.

The population growth numbers for the last few years have been substantial. With the expansion of new and present housing developments and home starts, we can continue this growth. I measure progress by the growth in population and businesses in our city. Keeping this trend going will help the city's revenue and Jackson's appeal to new businesses and new citizens.

But growth and progress does not come without its challenges. Identifying and solving challenges is something that I have found fulfilling in my past business career, and now the same is true as mayor.

One of the major challenges for Jackson is assuring we have an infrastructure that supports the city, its citizens and businesses as we continue to grow. Many times this means building ahead of the growth. In other cases, it means catching up, so we are providing services for the growth that has already occurred. This is the area in which revenue, taxes, and fees becomes a challenge. Assuring we have the right balance of revenue and expenses to provide the services needed will continue to be at the fore front for the Board of Aldermen and mayor.

Finally, I am asked, "Don't you hate all the citizens' complaints and requests you receive as mayor?" While the complaints and requests are frequent, I find most complaints are because citizens care about Jackson and believe their requests will make us a better community. These types of issues, I do not mind discussing, and see if there is a resolution.

The complaints that are the most challenging are those where one citizen is complaining about another. Sometime it is easy to see that one is right and another is wrong by ordinance or law. Many times it is not clear and no ordinance or law is being broken. Sometimes, the problem is caused by the growth of the city with more traffic, construction, businesses and people. 15,000 people living together in a growing city does cause some issues that cannot be solved satisfactorily for all concerned. The board of aldermen, city staff and I will continue to try our best to resolve these issues, if possible.

In conclusion, it has been an enjoyable and fulfilling year as mayor. I am looking forward to serving you in the coming year.

Dwain Hahs is the mayor of Jackson.