Jay Schlum
The Strategic Planning workshops held over two years ago were one of our town’s proudest occasions. Over 200 residents participated in the face-to-face round table discussions regarding the future of Fountain Hills.

The residents were from a diverse variety of backgrounds, ages and interest, but they rolled their collective sleeves up and debated what they felt were the short and long range goals and priorities of our Town.

What also made these discussions even more rich was that the process was largely facilitated by highly skilled professionals that volunteered and came from all around our state to assist in what they felt was worthy of their weekend plus commitment.

The residents also weighed the financial cost of items being considered. Additionally, many more residents were surveyed directly to further determine what priorities they felt their community should focus on.

Our town residents, through the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (SPAC), are doing an excellent job in keeping the Strategic Plan alive and this includes advising Town Council on items like when and how to consider updating the plan.

Jerry Miles
The Strategic Plan is an excellent tool for goal setting and it should be updated on a regular basis. But circumstances change and opinions change. So the council should be prepared to deal with current realities as necessary.  For example, I believe we are going to have to suspend some of our capital expenditure goals until the economy improves. We don’t need to reconvene the strategic planning process to make that decision. 

Dennis Contino
Strategic planning is valid.  Long-range planning is essential. We must have a clear vision for the town’s direction. A thorough bi-annual process should be implemented by FH to keep track of growth, business and resident concerns, along with town maintenance of parks, roads, etc. 

Municipal services should also be reviewed as to promptness and effectiveness.

Public participation should always be encouraged. As a council member, the public is my employer.

Cassie Hansen
The current strategic planning process has been a progressive continuation of citizen participation and involvement that has been an integral part of Fountain Hills since its inception.

From 1978 to 1986, the Civic Association conducted citizen surveys and two Town Hall meetings to compile community wish lists. This involvement continued after incorporation when over 100 citizens participated in the 1990 Town Hall and again in 1992 when the first five year plan was created and presented to the community participants by town staff.

Ongoing citizen participation in prioritizing our future has been a cohesive thread woven into the core of our community for almost thirty years.

The recent strategic planning process is a continuation of this community tradition. It is and has been a historical process for planning and identifying community priorities that have resulted in the community center, the library/museum, street pavement, enhanced parks and recreation amenities, law enforcement and preservation.

As priorities are accomplished, the list should be updated every two to three years.  This would assist the staff in preparing a two year budget cycle. 

The FHCCA is adept at conducting and town staff is more than capable of preparing and presenting informational materials for Town Hall meetings where citizens can look at the dollars, assess the costs and update a wish list for the community.

An impartial follow up survey to the community involving citizens not participating in the Town Hall would provide additional input. The whole process should be a road map to help direct future council decisions.

Kathie Kelly
Long-range strategic planning is vital for any community. Failure to have a long-range strategic planning process is short-sighted and could even be considered irresponsible. The strategic plan provides benchmarks, milestones and criteria for the decision making process. At the same time, the strategic plan is a living breathing document that needs to be adjusted to reflect changes in circumstances, needs, etc.

Our strategic plan was initiated in 2005, and the process involved surveys, forums and town halls to seek input throughout the process. The process was designed to be inclusive of all and not exclusive and limited to narrow interests and agendas.

The process is definitely valid and needs to be continued. I recommend annual reevaluation and revisions at a minimum, at least until we are completely built out and developed. I would work to establish a process to facilitate that happening. After that a different timetable may be more useful but that is something to be decided at that time. Additionally, the plan should not be a crutch used to exclude things. Just because it wasn’t in the original plan does not mean it can’t be considered down the road.

Citizen participation is not only crucial; it is the very heart of a strategic plan. As residents and business owners, we are the people who are affected by any changes in our community and should be the ones dictating the direction of any strategic plan.

Keith McMahan
The “strategic” (this word is being beat to death these days) planning process is good in that it is a vehicle where people can review, discuss and explore all aspects of what has gone before, what is happening at present and what can best be done to achieve optimum results in the future.

It has been beneficial to Fountain Hills because many citizens, not only government and business leaders, have been involved in recommending the “road map” to follow.

 But any long or short range plan must not be rigid (those 5-year economic plans of the old Soviet Union were failures), but flexible and adaptable to changing conditions as time goes by.

A plan should be continuously subject to updating. I would like to see more people from all demographics of the community volunteer for the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission and/or attend its meetings and contribute their input.

Michael Tyler
The strategic planning process has been valuable in allowing the Town to make excellent progress in a number of areas such as:

• Annexing the State Trust Land
• Implementing low water usage and architectural guidelines
• Working more closely with the schools
• Achieving financial stability

All of these areas were identified as being important by citizens.

I believe this process should be continued and extended to look at other medium term issues that will affect our town such as demographic changes, transportation issues, legislative changes, aging infrastructure needs and economic development.

There should be no set period for updating the Plan, rather it should depend on whether circumstances have changed sufficiently to warrant an update, or whether new information has come to light. The point is that the Plan needs to be a living document that points the direction in which the town should be headed, a roadmap.

Citizens should continue to be involved in a number of ways:

• Through the Strategic Plan Advisory Commission (SPAC ) making sure that the Plan is implemented as desired by the citizens
• Making their views known through the Town Web site, through participating in forums and workshops, through volunteering to serve on commissions and committees and by just asking questions.
• This is a citizen driven Strategic Plan, we need citizens to step up and get involved.

Lina Bellenir
Strategic planning aligns people, processes, and resources – with a clear, compelling, and desired future state.

Foremost, the strategic planning process helps build a vision for the future describing the characteristics, qualities we wish to see in our town. The process can improve efficiency and effectiveness as well as decision making. The planning process    enables our elected officials to recognize and take advantage of opportunities emerging from today's business environment.

Even with the best of intentions, the strategic planning process can get off   track. We must be mindful of jumping from mission formulation to strategy development without sufficient time to determine the critical success indicators.  We must ensure that our elected officials communicate the plan to all levels of government and our residents.

And we must use the plan for measuring performance and to involve everyone in our community in all phases of the planning process (preparation, strategy development, evaluation, and implementation).

Our newly elected officials and new town manager must create a climate which is collaborative and not resistant to change and treat planning as something important and an integral part of the entire management process.

Also, we must not become so formal that our planning process lacks flexibility and creativity needed to address our unique community.

At times when priorities are changing and leaders need to be communicating at their best, strategic planning is most important. A part of strategic planning is prioritizing the most important things to do and doing those first. As a result, strategic planning gives us a forum for debate and the sharing of ideas that many times otherwise wouldn't exist for our residents, business and community leaders.

The strategic plan should be annually reviewed, with major examination every five years. Lastly, the key lesson to be learned is the importance of involving the entire community and looking outward as we define our future.