Pre Annexation Agreements

The city requires water customers from outside the city to file a “Petition to Annex” when the city notifies them or face water shutoff within 30 days.

I have no problem with requiring water customers to annex in return for water service. What I have a problem with is the system that has been put in place to accomplish this. The clause at the bottom of the water agreement isn’t explained to the customer and many either are not reading it or not understanding it.

I agree, there is a responsibility for the home owner to read and understand the form they are signing. But there is a greater responsibility for the city to make sure they do so. It is not right for the city to not explain the agreement in hopes that they sign it without questions, and then play gotcha when we are ready to annex them.

It is also not right for the city to wait years after the properties qualify for annexation to act on them. Some of these properties have qualified for three years. There should be an automatic trigger that forces these to be acted on as they become available. It is not right for the city to sit on their hands for years until it becomes convenient for them to annex. Whether that convenience is the census or a city official needing their property within the city limits.

I would be in favor of the city adopting a system of “pre-annexations agreements”. These agreements would be separate documents from the water service agreements and acted on by the council. They would state that in return for water, the city will annex your property once it qualifies. Once the council approves the “pre-annexation agreement” it becomes a binding contract between the city and the home owner. If the city fails to pass the annexation once the property qualifies, they would be in breach of that contract.

This system takes away the human element of the process. Certain steps are required at certain times from the parties involved. Everyone is aware and involved every step of the way so nothing appears to be taking place behind close doors. There are no surprises, and no perceived bully tactics.

Once you take feelings and people out of the decision, is about what is best for the city. Is it better for the city to gain the tax revenue from the newly annexed properties? Or is it better to fight against a system that gives the impression of sneaky tactics and leads to good ole boy politics? I am not comfortable putting my name on a system that I feel is broken.

Pray for our leaders

Before I start with my positions, I wanted to ask something from all of you. Will you please pray for the City Council? Pray that we seek God's guidance in our decisions. Pray for wisdom, strength and clarity. Pray that the decisions and actions made are God's will. Pray for patience, peace and understanding in the community. Maybe put in a prayer request at your church for the same?

The decisions we are making go far beyond who is going to pave sidewalks, or if we are going to mow the grass at the lakes, or a recycling program. There have been some unpopular decisions made, and likely more to come. These decisions don't come lightly, and at least for me, there has been a lot of personal anguish in having to make them.

I don’t speak much about my spirituality, perhaps I should more. Those close to me know how important it is to me. I don’t know how I would have survived the last couple of years without my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I understand the importance of a strong prayer life and often seek God’s guidance for my position on the council. The more prayers for the City leaders, the better the likelihood they will be answered. The need to pray for our leaders in spelled out in the Bible:

1 Timothy 2:1-3
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

I have received a card from one church in town stating the regularly pray for the leaders of the city. It would be wonderful to know all the churches in town are doing the same. Thank you all for your prayers and God bless.

Chris Rankin
Mattoon City Commissioner

Bringing things back to Street Level

It’s been well over a year since I posted in my blog. It started as an electronic version of my column printed in the Coles County Leader. After the Leader went out of print, contributions greatly dwindled. Once I ran for council, I stopped altogether.

It would be impossible to resurrect Street Level to its former level. As a sitting member of the Mattoon City Council, it would be counter productive to attack the other members on the council who disagree with my positions. I don’t think such actions would bring me closer to achieving my goals. This is a position I wrote about in November of 2007 (http://stlevel.blogspot.com/2007/11/working-with-city-not-against.html)

I do however feel the need to explain my positions and accept feedback. In the year that I have served on the council, one of the most frustrating things is getting my voice heard. I don’t want to say the press has been unfair as much as it has been incomplete. There have been important debates at council meetings that have not gotten one word of print.

One goal the city is working on is to start a newsletter; a form of media that the city controls and can include much more information than what gets printed in the paper. I have received requests to post my positions and reach out to the community as well. And since my ideas often differ than those of the majority, it is probably a good idea to release my own information. For now, I choose this format over the youtube video suggested.

I ran on open government and thus far, have no achieved that goal. I have found this harder than I imagined.  Hopefully, this column in conjunction with a Facebook group will help in attaining that objective.

One thing that concerns me about starting this is the sheer lack of time I have to keep it up. Like many other of my projects, I fear this will dwindle or perhaps never really get started again. Well, no one will probably be reading it anyway.

Chris Rankin

Mattoon City Commissioner