City manager outlines 6–9 month update to Winchester strategic plan, community survey set for summer–fall

Dan Hoffman, the city manager, updated the Winchester City Council at a work session Tuesday on a citywide revision of the strategic plan and the timetable for public input and committee review.

Hoffman said the process began several months ago with a council‑created strategic planning committee and is expected to take “anywhere from 6 to 9 months.” He said departments will present updates and draft objectives to the committee before material returns to full council for formal consideration.

The work matters because Hoffman and staff said the strategic plan guides budget and policy priorities across departments. "We really do use the plan," Hoffman said, adding that the city refers to it when preparing the budget and setting multi‑year goals such as housing, mobility and economic development.

Hoffman described the sequence staff expects: department reviews in committee (parks and recreation and public safety were identified for upcoming meetings), joint committee meetings when objectives cross departments, and performance measures that the strategic planning committee tracks. He said some topics in the previous plan have been completed, others dropped, and the current effort appears to be a major revision because five years have elapsed since the last formal update.

A third‑party community survey by ETC Institute is already in the field, Hoffman said; staff aim to close responses around mid‑September if the sample is representative citywide, with the goal of incorporating results into the fall work sessions. Hoffman said the city intends to keep many of the same survey questions used previously so it can track trends over time.

Hoffman said staff will hold a public open house, likely at Jim Barnett Park, once survey data and draft department sections provide “some more meat to work with.” He said councilors will be assigned to tables at the open house to collect resident input.

Councilors asked about differences between the strategic plan and the city’s comprehensive plan. Hoffman said the strategic plan is a five‑year, action‑oriented document; the comprehensive plan is a 20‑ to 30‑year land‑use vision required by state planning rules and used to evaluate rezonings and conditional use permits.

Several councilors urged that staff include trend data and comparable benchmarks — such as changes in median home prices, area median income and public safety metrics — so the plan’s data do not become immediately dated. Hoffman said staff plan to include comparable regional benchmarking from the survey vendor and to reuse prior survey questions where practicable.

Hoffman told councilors he wants a near‑final draft before the city gets deep into the FY2027 budget process so council can better align budget requests and strategic priorities.

Ending: Hoffman asked councilors to participate in committee reviews and the public open house and said staff will return with draft material in October for additional work sessions and committee review.