Long road ahead for county planning efforts
“By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail,” Benjamin Franklin A few weeks ago, Taylor County took the first steps in a strategic planning process that will likely take more than a year to complete.
If done right, the end result will be a framework for current and future county decision makers, both elected and non-elected, to have a smoother functioning and more efficient county government for years to
come. If done poorly, or with foot dragging, heavy sighs, and eye rolling, the end result will be a monumental waste of time and resources.
The county is soliciting input from its staff and county officials on what they feel the county government’s organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are. Because every process needs its own acronym this process is called a SWOT analysis and it is an essential step in any planning process regardless of whether it is a business, a group or a government organization.
There is an entire industry around strategic planning, with plenty of consultants, facilitators and others willing to take your money to help you with a plan.
Taylor County is currently doing the process internally rather than paying for outside help with it. This frugality is to be commended. It is well within the capabilities of existing staff and elected officials to handle with staff having experience doing this on a departmental level.
The bigger challenge facing the county is in meshing together the diverse departments, all of which have specific things that they must do in the service of taxpayers and residents. There are those who suggest the process be done largely behind closed doors. They feel the people involved would be more open about their comments if they didn’t have to worry about having them appear as next issue’s “quote of the week.”
Well, tough for them. Planning documents and the discussion around how they are formed is important for the public to know.
Plans can be used to justify all sorts of actions and it is vital that voters know the intention for the action. Unwarranted secrecy opens the door for real or imagined corruption to take place.
It is also important to enter into the planning process with an open mind and the recognition that, for the most part, things are actually going OK in Taylor County government. The number of real issues are small in comparison with the overall scope of county government and services. While there is plenty of room for improvement and some very clear specific issues that must be addressed, taken as a whole, county operations are serving the needs of the residents.
Planning is important, both the polished and shiny report that will be the end result, and the dusty journey to get to that final report.
