[November 21, 2009] FOCUSED LEADERS: Hub City's core values, goals detailed during planning session Tweet Nov 21, 2009 (American News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- City leaders have a better understanding on what issues need to be focused on after a strategic planning session last week, City Manager Lynn Lander said. The two-day planning session, which was attended by City Council members, department heads, Mayor Mike Levsen and Lander, was facilitated by Enck Resources of Fort Collins, Colo. It cost the city $10,000 plus expenses and was a priority of the City Council when it hired Lander earlier this year. Lander said it was important to have an outside facilitator so that all city employees, including himself, could participate without swaying the final product. "The true intent of the strategic session was to work on team building and consensus of issues," Lander said. In addition to creating a mission statement, establishing core values and clarifying roles and responsibilities, group members came up with three areas they would like to focus on -- infrastructure, communication/technology and economic development. From there, they established five top goals/priorities for each area. For example, the Alexander Mitchell Library and finding additional money for water, sewer and street were included under infrastructure; redoing the city's Web site and being more interactive were included in communication/technology; increasing lobbying efforts at the state capitol and work on branding were included under economic development. Lander said a more complete list will be released at a later date. "This really helps the city set priorities and identify opportunities," he said. "It helps us figure out what direction the city is going in." City officials will now go through each area, outline action steps, figure out who's responsible for following through with them and make sure periodic updates are given, Lander said. "We're not only laying out a plan, but it's holding people accountable," he said. Lander said he expects the strategic plan to be used for one to three years. To see more of the American News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.aberdeennews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, American News, Aberdeen, S.D. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]