The city of McMinnville voted to enlist the services of CP2 Consulting for the facilitation of a strategic planning process at the latest city Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.

“I’m very passionate about this effort, and I know our Board of Mayor & Aldermen are too, because strategic planning provides direction and prioritization in what we do,” city administrator Nolan Ming told the Standard. “As Yogi Berra would say,  ‘If you don’t know where you’re going - you might end up someplace else.’”

A strategic plan serves as a community’s road map and is used to prioritize initiatives, resources, goals and departmental operations and projects. He said, “The strategic plan is a big-picture document directing efforts and resources toward a clearly defined vision, mission and values, as well as goals, objectives and actions.

“The first three guide the last three, and the last three guide our budget and, subsequently, our daily work prioritization. There should be a clear connection between spending, as reflected in the budget, and the goals and objectives set during the strategic planning session. City staff should be held accountable for providing work plans that support the objectives and goals and executing those on a daily basis.”

Alderman Steve Harvey was absent from the previous meeting and could not vote, but the rest of the Board voted to approve the bid for CP2 Consulting. It’s important to make sure that any strategy that the city chooses is realistic and is able to be implemented, as well as ensuring that those required to implement the plan are actively involved in the goal setting and strategy formulation processes.

Ming added, “Public input is vital to this process because the likelihood of successful execution is increased if the public helps define our direction. As such, we are actively seeking the input of all stakeholders (meaning our entire community) to guide us as we work through the strategic planning process. This is where the survey and group forums come in.”

To this end, the city is asking its citizens to participate in a survey. Ming said, “In addition to the survey there will also be six focus group sessions for the public held during Feb. 22 - 24. Space will be limited. Interested participants should call Hannah Hill at (931) 473-1200, or email hhill@mcminnvilletn.gov for more information.” The purpose of the survey and focus groups are to give the city and the strategic planning consultants a better idea about the progress of the city.

“Equally important is follow-up and execution,” said Ming. “We will continually review and assess our strategies. This is important because of our ever-changing environment and because it’s impossible to know the impact of some changes. Therefore, regular review of the status of progress towards goals and the continued relevance of goals is very important. If caught early, a wrong direction or decision can be corrected early on and the negative impacts can be minimized.”

Scan the QR code provided with your phone’s camera and it will lead to the survey. Ming said, “Please, help us help you and take our survey or join a focus group. We can’t do it without your input.”