Beaumont staff say strategic-plan discovery is complete, implementation next

Laura James, Beaumont’s economic development manager, told the Economic Development Committee on March 11 that the strategic-plan discovery phase is complete and staff are moving into the opportunity and implementation phases.

“Everything in the initial first phase, the discovery phase, is complete,” James said, describing a citywide baseline analysis, follow-up interviews, town halls, and a draft SWOT analysis that the consulting team used to inform emerging strategies.

Why it matters: The strategic plan will guide city priorities for workforce, land use and downtown activation. James said findings from the data and community input will inform a menu of prioritized implementation choices and communications tools for staff and the public.

James said the community survey returned more than 100 responses and showed strong participation across generations, including more Gen Z respondents than expected. Asked whether the plan will include dollar figures, she said implementation materials will more likely use a tiered approach — "like a restaurant menu" with one to four dollar signs — to indicate relative cost and help prioritize “low-hanging fruit” versus projects that require larger funding strategies.

The committee received the report; no action was required. Chair Joe Matthews noted the committee will continue to receive updates as staff finalize opportunity use cases and move toward an implementation workshop and a council presentation to seek further input and eventual approval.

Next steps: staff expect to present a packaged strategic plan, implementation plan and a digital public toolkit to the council for further discussion and potential approval.