Rockwall County presents draft Strategic Plan 2050 after yearlong community process

Rockwall County Commissioners on Tuesday received a formal presentation of the draft “Rockwall County Strategic Plan 2050,” the product of more than a year of public outreach and consultant analysis.

Woody Battle, consulting manager with Baker Tilly, who led the study and presentation, told the court the plan synthesizes “thousands, tens of thousands of data points” and public input from more than a thousand residents. “We produced a document that will help move the county forward,” Battle said during the presentation.

The draft plan lays out a vision and mission, six strategic goals and 32 operating initiatives to guide county decisions through 2050. The goals are: promote trust and transparency in governmental operations; position county government for growth; strengthen collaboration across local, regional, state and federal partners; invest in countywide infrastructure; foster economic growth while protecting local culture; and expand support for judicial, law enforcement, fire, emergency and public health services.

Why it matters: County leaders said the plan is intended to align spending and staffing priorities with measurable outcomes. Commissioner Dana Makalick told the court the intention is to attach specific budget and performance measures to initiatives beginning with the FY2026 budget cycle so residents can better see how resources track to goals.

Highlights and next steps - Stakeholder process: Baker Tilly and Friese Nichols led outreach with a Project Steering Committee and a Community Steering Committee; the consultant said more than 1,000 community participants contributed input and the county had over 75 steering committee members. - Time horizons: The draft sets 5-, 15- and 25-year milestones to phase initiatives and suggested routine updates — quarterly working-group updates, an annual year-in-review, and a full plan refresh every three to five years. - Implementation tools: The county has contracted for a public-facing dashboard to publish progress on initiatives; consultants recommended tying plan initiatives to budget actions and performance measures. - Ownership: Commissioners agreed to assign individual ownership: each member of the commissioners court will take one of the six goals; the sheriff’s office and district attorney will jointly take the public-safety and judicial support goal.

Commissioner Makalick called the plan a “blueprint” that must be converted into tactical actions and performance measures. Woody Battle urged the court to create working groups to own operating initiatives and to use the dashboard to keep the public informed. "When you implement the FY '26 budget, I think you'll see the harvesting of the fruits of the plan," Battle said.

Public comments during the morning session echoed support for the outreach process. Trevor Reed, a member of the community steering committee, described the draft as “concise” and urged residents to read it and submit comments. Tom Kula, a retired brigadier general and steering committee member, said he appreciated the plan’s focus on water conservation and the need to move quickly from planning to execution.

What the draft does not decide: The court received the presentation and directed staff and stakeholders to pursue the implementation steps described in the plan; the court did not adopt a final, enforceable ordinance or formally adopt the plan on the dais during the meeting. Makalick said formal adoption would follow a public comment period and additional review.

The county posted the draft plan to the county website and will accept public input before the commissioners consider formal adoption. The court also committed to quarterly work sessions to monitor progress on implementation.

Ending: Commissioners urged residents to review the draft and hold leaders accountable for delivery. The court set expectations for public transparency through the dashboard and additional outreach as the county moves the plan toward adoption and budgeting.