Annual report shows Sikeston’s development

By Gina Williams

Standard Democrat

SIKESTON —The City of Sikeston recently released its annual report, and there were many new developments in 2023.

City of Sikeston Communication Manager David Jenkins, who wrote the report, said 2023 was a busy year for Sikeston.

Jenkins said the annual report includes reports from each department head in the city.

“All the departments have come up with what they have done over the last year and they submit those reports,” Jenkins said. “Then I go through and look at them and put them into a magazine form.

He continued: “It’s just a highlight over what all the city has done over the past year so it’s easy for the public to access.”

According to Jenkins, not everyone in the community is aware of all of the city’s efforts.

“One of the things that I think is neat about the report is the community development, like how many building permits are issued,” Jenkins said. “Not a lot of people are going to know that, but they can look here and see how many building permits were issued.” 

According to Jenkins, 253 building permits were issued, with a total construction cost of $36,399,978.

“That’s a big thing that people don’t always see,” Jenkins said.

According to Jenkins, Sikeston Department of Public Safety provides information on traffic stops, citations, warnings, arrests and other incidents. 

“Just interesting things you’re not used to seeing are here in the annual report,” he said.

For example, in 2023, Sikeston DPS had 29,196 total calls for service, 3,682 written police reports, 1,277 arrests, 4,128 written warnings, 3,132 written citations, 154 reported gunfire or shots fired calls and 39 animal-related citations or reports.

Jenkins said the yearly report also indicates there were more fires in 2023 than in 2022. 

“There is also a new K-9 dog that did 40 searches in 2023,” Jenkins said. 

Jenkins added the yearly report includes a list of all roads that were worked on in 2023 and that there was a lot of street construction this year.

“We were able to do more street work than usual last year because we were able to get some grants,” Jenkins said. 

In addition, Jenkins said many locals are unaware of how frequently the airport is used.

There were 4,700 aircraft operations last year. The airport also installed new fuel tanks in 2023.

“They sold 31,618 gallons of AvGas and 88,069 gallons of Jet-A-fuel,” Jenkins said. 

According to Jenkins, there was a lot going on in the city that few people knew about, which is why he thinks the annual report is so useful. 

“The annual report is important because of its transparency,” Jenkins said.

The report shows citizens the city is using their tax dollars responsibly and is working on programs to help everybody.

“You know some people may say something, ask or complain about how their tax money is being used,” Jenkins said. “Well, this shows how we are using their tax money and we’re not hiding anything; this is what we do.”

To view the annual report, click link:

https://cms1files.revize.com/sikestonmo/2023%20City%20of%20Sikeston%20Annual%20R...