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Horry County council backs updated strategic plan, adopts new mission and values
Summary
Horry County council voted unanimously to support an updated strategic plan that narrows core values and sets four focus areas — community relations, employee relations, growth/quality of life and fiscal responsibility — to guide 2027 budgeting and service priorities.
Horry County council on the fall planning retreat unanimously approved a resolution supporting an updated county strategic plan and adopted a revised mission, vision and a condensed set of core values staff summarized as the "ORI" way.
Barry, the county administrator, and consultant Bill Tomes told council the plan grew from surveys, interviews with all 12 council members and facilitated staff sessions. Tomes said the work focused discussion into four strategic focus areas and identified measurable desired results such as improved community survey scores and lower employee turnover. "We really focused on examining the current state of the organization because strategic planning in its simplest terms is identifying where you're at, identifying where you wanna go, and figure out how you're gonna get from here to there," Tomes said.
The plan emphasizes community relations (proactive narrative management, annual community surveys and quarterly town halls), new employee-relations programs (leadership pipeline, mentorship, internal progression maps) and growth-management tools including behavioral-health partnerships and targeted infrastructure. Staff also framed fiscal responsibility as a focus area tied to revenue diversification and internal budget training; the finance team presented information on how an $894 tax payment is allocated across county services.
Council members praised staff work and signaled the plan will inform the 2027 budget. The resolution in support of the strategic plan was moved and carried without recorded opposition. Staff said the document is "living and breathing" and will be updated as implementation details are developed and budget decisions are made.
