Mission
The City of Philomath's Mission is to promote ethical and responsive municipal government which provides its citizenry with high quality municipal services in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Why Do Strategic Planning?
If our Mission Statement is to have any meaning, it must be accompanied by deliberate planning efforts to move the organization and the community toward a desired future. This requires clearly defined goals, proactive objectives, committed leadership, and effective management. Above all, it requires managing the forces of change. Those forces include community demographics, state and federal mandates, fiscal constraints, economic conditions, emerging technologies, and many other influences on our service delivery efforts. High performing organizations are those that learn to anticipate and adapt to change by creating value for those we serve, and motivation and meaning for those who serve them. The best tool for accomplishing these objectives is strategic planning.
Our Strategic Plan has four primary themes that reflect our Mission Statements:
- Good Governance and Community Engagement
- Healthy Economy
- Community Wellbeing and Quality of Life
- Safe Community
Specific goals, objectives, and actions move the organization toward our themes and mission of the future.
Mission → Themes → Goals for Theme → Objectives of Goal → Action Items
Each theme is followed by the City’s primary goals in that subject area for the foreseeable future. The goals should remain constant over time and should only be revised to reflect significant community changes or unanticipated events.
A list of measurable objectives with benchmarks helps us track progress toward the goals. Objectives are generally identified to be completed within a five-year planning period from the date they are adopted or revised.
Actions are the steps needed to meet the objective. Many more strategies and actions will be developed at the department and division level to align the entire organization with the goals and objectives. Each year, the Council prioritizes action items for the City to focus on, and ensures these priorities are funded in the proposed budget.
The Strategic Plan is intended as a work in progress. While the mission and goals should remain constant, the objectives and actions will need periodic review and refinement. We will track progress through regular reporting on the measures, and they will be incorporated into department, organization, and community publications. The annual Budget and Capital Improvement Program will serve as reporting and implementing policy documents, identifying relationships with the Strategic Plan. Comprehensive Plan, Transportation System Plan, Water Master Plan, Wastewater Master Plan, Storm Drain Plan, Parks Master Plan and other related planning documents are reviewed to ensure support for the Strategic Plan.
The Strategic Plan, although adopted near the beginning of the calendar year, is based on the Fiscal Year schedule. For example, a plan objective adopted in 2019 is meant to be completed during Fiscal Year 2019-20. The timing of the adoption of the plan allows the City Council to have a mid-year check in with how the prior year’s plan objectives are progressing, and also assists City staff with preparing the budget to assist with the Council’s priorities adopted in the Plan.