Part of the reason for the City of Butler's problems - both financial and infrastructure - is that for many years elected officials ran the municipality under a caretaker mind-set. There was little in the way of goal-setting, self-examination and bold new ventures.

Two resolutions approved by the city council Wednesday have the potential to help the city work in a more focused, organized and progressive way and provide leaders with a mechanism by which to judge their successes and failures. Also, the product of one of the resolutions should be assistance in spending decisions related to the big increase in the Emergency Service and Municipal Tax, formerly known as the Occupational Privilege Tax.

The two resolutions, which were introduced by Councilman Jim Kraus, call for development of an official list of city goals, and for establishing a public safety commission.

Kraus was right in pointing out that compiling a list of goals will enable the council to evaluate how the city is being run and identify ways to improve it, partly by the way the city targets its spending. He said the goals, in order of importance, would be to make Butler a safe city, make it a sustainable city, improve operations efficiency and customer service, maintain and build upon the city's physical assets, and inspire civic engagement and creativity.

The public safety panel's mission would be geared at ensuring the safety of city residents and those who work in or visit the municipality. The commission will study the city's current public safety efforts and develop recommendations on how those efforts can be made better.

Although the commission will have no legal authority, it can be a valuable resource from which important proposals regarding funding and staffing can emerge.

During the past couple of years, the city has shed some of the deeply entrenched caretaker mind-set by way of such pursuits as the West End Project and Main Street revitalization, although those efforts still have not gotten to the groundbreaking stage. Meanwhile, some current city leaders have become less reluctant to lobby on the city's behalf for state and federal funds and that has already reaped benefits such as the state money promised for repairs to Pullman Park.

Goal-setting and self-evaluation can help the city present a better case for whatever it decides to pursue.

With the Butler Downtown Revitalization Committee now an official advisory board to the city council, as a result of other council action Wednesday, and with appointment of a safety panel on the way, the city is projecting itself as being on the move rather than stuck in neutral.

Some communities have achieved a high level of success after they learned the nuts and bolts of how modest successes are achieved. That can happen here.

Members of the safety commission must be people with the time, energy and ideas to remain dedicated to what the panel is all about. And, city officials, elected and appointed, must become truly adept at putting the additional Emergency Service and Municipal Tax money to the most effective uses possible, while at the same time cutting unnecessary spending and spending that is out of step with the times.

Kraus' proposals and the council's subsequent approvals acknowledge that the ways of the past are no longer good enough. Kraus merits praise for taking this lead in pushing for a better, more effective city government, and his mission must be joined by the others with whom this city's well-being is entrusted.

All ties to the caretaker mind-set must be severed.

- J.R.K.