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Monmouth Mayor Gives State of City Address

T.J. Carson
Monmouth Mayor Rod Davies talked about the economy and potential concerns from Springfield in his State of the City address.

The mayor of Monmouth gave a mostly optimistic view of his city in his annual State of the City address. Rod Davies told business leaders that “exciting times” are ahead. He used Farmland Foods and Monmouth College as examples.

“We are the host community to our region’s largest employer, as well as to a world-class liberal arts college. Both of these anchors are growing and trending in the right direction,” Davies said. 

Davies said the city’s tax base and wages have grown in his 10 years as mayor.  And he said the new Cloverleaf Cold Storage facility is making an impact, with the company planning its next expansion.

While the mayor's speech was generally positive, he also talked about the possibility of bad news from the state. Davies said “uncertainty in Springfield” could create problems for Monmouth. He said potential cuts in shared revenue payments could cost the city as much as $880,000 annually.

“We will have to wait and see the severity of these cuts, to see what municipal services that we can still afford to deliver. We may have to make some difficult choices in the very near future. Stay tuned,” Davies said.

Davies is also concerned the state could shift pension costs to local governments, and he said sewer upgrades mandated by the Illinois EPA will cost around $3.7 million dollars.

But he said the city’s best days are still ahead.