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ALBANY, GA -- The city is working on a list of their priorities for Albany in 2012. Their preliminary list rates “Safe Community” as number one followed by “Economic Prosperity” and “Marketing the City of Albany for the Future.”

Some citizens say the priorities should be ranked differently.

Keta Allen has lived in Albany for 20 years, and says from what he’s witnessed through the years, tackling crime starts with repairing the economy.

“If a suspect was nabbed and asked why did he commit himself to the crime you'll find out for the most part it is economics,” says Allen.

Business owner Patrick Jenkins says the order should rank marketing at the top of the list; he says marketing will lead to economic development.

“When you bring economic development you have a natural tendency for crime to decrease. But I definitely think crime should remain a priority,” says Jenkins.

Allen says it won’t be a focus on just one priority at a time but a collaborative effort of all of them to move the city forward in 2012.

“It's hard to say crime is where we need to study, education is also where we need to study. It’s going to take a combination that's going to help make this situation work,” says Allen. “You got the educators, the institutions of higher learning that must encourage those who graduate to remain here to install and place a business whether it's going to be that one person operation and or that person with affiliates or hired employees.”

“Infrastructure Development,” “Leadership and Workforce Development” and “Social Prosperity” are at the end of the city’s preliminary priorities list for 2012, which features six priorities.

City Manager James Taylor says the city’s priorities list is a work in progress; city staff is working to define the priorities, identify the long and short term activities necessary to achieve them and measures of success associated with these priorities. He says it will likely be several more weeks before city officials are prepared to send the list to the commission for final approval.