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tJ' 0 ORANGE COUNTY HILLSBOROUGH NORTH CAROLINA J�ana9er 's ��ce MEMORANDUM 6sla ls�eolI7S2 TO : Orange County Board of Commissioners FROM : John Link, County Manager DATE : January 29 , 2004 RE : January 31 Annual Planning Retreat With this cover memo I am transmitting reference notebooks for Saturday ' s annual planning retreat . This year ' s notebooks are laid out with tabs that tie back to the major topic headings on the retreat agenda facesheet . Generally speaking , the materials we have provided are intended to serve as " conversation starters " for the subtopics listed on the agenda facesheet . In some cases , we have created new, brief documents that serve as updates on particular topics . In other cases , we have simply provided copies of previously created documents (or updated versions thereof) that may help refresh your memories about topics that have been raised and discussed previously . As you may have noted; at this year' s retreat we will be using the services of a facilitator referred to us through the Dispute Settlement Center ' s network: ious one Geriel Thornburg-May has previously d facilitation work for Orange County agencies , and comes highly recommended by both County staff and by Andy Sachs of the Dispute Settlement Center . I understand that the Chair and Ms . Thornburg-May have discussed her role in assisting Commissioners with the retreat, and that will be covered at the outset of Saturday ' s session . A fundamental difference between this retreat and those of several years ago is a reduced emphasis on the formal goal statement format that the Board has used for the better part of a decade . As them Board has not formally adopted BOCC goalsfor several years now, we discussed with the Chair .that Commissioners may want to bring the most recent set of goal statements prepared by _staff .early last year in. conjunction 'with the January 2003 retreat . We have included in your notebooks an. index of the goal statements from last. year, but not the complete set of goals themselves If you no :longer have your set from last year but' would like staff to provide you with another COPY, Please let us 14iow and �we : can bring that to the retreat: on. Saturday fori.you p '- I me S. . r = _ . The retreat notebooks include- an in of bacicgrourid documents that relate to van sections of the retreat agenda . We have continued the pxactice of the: past two retreats of preparing an "Envirori 01 n. Scan" or "Looming Issues " document to stimulate thought about the County - s work plan and program priorities for the next year or so and to - dexitify sortie staff efforts that may not risen to the level of being forinalized as Board goals , but are nevertheless important and will involve substantial commitment of existing staff resources . As usual , staff plans to make a brief " fiscal outlook" presentation as part of the retreat to report on current and anticipated revenue trends . Handouts from the presentation will be provided at the retreat so you may retain those for future reference . With regard to the conduct of the retreat, we recognize that this is YOUR retreat and as such, should provide as much opportunity as possible for discussion among Commissioners about the topics you have chosen to include on your agenda . My intention is to keep staff presentations at the retreat to a minimum, balancing the need to provide you with relevant information with the need for you to use limited retreat time for dialogue among you . Key staff will be available during the retreat to respond to questions about the topics included on the retreat agenda . Staff and I look forward to assisting you with a productive retreat. Please let us know tomorrow if there are additional background documents you would like us to have available for the retreat on Saturday . AREA CODE ( 919) 245 - 2300 • 688 - 7331 FAX (919 ) 644 - 3004 Ext . 2300