To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Departmental
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Form an Ad Hoc Working Group to Review the County of Humboldt Strategic Plan
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the formation of an Ad Hoc working group to review the County of Humboldt Strategic Plan; and
2. Appoint two Supervisors to the Ad Hoc working group to review the County of Humboldt Strategic Plan.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund - County Administrative Office (1100-103); All Departments
DISCUSSION:
A strategic plan is an important tool in ensuring that local governments can effectively work towards addressing the community’s needs with the resources available. It acts as a guiding document, setting the tone and direction for the entire organization. Effective strategic planning will enable the County of Humboldt to identify and prioritize its goals, allocate resources efficiently, and ultimately achieve desired outcomes. A sound strategic plan is critical to positioning the County of Humboldt well going into difficult budget years to prioritize its activities, meet the needs of Humboldt County, and provide the highest level of service possible. Without strategic planning, the County of Humboldt will lack a unified direction, may become reactive and struggle to adapt to changing circumstances or capitalize on opportunities. These are just some of the many reasons it is vital that the County of Humboldt invest in a strong strategic planning process.
The County of Humboldt’s current strategic plan is dated February 4, 2019. Since the development of the 2019 Strategic Plan the community has experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple local emergencies, economic uncertainty and significant turnover in leadership. As an example, twelve (12) of the nineteen (19) department heads were not involved in the development of the previous plan, and due to their departments’ roles in the County of Humboldt and community, especially in light of the aforementioned challenges, the leaders of those departments expressed a desire to play a significant role in the development of the new strategic plan. All department heads attended one (1) or more of the recent strategic planning sessions, showing commitment to actively participating in this process.
The current strategic planning endeavor began with a series of open public meetings on March 3, 2023, March 23, 2023 and March 24, 2023. These open public meetings took place at Trinidad City Hall and the Benbow Inn in to ensure community members in far-reaching areas of Humboldt County had the opportunity to attend. These sessions leant themselves to collaboration and teamwork of community members, the Board and department heads in the planning of the County of Humboldt’s future. Together, under the guidance of a consultant, Municipal Resource Group (MRG), the parties in attendance developed a draft vision and mission statement, established core values, goals and priorities for the County of Humboldt.
The task of the Ad Hoc Committee regarding the County of Humboldt Strategic Plan will be to refine the vision and mission statements and define the priorities established during these planning sessions.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
|
Expenditures (Fund, Budget Unit) |
FY22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY24-25 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$40,090 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$40,090 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources (Fund, Budget Unit) |
FY22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected* |
FY24-25 Projected* |
|
General Fund |
$40,090 |
|
|
|
Total Funding Sources |
$40,090 |
|
|
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
Facilitation cost with MRG for strategic planning is in an amount not to exceed Thirty-Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($32,500.00). Funding for this expenditure is available through salary savings in the County Administrative Office - Management and Budget Team (MBT) budget unit 1100-103. Additional costs include food and lodging for at least fifteen (15) individuals at each of the three (3) days of off-site training estimated to be Five Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Dollars ($5,590) and the hall at Benbow KOA rental rate of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000). These costs were included in the fiscal year 2022-2023 adopted budget for MBT. Additional travel and meal costs (ranging from $82-$165 per person) for attendance to the Strategic Planning meetings will be borne by the individual departments.
STAFFING IMPACT:
There are no staffing impacts related to this item other than staff time to participate in Strategic Planning meetings. However, developing a strategic plan will help guide department and staff actions, particularly in instances of competing priorities and/or limited resources.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
The recommended actions support the following areas of the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Framework.
Core Roles: N/A
New Initiatives: Manage our resources to ensure sustainability of services
Strategic Plan: N/A
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may choose not to form the requested Ad Hoc working group. However, this alternative is not recommended as it would not move recent Strategic Planning efforts forward to completion.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.:
Meeting of: 2/4/19; 3/3/23; 3/23/23; 3/24/23
File No.: 19-138, 23-289, 23-390, 23-408