Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Strategic Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Zeeland staff recommend 22-goal Strategic Action Plan and detailed employee-handbook updates
Summary
In a Feb. 2 study session, city staff recommended a 2026 Strategic Action Plan focused on 22 prioritized goals, suggested combining parking goals, and detailed employee handbook revisions including vacation, health opt-out increases and other HR updates; council approved handbook amendments later that evening.
City staff presented a framework on Feb. 2 for the 2026 Strategic Action Plan that retains top-ranked goals from Jan. 26–27 goal-setting sessions, recommends combining related parking goals, and proposes adding an implementation plan for new electric generation. The administrative recommendation would produce about 22 goals aligned with seven commitments: a vibrant downtown; strong, safe and connected neighborhoods; economic and community development; infrastructure and city services; culture, parks and recreation; financial sustainability; and organizational culture.
City Manager Tim Klunder summarized the recommendation and displayed the vote tallies for each proposed goal (for example, Washington Avenue Development received 13 votes; Mead Johnson and JR Automation implementation each received 12 votes; Park and Rec master plan received 12). Staff proposed combining several Washington Avenue and parking-related items to reduce duplication and moving smaller items (for example, concrete recreational games) to operational status rather than a strategic goal.
In the study session staff also reviewed proposed Employee Handbook amendments that were later approved at the regular meeting. The handbook updates will replace references to "City Clerk/Personnel Assistant" with "Human Resources," clarify exempt versus non-exempt positions, permit flexible posting of vacancies, and align several benefits with 2025 union contract terms. Specific benefit clarifications include adding six weeks of vacation at a long-service milestone (after 29 years), an alternate paid-vacation provision after 23 years, reductions in service-years required for certain personal leave benefits, and an increase in the health opt-out payment from $1,000 to $2,500. Staff also recommended updating the city’s meal-and-incidental expense rate from $64 to $74 and making Fire Provisions changes that ensure paid time for required training and adjust work-period definitions to meet FLSA standards.
Staff outlined next steps: if Council endorses the framework, administrative staff will develop the written 2026 Strategic Action Plan with Council input on each goal’s outcome indicator and value statement, targeting completion in late March to early April.
The council approved the Employee Handbook amendments and related Employee Appreciation Policy change during the evening meeting. No final strategic-plan adoption occurred at the Feb. 2 study session; staff will return with a draft plan and measurement indicators for further Council review.
Proper names and programs discussed during the session included Lakeshore Advantage, Mead Johnson, JR Automation, and the Citizens Academy application window (open Feb. 2–13).
