Plumas County supervisors on June 30 directed staff to begin work on a countywide organizational strategic plan timed to inform the FY 2025–26 budget adoption process.

Zach, the county staff lead on the project, told the board a strategic plan “is a long-term roadmap that guides the county's operations and resource allocation over several years,” and that Plumas County currently lacks a centralized organizational strategic plan. He outlined a proposed three-month, light strategic-planning process to produce mission, vision and values statements, hold staff and community workshops and present a final framework to the board at budget adoption in October.

Zach said the plan’s goals include improving transparency, aligning departmental work with county priorities, strengthening grant competitiveness and reducing reliance on one-time general fund resources. He proposed July workshops to set the framework and gather staff input, August focus groups and surveys for community engagement, and September application of the resulting framework to department goals and objectives.

Several supervisors and board members praised the proposal and encouraged regular updates. One supervisor recommended reviewing the plan every year or every three years and using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to guide focus areas. Staff said they would provide board workshops—one to set vision, mission and values—and regular updates every third meeting, with a final presentation timed to the FY25–26 budget adoption.

A motion asking staff to begin work on a high-level organizational strategic plan aligned with the budget cycle was made, seconded and approved by the board. Staff emphasized that the plan would be an organizational document used to guide internal operations and financial planning and that community engagement would be built into the process through workshops, focus groups and surveys.

Staff identified the need to coordinate the strategic-plan work with existing department-level plans and the general plan and said the grants manager role would help shepherd the process. The board requested that supervisors engage with department staff during the upcoming intensive budget and audit period to better understand operational challenges while staff carry out the strategic-planning work.