Blythewood council ranks holistic master plan, new revenue as top goals in strategic session

Mayor Sloane Griffin and the Blythewood Town Council, meeting with members of the Planning Commission on March 2025, held a facilitated strategic goal-setting session and ranked a townwide master plan and new revenue as the council’s top priorities.

The session, led by Charlie Barrineau, field services manager for the Municipal Association of South Carolina, produced an ordered list of near-term priorities the council will use to guide the upcoming budget. Barrineau described the meeting as “a kickoff meeting right for your budgeting process,” and outlined a simple ranking method so council members could indicate top goals that staff would later turn into budgeted actions.

Why it matters: the priorities set at the session will be used to shape the town’s budget and staffing choices in the coming year. Council members emphasized that Blythewood’s limited staff and revenue structure mean the town must prioritize projects that are realistic, fundable and, where appropriate, pursued with county or private partners.

Most important outcomes

The council used a 3-2-1 marks method (each member assigned 3 points to a top goal, 2 to a second choice, 1 to a third) to rank initiatives. The group’s top-scored items were a holistic town master plan and new revenue sources, followed by review of…