If you’d like to read the Six Sigma report on how to improve Peoria’s snow removal process, here it is in PDF format (1.43M). To me, one of the more significant observations is this one:

The community has grown over 26 center lane miles in the past seven years and will be growing another ten center lane miles later this year due to new neighborhoods being developed. No consideration has been given for equipment or manpower needed to clear the streets.

This report is focused on snow removal, obviously, but I think the findings point to a more systemic problem in the city. That is that the city, when annexing land and expanding, has not adequately planned for or provided the additional resources needed for increased demand on public works, police, and fire service. Hence, all these basic services get stretched to the point where we read today about problems with fire personnel having enough manpower and equipment.

Peoria was about 39 square miles in 1970. By 2006, it had grown to over 48 square miles (a 23% increase) and will soon hit 50 as new land is annexed. During that time, police staffing grew by 24 people (9%, 263 to 287), fire staffing grew by 31 people (18%, 175 to 206), and public works staff actually has 13 fewer people (-9.7%, 134 to 121). I’m talking about total staff, not just officers, firefighters, and crew members; i.e., these numbers also include desk jobs and other positions.

Consider also that newer parts of town put a proportionately larger strain on city resources. From the snow report again:

Cul-de-sacs can take up to eight times longer to clear than a through street. At the current time, the city has over 900 cul-de-sacs and dead end streets, and new subdivisions are developing these in to their neighborhood planning processes.

Most of the older part of the city is on a grid system of streets — that is, through streets. By far the most cul-de-sacs are on the north end and in the expansion areas. Cul-de-sacs are not only a problem for public works, but fire and police as well, since access to those properties is limited and provide only one direction of approach.

Obviously, the city’s services need to be expanded to meet the needs of the growth areas. And given that annexation and development are supposed to be bringing in so much new income to the city, that should be no problem. Only the city is still strapped for funds — so much so that not only can we not add resources, we can barely maintain the status quo.

The city simply cannot sustain a pattern of growth that sees property values deteriorate and vacancies increase in the core of the city while simultaneously acquiring more and more land to the north. We have to increase the tax base in the southern part of the city.