Council reviews draft five‑year strategic plan; councilors ask for edits and committee structure

A draft five‑year strategic plan was presented at the Committee of the Whole on May 13 and committee members asked staff and department heads to review the draft and provide feedback before the plan returns to the council for further action.

Alderman O'Donohue and Alderman Sanders led the presentation and said the existing strategic plan on the city website had not been actively used and needed updating for current priorities such as information technology, social media, grant coordination and capital needs. "When I started here, there's no really road map for aldermen," O'Donohue said. The draft identifies priorities including economic development, sustainable infrastructure, recreation and tourism, reducing homelessness and improving transportation.

Presenters said the strategic plan is intended as an organizing document: it would help councilors identify and budget for long‑lead capital projects (the Fifth Street project and Tremont project were cited as examples), enable coordinated grant seeking, and support committee formation to carry out goals. "We want active aldermen in the community" who will meet local stakeholders and help advance priorities, Sanders said.

Council members asked staff to refine responsibility assignments in the draft (several items currently list the city council as the responsible party) and to propose a committee structure aligned with the plan. The committee did not vote to adopt the plan; staff were directed to solicit feedback from department heads and councilors and return an updated draft to a future meeting.