Minutes 06-23-2022 Retreat - Laserfiche WebLink

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11 Chair Price shared her view that the goals need to be reviewed because they are reflective of the values of a different board at a different time. Lydian Altman said one of the questions for the Board to decide is what to do with the goals, but would like to continue to celebrate some of the accomplishments before that discussion. Commissioner Richards said it is amazing and impressive that there are 10 pages of accomplishments to begin with, and the COVID response by itself crossed over so many areas. She said almost everything is significant. She also commented that she has sometimes struggled to connect an item that comes to the Board with the social justice goal or environmental goal that is listed on the abstract. She said since the goals are from 2016-17, the Board needs a process that includes strategy, goals, and the process to update the goals, and how that ties into the departments in order to update them. Chair Price said there was no strategic plan and there was push back because past boards did not want to do strategic planning, but this Board does. She said by not doing this, interconnectedness is missed. Commissioner Bedford said she was shocked to learn during her orientation that the Board at the time did not have a strategic plan because she is used to having that, including having the community's input. She said strategic planning is expensive and if the strategic plan is only looked at once a year it is a waste of time and money. She said she took a class on strategic planning before the pandemic and heard from other elected officials who use strategic plans and tie it to their long range planning and budgeting to it. She said there are initiatives the county is working on now that a strategic plan would help tie together. She said they need to know how to make it a living document. Bonnie Hammersley said it is correct that there were people opposed to strategic planning on the Board in the past, but when she came to the county, she used a different term and called it goal setting. She said as County Manager, it is important to know what the goals and priorities of the Board are and if some are required by law. She said the goals are helpful and helped accomplish everything that has been accomplished thus far. She also said she budgets based on the goals of the Board. She said the executive team shares what departments' responsibilities are within those goals and how to work towards them. Bonnie Hammersley said she doesn't think the county has been operating blind, but it would be helpful for the Board to regularly review and update the goals. She said the county is still the safety net for the most vulnerable and still has to fund schools, but it would be helpful for additional goals to be updated. She said she thinks this is the proper forum to develop a plan for this update and review. She also shared that each department has a strategic plan to guide how each department administratively functions in order to meet the Board's goals. Commissioner Greene said she appreciates the clarification, because she did not think she was on a board that did not have goals. She said the goals that are in place is how the county has achieved all that it has. She said she is not as heavily invested in the idea that the Board has to have a "strategic plan," as long as they know what their goals are. Commissioner Fowler said she can see both sides. As a realist, she doesn't like wasting time and doesn't want to do something just for branding. She said when seeing the budget, it is clear that the departments have goals, but she thinks it would be helpful for a central set of goals to guide the Board. She said these could be informed by the goals and plans the county already has in place so as to not reinvent the wheel, but said she agrees with Commissioner Bedford's earlier point that community input on the goals and planning is important. Commissioner Hamilton said in her experience, she understands the hesitation of putting in significant time for a strategic plan, but believes goals are not enough. She said the goals are broad and do not show how the board will strategize and prioritize in order to achieve each goal. She gave an example of how school facilities are not meeting the needs of students,