If our Mission and Vision Statements are to have any meaning, they must be accompanied by deliberate planning efforts to move the organization and the community toward a desired future.
This requires clearly defined goals, proactive objectives, committed leadership, and effective management. Above all, it requires managing the forces of change. Those forces include community demographics, state and federal mandates, fiscal constraints, economic conditions, emerging technologies, and many other influences on our service delivery efforts.
High performing organizations are those that learn to anticipate and adapt to change by creating value for those we serve, and motivation and meaning for those who serve them. The best tool for accomplishing these objectives is strategic planning.
Strategic Plan Structure
Themes
The Strategic Plan has four primary themes that reflect our Mission and Vision Statements: Great Neighborhoods, a Safe City, a Healthy Economy, and an Effective Government. Specific goals and objectives move the organization toward our vision of the future.
Goals
Each theme is followed by the City’s primary goals in that subject area for the foreseeable future. The goals should remain constant over time and should only be revised to reflect significant community changes or unanticipated events.
Objectives
A list of measurable objectives with benchmarks helps us track progress toward the goals. Objectives are generally identified to cover the five-year planning period from the date they are adopted or revised.
Actions
Actions are the steps needed to meet the objective. Each department defines actions they can take to help accomplish plan goals and objectives in their departmental business plans to align the entire organization with the goals and objectives.
Strategic Planning Progress
This plan is intended as a work in progress. While the mission, vision, values, and goals stay relatively constant, objectives and actions require periodic review and refinement. We will track progress through regular reporting on the measures, and they will be incorporated into department, organization, and community publications. The annual Budget and Capital Improvement Program also serve as reporting and implementing policy documents, identifying relationships with the Strategic Plan. The Comprehensive Plan, Transportation System Plan, Water Master Plan, Sewer Master Plan, Parks Master Plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan, Urban Forestry Management Plan, and related planning documents also support this Strategic Plan.
