By way of New Year’s Eve’s Ring in the Arts celebration, Butler will usher in what the community hopes will be a year of progress and, hopefully, better economic conditions.

On the progress front, the city already is poised to continue its blighted-building-removal program under which the city razed 10 buildings this year.

According to John Evans, city zoning and code management officer, the city plans to double its demolition workload again in the coming year.

If achieved, it will be a welcome result to the scores of people who must endure the eyesores daily and whose property values are harmed by the blight nearby.

Razing of the structures also will eliminate fire hazards and dangerous conditions children sometimes explore, as well as “living quarters” for rodents, stray animals and insects.

In addition to the city’s effort during the past 12 months, six other blighted structures were removed by their owner, two by a bank and one by the city redevelopment authority.

The city’s removal numbers for 2010 and 2009 were four and two, respectively.

Thus, the program can be judged as having begun on a small scale and continued to build upon its success.

Evans said a list of about 18 blighted properties targeted for the program in 2012 will be announced by February.

“The ones we tear down are the worst of the worst,” he said, noting that in those cases all other means of dealing with the properties have been exhausted.

As reported in an article in Sunday’s Butler Eagle, the positive results of the program are evidenced by a new home built at 325 Federal St, a property that had held a blighted structure that the city demolished.

Understandably, city officials are hopeful of that possibility on other program properties, not only from the additional-tax-revenue potential but also from the improved image that the city derives from new construction — residential as well as commercial.

New structures deliver a message of hope and confidence and imply an invitation for others to enjoy what Butler has to offer.

On the flip side, blight pro-jects a dying community and weak, ineffective leadership.

Butler, like all other municipalities, is affected by problems on the state and national levels. But where the community can make a positive difference — and exhibits the intiative to do so, as with the anti-blight program — it projects the message that the community is not content to stand still.

So, as the city prepares to ring in the new year, it also is positioned to have the city looking better at this time in 2012.

As long as there is blight here, city leaders should not ignore its existence, attacking it by all legal means available.