The month of January gets its name from Janus, the two-faced god that looks back to the old year and forward to the New Year.

So, on January 1 of each New Year, people make resolutions by looking from the old year to the new year and promising to start doing something good or to stop doing something bad.

It is generally thought that before the month’s end, most of the resolutions will have become things of the past, just like the old year.

But for city officials in Pike County, their resolve for the resolutions they make in 2014 cannot be broken.

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said that his resolution for Troy the same as what it has been for every day of his term. “To have a safe community, one where we grow jobs and have a more efficient, accountable government,” Reeves said.

The core beliefs of the Reeves’ administration also include celebrating the city’s history and diversity and having a clear plan of action.

“We will be prepared and will institute a culture of lifelong learning in order to enhance the quality of education, economy and life for our citizens,” Reeves said.

Brundidge Mayor Jimmy Ramage said industry and jobs top the city’s list of resolutions.

“Industry and jobs go hand in hand,” Ramage said. “We continue to work with existing industries to create more jobs and to provide a climate that will attract more industries. Some of the plans were implemented in 2013 and will hopefully be completed in 2014.”

Ramage said the city looks forward to the opening of the Fresenius Dialysis Center and Family Dollar in early 2014.

“We also want to find a site for Fred’s and we are going to work on our downtown business area,” he said. “ We are hoping to put businesses in some of the stores on Main Street. And, as soon as we get, the okay from the federal government, we are going to get busy with the remediation of the recreation park. We want to keep moving ahead in 2014.”

The resolve of Goshen Mayor Jack Waller is to bring new businesses to Goshen, including a discount store.

“We would like to have something like Family Dollar or Fred’s in Goshen,” Waller said. “New business is what we need. And, we’ve got some street repairs that need to be made. We’re also trying to clean up the railroad crossings and get the tracks up. And, we want to get the girls’ softball field finished.”

Waller said that an ongoing resolution is to assist Goshen Elementary School and Goshen High School in all ways possible.

The town of Banks has as its goal for 2014 to be the friendliest small town in Alabama.

And that shouldn’t be to hard, said Mayor Lisa Culpepper.

“A little common courtesy goes a long way,” she said. “We’re encouraging our residents to be more courteous among themselves and become more involved in the community.”

And the town council is doing its part.

“This year, we’ve made repairs on our community center to make it a better gathering place for our residents,” Culpepper said. “We’re going to work really hard in the New Year to grow our town. We want to attract new residents and to bring new business to town. That would make a real difference.”