A strategic plan serves as an organization’s road map. It prioritizes initiatives, resources, goals, departmental operations, and projects. As Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, be careful. You might not get there!” 

The City of McMinnville recently completed a strategic planning process to determine the direction of the city for the next three years. The process was thorough, consisting of online surveys, paper surveys sent to all utility customers, several focus groups, a retreat for city staff and elected officials and multiple work sessions with staff to determine how to execute the plan. 

While a strategic plan is helpful for reasons already stated, going through the process of executing one is just as important. We requested input on the direction of the city from all residents, elected officials, city staff, property owners and other stakeholders throughout the community. We then brought together people who would typically not be meeting with one another to review the feedback and to consider ways to address the feedback. I hope this process is the first step towards strengthening the public’s trust in local government. We must work together with shared respect and direction to be successful as a community.

Two tangible results are a new mission, vision, and values statement and six strategic goals for the City of McMinnville. I encourage readers to visit the city website to view all related documents. To summarize, the goals are 1. Public Safety 2. Economic Growth and Development 3. Financial Security 4. Reliable Infrastructure 5. Workforce Recruitment and Retention 6. Proactive Communications. 

Returning to Yogi Berra - We have a plan and know how to get there. 

During the strategic planning process, it was suggested that I write a series of columns focused on city-related topics to foster more proactive sharing of city information to the public. So, the purpose of my writing this regular column is to work towards our goal of improving proactive communication from the city to our community. 

I want to clarify that I do not speak for any member of our Board of Mayor and Aldermen individually and never will. However, if there is consensus on an issue, I may sometimes speak for the Board as a whole. My job as city administrator is to inform the Board so they may make an informed decision and then implement it after the vote. My intent in writing this regular column is to improve communication from the city to the community. We have already been working hard behind the scenes and, in the coming weeks, we anticipate releasing a series of videos as well to communicate information to the public.

We work for you. Please help us help you by becoming a partner in shaping the future of our community for years to come. We can’t be successful without your help. 

McMinnville City Administrator  Nolan  Ming can be reached at (931) 473-1200 or nming@mcminnvilletn.gov.