Springfield City Council take oaths of office
Generally, the first City Council meeting of the year is a busy one as many items need to be approved. This year’s meeting was no different.
The meeting began with Mayor Lowell Helget, Councilor Nicholas Klisch, Councilor Josh Anderson and Councilor Jeanette Pidde taking the oath of office. Soon after the oath of office, Anderson was voted in as Council President. As part of the meeting it was announced that each member of council now has a city email address. You can find the addresses on the city website at https://www.springfieldmn.org/city-council and on page 6.
City Manager, Amber Dale, gave a summary of her State of the City Address (see sidebar for full address) where she highlighted some of the city’s challenges like staffing, last year’s flood and budgetary issues.
“I wanted to thank the staff for everything that they’ve done to keep us afloat through these challenges and everything that they’re doing into the future, as well as the Council for being supportive through some of the major changes that we’ve seen,” stated Dale. She also spoke of the success of securing over two million in grants and $850,00 in federal loans along with a million dollars per year in Local Government Aid.
“Springfield is collecting about $1.45 million next year in local taxes. So with a population of 2036 people, that only $712 of local funding per resident per year that helps us to maintain all of our essential services, including streets, parks, pool, police and fire departments, the library and everything else that we have in the city,” Dale explained.
“In closing, I just wanted to say that the history of Springfield is one of resilience, collaboration, generosity and a commitment to building a brighter future together. We face challenges and we will seize the opportunities that lie ahead. So thank you to all the residents, the volunteers, the staff and the Council for being part of the journey and making Springfield a welcoming community, and as we look forward to next year, we should remember that our strength lies in our people and how we come together. We have a lot to share with everyone, including our achievements, our values and our vision for tomorrow,” concluded Dale.
See complete story in this week's issue of the Springfield Advance-Press.