Residents of the Chippewa Valley are generally pretty excited to perform the civic duty of paying taxes. Deep down. Like, way deep down. Occasionally, however, a civic project brings a bit of that excitement to the surface, like the ongoing expansion of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library (2725 Mall Drive, Eau Claire). The project, which includes a third floor and ultra-modern library services, is already well under way. In second place we find more love for local teachers and public schools, who did their best to salvage pandemic learning. In third place are our much-respected protectors of peace and justice, the Eau Claire Police Department. –Eric Rasmussen