It’s official, Mayor Lenise Peterman took the Oath of Office last week in front of family, friends and members of the community. She has wasted no time since winning the general election to eagerly learn about all of the duties that will be required as new head of the city.

“After I was elected, I did start working on several things because there is a learning curve. Having never served I wanted to make sure that we are executing things properly,” said Peterman. “So, I have so much to learn and I’m taking advantage of trainings and expertise made available to me to ensure that I’m doing the right things and doing them that right way.” She is wanting her time in office to be a positive and successful term for the residents of Helper.

The residents of Helper are a prideful community who will go to any lengths to bring their little town alive. “We’ve really been focused on a grassroots effort over the last year to help drive that and to draw in the community and have them embrace the concepts of changing a few things not to disregard our history but to enhance and to let people know that we’re on the map and to stop in and visit us,” stated Peterman. The biggest change was the improvement of the town’s main street. This has been possible through the development of the Helper Revitalization Committee.

One of the important things that Mayor Peterman is working on proper infrastructure as a city government. “This includes drafting job descriptions for every city roll that we have, what the expectations are of staff, as well as, putting together organizational charts so the community knows how to escalate, who to escalate to,” explain Peterman. This is an effort to build transparency into the city’s governmental structure.

Peterman is looking forward to seeing further development in the community. She would like the public to know that she has a listening ear for anyone with concerns or questions.