'Strategic Plan' Up for Council Adoption

The El Cerrito City Council decided last May to develop a "Strategic Plan" to help the city plan for the future and hired a consultant and embarked on a community-feedback process to develop the plan.

Now the consultant, Management Partners, and city staff have prepared a final version of the plan for the council to consider adopting at its April 2 meeting.

The staff report for the council meeting identifies purposes of the Strategic Plan:

• Provide the City with a roadmap for making service delivery decisions and allocating resources, as well as guide the organization in fulfilling the City's mission
• Serve as the foundation for a General Plan Update and implementation of the Climate Action Plan, and to complement other planning efforts
• Serve as a road map for economic development
• Include a framework to align services with resources and benchmarks or milestones to measure the City’s progress over time.

The report, which is attached to this article, includes an 18-page description of the plan from Management Partners. The plan is divided into several main categories, including vision, mission, values and goals.

When the council voted in May in favor of developing a Strategic Plan, it appropriated $45,000 for the effort, including at least $39,000 for Management Partners.

The vision statement is short, and the mission statement was adopted previously by the council. Most of the plan is devoted to values and goals.

The proposed vision says:

The beautiful City of El Cerrito is a safe, connected, and environmentally focused Bay Area destination with vibrant neighborhoods, businesses and public places, and diverse cultural, educational and recreational opportunities for people of all ages.

The staff report also provides summary lists of the values and goals that are in the proposed plan:

Organizational Values:

• Ethics and Integrity
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Inclusiveness
• Innovation and Creativity
• Professional Excellence
• Responsiveness
• Transparency and Open Communication

Goals:

• Deliver exemplary government services
• Achieve long-term financial sustainability
• Deepen a sense of place and community identity
• Develop and rehabilitate public facilities as community focal points
• Ensure the public’s health and safety
• Foster environmental sustainability citywide

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