Mayor Bearrows and I had the honor of presenting the 2024 State of the Community address at City Hall and live on Facebook last month. Our team accomplished a lot in 2023 and we are excited for great things to come in 2024. We continue looking for new opportunities to implement positive and necessary changes that will lead to organizational and system improvements moving forward. 

The changes we continue to make are possible because of the support and leadership for our mayor and city council.  Mayor Bearrows, along with councilmembers Hayes, McDermott, Arteaga, Shaw-Dickey, McDermott and Valdivieso, provide Rochelle strong policy leadership.  The stewardship and guidance they provide gives staff the tools and direction to recommend and implement new policy initiatives.  These initiatives reference back to our six strategic plan goals, which are Economic & Business Development, Financial Management & Stability, Community Inclusiveness & Engagement, Infrastructure Effectiveness & Improvement, Core Service Delivery, and Quality of Life.

I am most proud of how fiscally stable our organization is.  The general fund and all major utility funds continue to see an increase in our cash on hand.  This is due to strong fiscal stewardship from our employees, specifically our finance and leadership team.  I am also proud that we were able to approve a slight property tax decrease for 2024.  I realize it’s not a large decrease, but our council and staff remain committed to holding the line on taxes and working to find ways to allow you to keep more of your hard-earned money.

There are too many projects to list out individually.  What is important to note is the hard work and dedication our department directors provide to increase investments in infrastructure and core service delivery.  Whether it’s finding grants to a new water well, increasing our electric system reliability, working to support our local businesses or partnering with other entities to provide new training opportunities for our employees, our team excels in moving Rochelle forward. 

If you would like a copy of our presentation, it can be found on our website under the city manager’s page.  If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to contact me.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.”-Helen Keller

“If opportunity does not knock, build a door.” -Milton Berle

Jeffrey A. Fiegenschuh, ICMA-CM, MPA, is the city manager of the City of Rochelle.