Cochran council delays adoption of draft strategic plan pending added timeframes

City Manager Richard Newbern presented a draft strategic plan for 2024–2026 during the Cochran City Council work session on July 9, 2024, outlining a vision statement, core values, five strategic goals and objectives under each goal. Mayor Billy Yeomans convened the session at 6:00 p.m., and Newbern said department heads will develop work plans to align their operations with the strategic goals and that he will provide periodic progress updates to the council.

Councilmember Carla Coley pointed out that timeframes were included only for the first goal and were missing for goals two through five. Councilmember Shane Savant said he recalled the group had set quarterly or semiannual timeframes for all goals during the June 29 planning session facilitated by Dr. Carrie Hamilton of the Georgia Institute of Government. City Clerk Candace Summerall clarified that the bullet points under the goals were not intended for the final one-page version of the plan.

Councilmembers requested that staff add explicit timeframes for goals 2–5 and make minor wording edits to the core values and mission statement before the council votes. The council agreed to postpone voting on the strategic plan until the next meeting to allow time for those revisions. No formal vote on the plan occurred at the July 9 work session.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the requested timeframes and wording changes, department heads will draft work plans tied to the strategic goals, and the council is expected to consider the revised plan at its next meeting.