Pitt County commissioners adopt five-year strategic plan, approve new mission and vision
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Summary
The Pitt County Board of Commissioners approved a five-year strategic plan as a working document and adopted a shorter mission and vision statement to guide budgeting and departmental implementation over the next five years.
The Pitt County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday adopted a five-year strategic plan and unanimously approved a shorter mission and vision intended to guide county budgeting and departmental work plans.
Consultant Karen Witchard presented the plan, describing a proposed mission — "Pitt County enhances the community's well-being with care, respect, and efficiency" — and a new vision, "Community at heart, innovation at mind." Witchard said the plan grew from one-on-one interviews with commissioners, community engagement platforms and employee surveys and lays out four priority areas: community well-being, economic vitality, balanced development and organizational excellence.
Commissioners discussed specific objectives tied to each priority, including updating the county homelessness plan to meet federal requirements, exploring a violence-interruption partnership with East Carolina Medical Center, advancing affordable-housing strategies, implementing a comprehensive transportation plan in cooperation with NCDOT and regional partners, and a consolidation study for health and human services.
During debate, managers and staff stressed that approval created a "working" plan to be followed by implementation meetings with department directors to set concrete tasks, accountabilities and funding needs. The board first voted to approve the mission, vision and core values and then voted to adopt the recommended strategic plan as a working document that will be sequenced into department-level work plans and the annual budget process.
Commissioners asked that implementation include clear performance measures and a timeline for high-priority actions. The consultant said the next step is implementation planning, including identifying who leads each objective, funding requirements, and sequencing based on budget realities.
The board moved the plan into the implementation phase; staff will return with department-level action plans and proposed performance measures.