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Polk City staff propose concise mission, six core values and website upgrade
Summary
Polk City staff presented a proposed mission — "providing responsible services that build a vibrant, sustainable community" — and six core values and recommended a website upgrade (estimated $10,000–$20,000). The council discussed wording and outreach and staff said the item will return for a formal vote.
Chelsea, a Polk City staff member, presented a draft citywide mission and a set of core values at a 2025 work session and said staff plans to return the proposal to the Polk City Council for formal adoption.
The draft mission, offered by Chelsea, reads: "providing responsible services that build a vibrant, sustainable community." Chelsea said staff developed the language during a team-building session and sought a shorter, more visible statement than the city’s current, multi-sentence mission that appears in some employee email signatures.
Council reaction was generally favorable but focused on wording. Nick, a council member, said he "definitely like[s] the bones of this" but suggested including wording that emphasizes growth. Jeff, a council member, proposed adding explicit reference to "residents, businesses and visitors"; Mandy and Rob expressed support for keeping the statement short and memorable. Susan, a council member, said she preferred five values but did not object to the staff recommendation.
On core values, Chelsea said staff started with seven options and, after a vote among department heads, narrowed them to six: engagement, innovation, integrity, quality, service and transparency. Council members questioned redundancy between "service" as a core value and the mission’s reference to providing services; Chelsea said staff could revisit that choice before presenting the item for adoption.
Chelsea also raised related communications work: staff reviewed other organizations' websites (including Bravo Greater Des Moines, MWA and the city of Clive) as examples of visible mission statements and consistent taglines. She said Polk City's current website backend has limited capabilities and that the vendor CivicPlus discussed an upgraded package. Chelsea said staff expect the upgrade could cost "in the range of $10,000 to $20,000" and noted the site's last redesign was in March–April 2020.
Next steps: Chelsea told the council she intends to place the mission and values on a future council meeting agenda for formal approval and to continue outreach within the organization and to the public. Council members agreed there was no immediate rush to finalize wording. The work session concluded with a procedural motion to adjourn, which carried and ended the meeting.
