Last week we reflected on last year’s goals for the community, which were ambitious.

Navigating the impact of property tax reform

The state legislature has noted its number one priority is going to be addressing property taxes this legislative session. And locals at the school boards and city councils have already indicated that whatever that relief looks like, it is likely going to impact the levies they use for funding.

We hope that our local taxing entities are able to navigate what the impact to property tax reform will be and maintain the services that they routinely give, even as more of that funding headache might be passed along to them. This is one of those areas where we as taxpayers want to maintain the quality we expect in local government and all they do, but if more mandates are passed to have them unfunded, that impacts the services they are able to provide.

Getting the EMS district established

The Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service did a lot of legwork last year to educate the community on the importance of establishing an EMS district and the importance of those funds for that service moving forward. Linn County, the City of Mount Vernon and the City of Lisbon passed resolutions to map what the borders of that district is for each entity, the next step needed to move this to a special election vote.

That vote will likely be held in March of this year. With as many signatures as were received for that district, it should be an easy vote to pass. But that requires people still getting to the polls and making that voice heard in the upcoming special election.

Continued focus on child care solutions

This one may seem like an alley oop, as the work is already finalizing on said child care center, but it’s important to this community that we have more child care options, not fewer. We wish the new child care center at the Budget Blinds space all the luck in continuing to offer child care to the community as we continue to navigate the child care desert we’re in and offer more options to address taking care of children in this community. As we’ve noted, this is a two prong problem in attracting workforce and people into our community that will take continued effort and time, and the Childcare Solutions Group’s continued focus and energy on these matters is applauded.

Keeping our schools of choice

We also want to see Lisbon and Mount Vernon schools continuing their efforts to make our districts schools of choice for many in the communities and helping to limit the impact of declining enrollment. Both schools have increased their career and technical education offerings, Lisbon with agriculture (FFA) and construction engineering classes, and Mount Vernon by beginning their own agriculture curriculum in 2026 (thanks to donations to get the program going), as well as increasing opportunities for extracurriculars. The community only excels when we have more opportunities for students to imagine their futures, career aspirations and extracurriculars offered.