Our Leadership Role

The Danville City Council acts with a collective purpose. Because we must provide leadership in a climate of rapid change and conflicting demands, the Council is dedicated to attacking the hard issues, making tough choices, and finding new pathways and solutions. City Council is dedicated to spending its time on change initiatives that will have a fundamental positive impact on the future of the community.

The Danville City Council recognizes that it will be effective only by working with others. Council commits itself to creating an atmosphere of collaboration and the expectation that all parties who have a stake in the community�s future must do their part. City Council will state its policy direction and the principles that guide its collective decision-making so that others can participate fully and knowledgeably.

City Council strives to ensure that Danville citizens have complete confidence in their city government. The Council commits itself to providing clear direction, good planning, and stewardship. It works with the City employees in a partnership to ensure that clear direction is coupled with high productivity and efficiency. City Council seeks the trust and confidence of its citizens by sharing successes, inviting participation and feedback, and reporting on performance.

Our Vision for the Future

Quality of Life

A quality of life in which residents of all ages will be excited by the opportunity to live in Danville, knowing they can have spiritual and economic growth, get an excellent education, and enjoy the warmth and hospitality of a community that is truly welcoming. Our community�s unique assets, including our abundant and scenic river, our beautiful historic buildings, and our friendly people, are united to create a sense of community that others yearn to experience. The river, a rich part of our legacy, will be a force in joining people together to live, create, and engage in profitable commerce.

Economic Environment

An economic environment that is business and technology friendly, inviting companies who are global leaders to seek the benefits that a community such as Danville can offer. Businesses will find a Danville with strong regional partnerships, ready infrastructure, development-friendly policies and options, and a tax structure that is conducive to initiating and maintaining a profitable business. The City�s attitude and its cooperative, persistent efforts to broaden opportunities for its citizens will make anything possible. Danville will be known as a city that accommodates, innovates, and fulfills the dreams of those who are willing to do their share.

Educational System

An educational system that provides a challenging, exciting, personalized academic plan and a social environment that produces responsible, creative and productive citizens for a changing global society. Our schools will be known for their excellent results and will have the total confidence of our citizens. They will produce highly educated and skilled workers who are well prepared for tomorrow and who look forward to thriving careers in their home community. Employers will choose Danville as an ideal location to avail themselves of the wealth of capable and highly motivated workers prepared for jobs of the future.

Community

A government that creates high community confidence through leadership and direction based on the values of economy, equality, compassion, and honest effort. An atmosphere of mutual trust and appreciation will be pervasive among citizens, employees, and policy-makers. People in Danville will embrace change that invigorates the community because they are aware of both realities and possibilities.

Our Vision Principles

The Danville City Council will provide principle-centered leadership and assist others in understanding the boundaries for our collective decision-making. The City Council will use these principles to enable it to achieve its vision for the future:

Quality of Life

1. We will provide an environment that encourages creative ideas from our constituency.

2. We will be aware of the impact that positive images and acknowledgement have on positive actions.

3. We value the role of leisure services, including recreation, arts, and humanities.

4. Our neighborhood development efforts will focus on safety, sound housing, appropriate enforcement, and the empowerment of neighborhood leaders.

5. We will capitalize upon our historic and architectural assets and pursue policies that preserve them.

Economic Environment

1. We will rid ourselves of artificial boundaries that may hold us back in creating productive regional partnerships.

2. Moving beyond the gratification of our own needs, we will use a �we first� instead of a �me first� policy in pursuing goals with our regional partners.

3. We will grow wealth and expand opportunity for all.

4. We will recognize the worth of all jobs and concentrate our efforts on ensuring that all have the opportunity to work and to earn a livable wage.

5. We will encourage our partners to share concerns and issues so that the problems that we must face can be studied and corrected and cease to hold us back.

6. We will support development efforts by making it easy to do business in Danville.

7. We will ensure our internal administrative processes are supportive of development that will benefit Danville.

8. While building on our natural and historic assets, we will seek a diverse economic base with many options for businesses and developers.

Educational System

1. We will nurture an environment of communication and trust between the School Board and City Council.

2. We will work closely with school personnel to attain mutually determined goals.

3. We will support policies that challenge students to reach their full potential, with all schools being equal in opportunities and quality of education.

4. We will provide a physical environment that will allow staff, teachers, and students to do their very best.

5. We will provide opportunities for learning to people of all ages within our City.

6. Recognizing that school success affects our community�s success, we will have a �we� concept in our educational endeavors and encourage community and parental involvement in our schools.

7. We will encourage the school system to share its positive results on a regular basis.

Community

1. We will ensure that all citizens clearly understand the role of government for the purpose of building a safe, informed, and fiscally sound community.

2. We will ensure that communication constructively touches the lives of individuals in order to attract their participation in the democratic process.

3. We will use clear, factual, timely communication and a variety of media to widely disseminate information in the community and to stimulate understanding among industry, the community, and government.

4. We will ensure that our service delivery environment is business and customer friendly to stimulate private sector investment.

5. We will ensure that city government is open and accessible to all citizens.

6. We will use common sense decision-making in the day-to-day operations of the government.

7. We will strive to do the basic services of government effectively and efficiently.

8. To further our vision, we will appoint individuals to boards and commissions who have a philosophy consistent with that of City Council.