Carver County board adopts new three-priority strategic plan after months of staff input; 4-1 vote

The Carver County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 adopted an updated county strategic plan that lays out three high-level priorities — taxpayer value and customer service; physical assets; and people as a strength — after several months of staff and division-director input and board review.

County Administrator Hemsey introduced the plan to the board and characterized it as “a pretty major overhaul from plans of the past,” saying the effort included one-on-one board interviews, work sessions and additional staff feedback gathered after a June discussion. Hemsey said the county would align board packets and future actions to the plan so board decisions tie back to the priorities.

The plan’s adoption followed remarks by commissioners who generally praised the document while asking for clearer metrics and direct staff engagement. Commissioner Lynch moved adoption; Commissioner Fahey seconded. The motion passed 4-1. Commissioner Uttermann said he would not support the plan, arguing it lacked enough frontline-staff involvement and objective metrics to measure organizational health: “I won’t be supporting this today,” he said.

Why it matters: The board described the strategic plan as a high-level guiding document intended to shape decisions — especially budget choices — in the coming years. Hemsey and others said the county will connect employee performance plans and operational work back to the board-driven priorities so the strategy can inform day-to-day decisions.

Details and debate: Hemsey said the planning process began earlier in the year and included former Scott County administrator Dave Unmacht to lead interviews and discussions. The revised plan intentionally kept priorities at a high level, Hemsey said, and staff provided written and verbal feedback to connect department goals to the board priorities. The presentation singled out possible uses of technology (including artificial intelligence tools such as Copilot) to improve customer service and employee efficiency and highlighted efforts in asset management, including road and facility condition tracking.

Commissioner Uttermann objected that the plan did not do enough to solicit or reflect direct input from frontline staff and urged clearer objective measures of organizational health. He noted that the county lacks a single, agreed-upon staff-health metric and said that without measurable objectives he could not support adoption. Other commissioners said they viewed the plan as a work in progress and emphasized follow-up steps to define metrics and to integrate the plan into the county administrator’s review and the budgeting process.

The board agreed the next steps include tying departmental goals and employee performance evaluation elements to the strategic priorities, discussing metrics for progress, and reflecting the plan in the county’s packet and budget materials. Hemsey told the board the budget presentation would arrive the following week and would illustrate how fiscal choices align with the plan.

The board voted to adopt the plan after the discussion. The motion passed by a 4-1 vote; Commissioner Uttermann cast the lone dissent.

Looking ahead: Commissioners and staff said they expect to refine the plan over time, develop objective performance measures and return results to the board during regular budget and performance reporting.