End of Year Update: Working Toward Progress in Hanover Park

On April 7, 2009, the voters of Hanover Park voted for Progress in their hometown by electing new Trustees Rick Roberts, Ed Zimel Jr., and Bill Cannon, new Village Clerk Eira Corral, and re-electing Rodney Craig as Village President. In less than a year, the Progress Team took office and started to put our promises into action.

Our Promise: Create an Open and Transparent Government
Our Actions:

• Initiated HP Email News
• Appointed a new Village Manager who understands our public safety needs, strategic thinking, and planning,
• Reorganized Village government to improve efficiency and effectiveness,
• Increased oversight by establishing a Village Finance Committee to review revenue streams and the budgeting process,
  
• Reestablished the position of village collector to ensure that an elected official, the Village Clerk, directly dealt with the day-to-day business of the Village to assure all collections have appropriate oversight.

Our Promise: Make Public Safety and Crime Prevention our Priority.
Our Actions:

• Moved administrative positions in the police department to patrol,
• Added three positions to the budget levels increasing to 57 sworn officers,
• Added part time positions to complete administrative duties with retired officers,
• Revitalized the Neighborhood Watch Program engaging neighborhood awareness,
• Set a goal to reestablish a permanent Crime Prevention Unit,
• Initiated Police Alerts via email
  

Our Promise: Bring People Together to Solve Problems
Our Actions:
During the multiple murders at the end of the spring. We took the following actions:

• held public forums to listen to resident concerns and share our plans,
• assigned get-to-know your neighborhood patrol officers as we engage new patrol initiatives in 2010,
• worked to inform residents with real-time information
  

Our Promise: Environmental Stewardship
Our Actions:

• Support our Environmental Committee, which has been functioning in an exceptional manner,
• Supported their development and planning of the Villages first recycling event,
  
• Continued to support Keeneyville School District in their pursuit of alternate energy and applying that source to the educational process.
  

Our Promise: Improve Quality of Life in Hanover Park
Our Actions:

• Amended the sidewalk parking regulations on Saturday and Sunday,
• Addressed parking issues in high density areas and proposing suggestions for the Tanglewood Homeowners Association,
• Redefined the chronic nuisance property by providing two or more nuisance activities within six (6) months as Opposed to three,
• Amended the curfew hours,
• Instituted a no tolerance policy for gangbangers,
• Suspended video gaming within Hanover Park pending the issuance of state regulations with a plan to schedule a future Hearing of our own.