The reorganization of Butler City Council next week with three new members aboard provides another opportunity for the city to progress. Unfortunately, it also carries the danger that the city might not progress to the degree possible.

The new leadership and those remaining from the current council must not allow the latter to happen.

The important first order of business must be that the right people take charge of the city operations with which they can do the most good. Beyond new Mayor Maggie Stock, who, by virtue of her position, will be in charge of the police department — a leadership role about which city residents should feel comfortable — the other four council members must be paired with the responsibilities with which they best are suited.

With three new faces on the five-member council, the window is open for that to happen — and the two current councilmen who will be continuing their service should be agreeable to the prospect of new responsibilities, if that is deemed best for the city by the others who will be serving in these important positions.

Continuing their council service will be Mitch Ufner, who currently is in charge of the streets department, and Jim Kraus, who, as public safety director, oversees the fire department. Besides Stock, the new council members who will be assuming their government roles Monday will be Mike Kelly and Kathy Kline.

The mayoral inauguration is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday on the steps of the City Building at 140 W. North St. The council's reorganizational meeting will be at 2 p.m. Monday in the council chambers on the third floor of the City Building.

The year 2006 represents another important financial crossroads for the city and its desire to avoid state fiscally distressed status. The emphasis must remain on finding ways to cut costs while at the same time raising as much revenue as possible.

Despite the financial hardships that continue, however, the city must strive to project itself in the most favorable, optimistic light. Less-than-acceptable maintenance of the city's streets — so often an issue in good weather and bad — must be addressed from the get-go by this new council.

Many cities don't allow their business district's parking spaces to be cluttered for weeks with thick ice and snow buildup such as occurs here. They impose temporary parking restrictions, bring in their highlifts and trucks and remove the problem.

It's puzzling why downtown business owners, who have complained vigorously about the prospect of parking meters on Main Street, have not been equally vocal about parking conditions that discourage potential customers from visiting their establishments. The just-completed Christmas shopping season is a prime example of when business owners should have been pounding on the doors of their governmental leaders, demanding snow- and ice-removal action.

If the city can curtail parking for a parade, it can curtail parking for winter maintenance.

Meanwhile, the city's neglect of icy, hilly parking spaces along the courthouse this month deserved a complaint from the county commissioners. People doing business at the courthouse should not have to encounter conditions of snow and ice buildup that require that their vehicles be pushed from their parking spaces.

The city's serious pothole dilemma remains, along with the penchant for allowing potentially damaging "craters" to remain for two, three or four weeks — or longer — before finally being addressed.

City police officers should emphasize such conditions in their reports. At the same time, Ufner and the city streets supervisor should be more proactive in trying to find and correct problems.

Meanwhile, there must be a renewed effort to provide positive recreational opportunities in the city — at Memorial Park, Ritts Park, in the Island neighborhood and everywhere else that recreational facilities exist. Availability of recreation is one of the assets the city must always be able to emphasize in projecting a positive image of itself to others.

It never should have been necessary to close the Memorial Park pool; the pool closing was an example of the caretaker attitude that assumed that if nothing was done, everything would be OK nonetheless. That attitude was wrong; new attractions keep interest and attendance alive.

Amid all of this, the newly reorganized council will have to work as a team to address issues such as the proposed revitalization projects, employee contracts, whether "open" hours should be reduced at the City Building and, in general, how to make Butler more attractive to residents and visitors.

All of this hinges on the right decisions at reorganization time, and that means next week will be a critical juncture for this city.

Hopefully the three new council members, along with Kraus and Ufner, will show from the start that they intend to be the kind of leaders that this city needs.