Community Values on council agenda
On the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting is a request from the city manager and councilman Morris to adopt the following set of values compiled by the Peoria Coalition for Community Values (“a group of approximately sixty individuals in the community” who have “assumed leadership for this initiative”):
WHAT WE VALUE AS A COMMUNITY
March l, 2005
Children and Families
All members of the community are valuable. However, we recognize the vulnerability of children, the elderly, and the disadvantaged. Because we recognize children and families as a critical core of our community, their interests will be one of the defining criteria in all of our decision making.
Personal and Shared Responsibility
We will promote personal responsibility for ourselves, our families, our homes and neighborhoods, and our government and laws. We expect the same from all other community members and will partner with one another to share community responsibility in a manner that recognizes and rewards meritorious conduct and service.
Learning and Empowerment
We will invest in every person in order to help them realize their dreams and achieve personal success. We will promote lifelong learning, innovation, and use of current technology. We will establish a climate favorable to ethical business formation and growth, formation of new businesses, and meaningful employment opportunities.
Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation
Healthy conflict stimulates diverse thinking and creative resolution of problems; and reconciliation will bring healing and an opportunity to develop healthy relationships. Therefore, we will not necessarily avoid conflict, but we are committed to working through conflict in a positive manner despite its severity and to persevere toward just reconciliation regardless of our differences.
Respect
We value respect based on intentional appreciation, personal and corporate integrity, civil discourse, kindness, and understanding differences. We will practice respect in all of our dealings, employing open, honest, complete and civil communications.
Fostering and Supporting Good Leadership
We will encourage people to become involved in the community, seek to grow new leaders, and support leaders who are good stewards of our community values and assets.
Fact-based decision-making
We will base decisions and action plans on objective data and truth, thereby avoiding distortion of issues by personal feelings or agendas.
Art of the Possible Thinking
We believe in the unlimited potential of the Greater Peoria area. We will envision “success without limitations”, and then map specific, attainable strategies for achieving progress toward that vision.
Relational Community
We will create an inclusive, cohesive community through partnership and collaboration. We are willing to cross political, social, ethnic, economic, religious, and cultural boundaries to partner with others in order to achieve superior outcomes.
Accountability
We are accountable to our community for achieving specific outcomes and for the manner in which they are accomplished.
Some of these are good (“respect,” “accountability”), and some are just silly (“art of the possible thinking” *eyes roll*). I personally think they could have saved themselves a lot of time by just adopting the Scout Law (trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent). Peoria could benefit from the “thrifty” and “clean” parts especially.
But all in all, I think the Request for Council Action form sums up this proposal best:
Impact if approved: N/A
Impact if denied: N/A