To begin, as you know a strategic plan is a vital planning resource in terms of defining a direction for the city and making decisions on the allocation of resources in order to pursue this direction. Furthermore, the strategic planning process also provides a great opportunity to record a mission and vision statement and organizational values as well as long-term goals and the action plans relied on to achieve them.  Unfortunately, though not all of these elements were provided in previous versions of the city’s plan. Therefore, in an effort to solidify the plan I have provided a draft of the following key components for your reference:

• Mission Statement-This defines why you exist and it is an aspirational description of the organization

• Vision statement- This defines the optimal future state, the mental picture of what we want to be over time and it is predictive

• Organizational Values- They are abstract ideas that guide organizational thinking and actions

• Organizational Goals- They are objectives which outline expected outcomes and guide employees efforts

The draft language is provided in the attached Strategic Plan on pages 2 and 3 and will serve as the basis for some of the discussion that takes place at your meeting.

In addition to completing the remaining plan elements it is also time to conduct an annual review of the plan. This will involve: an assessment of what has been accomplished since we last visited the plan, an opportunity to adapt the plan as a result of organizational or environmental changes, a time to consider and identify what goals or actions need to be taken to reflect the current needs of the city.

Finally, the discussion will involve which resources will be relied upon over the next fiscal year to make progress on our strategic plan.