EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is what Crestview's leaders say are the city's top priorities in 2014.
What do you anticipate, or think should change, in 2014?
"I am looking forward to the several educational facilities and industries (that) express interest in coming to Crestview and Northwest Florida." — David Cadle, Crestview Mayor
" The major concern I have for our city is that we do not have a city manager to oversee and manage the city. Our form of government is highly unique, and there is a reason for that … Other cities have recognized that without professional management and accountability, your city is set up to fail the employees and the taxpayer.
"I plan to engage the taxpayers this year to explain how (hiring) a manger/administrator could help improve the efficiency of our city and yield them a better return on their tax dollars.
"The recent Gulf Power over-charging fiasco is just one example of why we need a better system in place." — Robyn Helt, Crestview City Council President
"While I loathe the growth of government, in this instance we are in desperate need of a city administrator, human resources and (a) purchasing agent. Each of these positions would pay for themselves by saving wasted duplication in work being performed repeatedly by non-communicating departments, wasted expenditures and lawsuits from incorrect hiring and firing." — Thomas Gordon, Crestview City Council
"My desire and goal for the city of Crestview is to be one of the motivational leaders to help in developing, and bring to fruition: enormous growth in retail business, which would produce strong economic developments (and) many additional jobs; a greater tax base with many capital improvement projects, which would move Crestview forward in our economic growth; and to utilize, and fully develop through in-depth planning, our available and abundant resources we have here in the Hub City." — Joe Blocker, Crestview City Council
"I see no major concerns at the present time, but we must continue to improve our city streets, continue to manage and grow our city and maintain adequate services for our citizens, while utilizing our tax funds wisely to effectively improve our community." — Shannon Hayes, Crestview City Council
"I want to work with the council to get better control on our assets and spending. I would like to see a better way to track spending and perform better asset management. Everyone always talks about Crestview having the highest taxes. New businesses and contractors seem to avoid coming to Crestview because of this.
"We need to look at every option available to produce a more effective city government from our revenues, without raising taxes." — Mickey Rytman, Crestview City Council
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview leaders set sights for 2014