City of Decatur surveys thousands of properties, picks priorities

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Every three years, the City of Decatur completes a survey of more than a dozen neighborhoods across the city. Employees inspect tens of thousands of properties.

If the property has a building on it, they note if the lot is overgrown, as well as the condition of the roof, siding, windows, doors and porches. Their findings determine what programs and grants the city offers to homeowners.

"It was a way for the city to measure the health and the changes that are happening in the neighborhoods so that we can be more strategic with the plans that we put forward," said Lacie Elzy, the economic and community development director for the City of Decatur. "As far as neighborhood revitalization goes, which has been one of city council's highest priorities for the last decade."

In recent years, the city has prioritized grants and funding for replacing roofs. In the data collected this year, they determined that roofs were no longer the biggest need.

Instead, the biggest need the city has is funding for doors, windows and siding. They plan to seek grants to help homeowners fund these improvements.

"Where there have been focused demolitions and grant investments, there were higher property values or EAVs in those areas, which leads us to believe that there's a correlation between strategic investment in the neighborhoods and that revitalization does work," Elzy said.

The city surveyed more than 14,500 parcels across 19 neighborhoods in Decatur. This totals to 41% parcels citywide.

For more details on the survey findings and the data the city collected, you can check the city's website.