MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — Officials in Merrill are beginning to work on a plan for the city that will shape its direction in the next 5 years.
On Wednesday night the City of Merrill held it’s first of several strategic plan meetings. The meetings are to develop the city’s strategic plan from 2020 to 2025. This will be the city’s second strategic plan as it’s first one expires after 2019.
Merrill City Administrator David Johnson explains the goal of a strategic plan is to set priorities and objectives for the city’s next 5 years. “It’s a 5-year plan that outlines where the city wants to go. It includes a mission and vision statement.
“And then you have a strategic framework that outlines various strategic issues that you have put together. To give an example, one of them in our existing plan in the last 5 years is how can Merrill city government help grow the city’s tax base.”
The first meeting on Wednesday focused on establishing mission and vision statements for the next strategic plan and reviewing how the city has done on its current plan. The consensus for the 2014-2019 plan seemed to be that the city was able to do what they set to work on. That included improving economic development and increasing the city’s tax base.
With the new plan, Johnson said not much has been discussed yet. He did mention that there was some public input on changes that could be made to the mission and vision statements.
“There were some people in the group of citizens that were there that felt that this should be aimed more at the city overall. Rather than a plan just for city government.”
While there was some public input at Wednesday’s meeting, Johnson stresses that there need to be more people at the meetings. Without having public input from the city, elected officials will determine entirely where the city is going for the next 5 years.
Strategic planning meetings will be held for the next several weeks on Wednesday nights at Merrill’s City Hall. Meetings will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chamber and will last until 8 p.m. A full schedule of the strategic plan meetings and their topics are listed below.
Wednesday, November 13
1.) Identify core values for Merrill’s operational government
2.) Identify Merrill’s strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats going forward
Wednesday, November 20
1.) Identify long term strategic objectives for Merrill
Wednesday, December 4
1.) Prioritize key long term strategic objectives for Merrill
Wednesday, December 11
1.) Development of strategic initiatives and action steps to achieve Merrill’s 2020-2025 strategic objectives
Wednesday, December 18
1.) Finalization of Merrill’s strategic plan for 2020-2025
